Movie-licensed platformers…oy. It seems that every time a game company puts one out, they don’t really differ from the dozens of others on the market. This was the case with the original Kung Fu Panda, which Activision released in 2008. It did have some kung fu charm to match that of the movie, along with a swell Jack Black sound-alike, but in the end, it didn’t innovate enough to hold attention for longer than a few hours. Still, at least it was functional, so believe us when we say that we would go back to the original Kung Fu Panda in a Tokyo minute rather than go back to THQ’s mess of a game, Kung Fu Panda 2. Based on the movie of the same name, this Kinect-exclusive game actually goes a different route, taking place after the movie and pitting Po, the heroic kung fu-knowing panda, against an armada of crocodile mercenaries. We have no problem with the approach of the story.
THQ did a pretty good job adapting its own storyline into this game, though there’s really not much outside of fighting enemies and taking part in mini-games. Still, the cut-scenes are framed together with decent quality here, and some of the sound-alikes, particularly the Jack Black fill-in, aren’t bad…though others, like Jackie Chan’s monkey, sound atrocious. That’s not to say the graphics are brilliant, because they are a little rough around the edges. When you’re first introduced to Po, for instance, he looks right at you and counsels you in the art of kung fu. Sometimes his lip syncing is off, and the character model lazily falls outside of the pre-set lines. Still, it’s charming enough that it mimics the movie. But don’t let that fool you. The game may look and (somewhat) sound like a winner, but in the end, it’s simply not worth playing. First off, the game is Kinect only. We could understand THQ making this a platformer of some sort and throwing in exclusive Kinect mini-games, but exclusively for Microsoft’s motion device? That doesn’t really make any sense. Even the PS3 version has some sort of controller functionality, and to not have that option here may leave a few gamers tuckered out.
Worse yet, the controls don’t really work at all. Let’s talk about the combat. You’ve got your punch and kick maneuvers, which you (try to) perform with your left and right arms and legs. Now, notice the try to in parenthesis? That’s because the moves don’t register that clearly at all. When you walk through the intro with Po, you’ll have to perform moves three times before he even acknowledges them. Wait till you get to the kicks. Depending on your height, it almost feels like your lower half is cut off, and Po can’t see past his big belly to see how you’re doing. Then there are the more complex moves in the game. You can (attempt to) perform blocks by holding up your left and right arms, depending on what side of the screen (left or right) lights up. Again, this game has a huge problem with registering these moves, even if you’re sticking your arm completely away from your body and frantically waving at Po to recognize that. The finishing stances are even worse. While they variate from actual kung fu techniques, they translate poorly with Kinect reaction. For instance, one has you holding both arms downward, so you look like you’re in a T stance.
This feature review concludes on the next page, please click Page 2 below to see our final verdict on Kung Fu Panda 2.
