Gaming Trend

Gaming Trend Review

by Mike Repella

I’m going to let you in on a little secret. Here at Gamingtrend, the writers generally aren’t able to hand pick the games they review. Usually our head honcho tries to spread the games around so people get a mix of good and bad games. A couple of weeks ago I was told that I would be reviewing the sequel to Motorstorm and I was pretty pumped. What I wasn’t told was that I would also be receiving a DS game based on the animated movie Kung Fu Panda. Not only was this game based on a children’s film, but it was also the second game based on the film in less than one year. This is almost always a formula for disaster. "Oh well" I thought, I’ll take the good with the bad.

So imagine my surprise when I fired Kung Fu Panda Legendary Warriors up and found out that I was actually enjoying it. I wasn’t punched in the face with cute one liner after one liner and general all-encompassing awfulness.  The game is a solid side scrolling beat-em-up that takes its cues from the likes of Double Dragon and Final Fight and even adds in some character leveling for good measure.

Kung Fu Panda is a side scrolling game that uses 3d graphics to animated the characters and the backgrounds. The game pushes the DS hardware pretty hard, as the characters are all fairly well detailed  and move naturally. Players won’t have a hard time distinguishing the main character Po from his enemies.

The environments vary from traditional oriental towns, to mountains, fields and rivers. The levels themselves use a pseudo 2d/3d layout very similar to those found way back in Yoshi’s Island. The levels will twist and turn on the screen but you are always present with a side view of the action.

I did notice some slowdown in the game when several enemies were on screen at the same time, but this issue is small and doesn’t hinder gameplay in any way. Another small problem is that many of the levels feature objects in the foreground like trees or pillars and sometimes these objects can block your view of the action on the screen. Again this is a small issue and it doesn’t ruin the overall experience.

Sound is one area in many kids games that can absolutely drive gamers insane. This is because a lot developers have decided that it is cute and funny to add one liners from the characters into the game. These lines inevitably repeat ad nauseum throughout the game, giving any sane person a headache. I am VERY happy to report that Kung Fu Panda Legendary Warriors has absolutely no voiceover work or one liners. Instead the story is advanced through text, which works wonderfully in this case.

There is an oriental sound track that plays in the background and is appropriate. Overall you won’t really notice the sound in the game and in a kids game that is a good thing.

The controls here are pretty straight forward. You use the face buttons to perform a strong attack, weak attack and jump. The characters can perform different attack combos by using specific button combinations and you can even hit enemies up into the air and try to juggle them in the air to inflict more damage.

Kung Fu Panda does use the touch screen in a limited sense. The characters have a special attack gauge, once it is filled up you have to tap the special attack icon and then draw the resulting symbol to activate the attack. There are also ropes in the game and conveyors that require the touch screen to activate and move.  The biggest problem with all of the touch screen aspects in this game is that you have to take your right hand off of the action buttons to use the touch screen and it is incredibly clunky. Not to mention that removing your hand from the attack buttons during a fight will usually result in damage that you otherwise wouldn’t have taken.

I have never seen Kung Fu Panda the movie, but allegedly Kung Fu Panda Legendary Warriors takes place just after the events of the movie. There is a loose plot that involves rescuing the other Legendary Kung Fu warriors who have been captured by a mysterious enemy. Frankly, the story is not important. Kids will just like the fact that they get to play as Po and Tigress.

I’m happy to report that the actual gameplay in Kung Fu Panda Legendary Warriors is solid. The game is a side scrolling beat’em up that has you choosing either Po the Panda or Tigress the Tiger. Each character has their own attack style; with Po moving slower but having more powerful attacks, and Tigress being much quicker but not as powerful. They each have their own levels to play as well, however the environments are largely the same and the enemies each character fights are the same too. There are a decent amount of enemies to face, with blow dart using elephants, shield wielding Gorillas, bomb throwing monkeys and more.

There is a power meter in the game that fills up as you defeat enemies and collect orbs throughout each level. The meter has 5 levels and the higher it reaches, the more damage you can dish out. The catch is that the meter decreases with time and with every hit you take from an enemy. Additionally, each level has five stars to collect and the only way to collect all five is to keep the power meter up in the 5th level for a significant period of time. This system is pretty unique and I found it to add quite a bit of challenge to an otherwise fairly easy game. The completionist in my wanted to complete each level with as many stars as possible, and the only way to do that was to beat up the bad guys as fast as possible while taking as little damage as possible.

As I mentioned above, the game is not that hard if all you want to do is play the game and beat it. Each warrior has the ability to recharge their health so long as no one is attacking them. This in essence means that you can fight a couple of guys, take a time out and refill your health, then move on to the next part of the level and repeat. The problem with this method is that your power meter will never reach the higher levels this way. But it does allow for younger gamers to play the game and have fun without getting frustrated.

Most levels require you to start on one side of the level and travel to the other without dying. Some levels are arena type fights where you will be faced with wave of enemy after wave of enemy. There are also four bosses that you will have to face down.  One of the only problems with the levels is that there are no mid mission save points or restart points. If you die on the very last enemy of any given level you will have to replay the entire level.

The collection of stars is required to unlock boss fights. In addition the more stars you collect the more powerful your characters will become. Stars can unlock added health, new attack combos and more powerful attacks.

If I was told that I had to buy a game based off of an animated movie, I would think to myself that I will no doubt be wasting my money on a bad game. But Kung Fu Panda Legendary Warriors isn’t a bad game and if I had to buy any game based on an animated movie this holiday season it would be this one. The game has over 120 stars to collect in over 50 levels. You definitely won’t be able to complete the game in one sitting.

Yes it’s true that most games based on animated movies are hastily made shovel ware designed to cash in on a hot license. Kung Fu Panda Legendary Warriors may be designed to cash in on a hot license but it is not hastily made and is actually quite fun.

Fans of old school side scrolling action games will be at home.  The combo system and choice of two characters adds variety to the gameplay. Children will be able to play the game and have fun, while at the same time more experienced gamers will find a challenge trying to keep their power meter full to collect all of the stars.

The game isn’t perfect but if you want to buy your son or daughter a game based on one of their favorite movies you can’t go wrong with Kung Fu Panda Legendary Warriors.

Gaming Trend Score

82

1. Graphics: 84
2. Audio: 85
3. Controls: 80
4. Gameplay: 80
5. Value/Replay: 85
6. OVERALL:82