Kung Fu Panda
Activision
(Wii, DS, Xbox 360, PS2, PS3, PC)
Many video games based off of major movies come off as cheesy, half-hearted attempts at recapturing both the magic of the original and its audience's spending money. (There are exceptions - the recent Bourne Conspiracy among them.) But much like the Dreamworks film itself, the Kung Fu Panda game is silly, easy to get into, and a ton of fun.
If you're familiar at all with the Spiderman 3 game for the DS, you'll notice some similarities because both games because they use the same core engine, but this one has a few upgrades here and there. The game follows the movie's storyline right down to the dialogue at times, so you may have more than a few deją vu moments. Once you begin moving through stages on your own, you'll notice that the game becomes your basic side-scrolling fighting game. Hey, no complaints here.
At first, your abilities are limited to a few slash 'n swipe motions, which limits the rooms and locations you can travel to. But as you progress by clawing at enemies and saving members of the Furious Five one-by-one from Tai-Lung's evil grasp, you'll be able to go back and explore new destinations. A handy map on the top screen will point out where you need to go and where you haven't been, so you'll never get lost.
