| Kung Fu Panda | |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | Luxoflux (PS3/X360) Beenox (PC) XPEC Entertainment (PS2/Wii) Vicarious Visions (DS) |
| Publisher(s) | Activision |
| Composer(s) | Kevin Manthei |
| Platform(s) | Microsoft Windows Nintendo DS PlayStation 2 PlayStation 3 Wii Xbox 360 |
| Release date(s) | NA June 3, 2008 AU June 25, 2008 EU June 27, 2008 |
| Genre(s) | Action-adventure |
| Mode(s) | Single-player, Multiplayer |
| Rating(s) | |
Kung Fu Panda is a video game loosely based on the film of the same name. The game was released across various platforms in June, 2008.[1]
Contents |
The game revolves around the adventures of 24 year-old Po(Mick Wingert) , a giant panda, who dreams of becoming a great Kung Fu fighter and fighting alongside the Furious Five, the greatest Kung Fu Masters in China. Unfortunately, his weight and clumsiness makes this ambition seemingly unattainable.
Po dreams that he is the mighty Dragon Warrior who protected the Valley of Peace, traveling the land in search of "worthy foes", and is disappointed when he wakes up in the garden of his father Mr. Ping(James Hong)'s noodle shop.
Meanwhile, it is announced that the Dragon Warrior will be chosen at the Jade Palace. Po rushes to the palace, only to find that the gates have been closed. He navigates through the training grounds, saving rabbit villagers (who are trapped in cages) from members of the Blackhoof Boar Clan and collecting fireworks on the way. After collecting enough fireworks, he ties the fireworks to a chair, and rockets into the arena, where Tigress(Erin Torpey), a member of the Five, has just finished her performance. Grand Master Oogway(Greg Baldwin) then begins to identify the Dragon Warrior before Po crashes into the arena. Oogway then points at him. Master Shifu(Fred Tatasciore), the Five and Po are all surprised by this. Po is then taken to the Training Grounds by Shifu, who doesn't believe that Po is the Dragon Warrior. Po is successful in the Training Grounds and proceeds in his training.
Meanwhile, Zeng(Mick Wingert), a palace goose is flying back to the Jade Palace, only to be attacked by vultures. He is saved by Master Crane(Drew Massey) just as he is about to fall to his death. Crane beats up the vultures and flies Zeng safely to the Palace, where Zeng announces that Tai Lung, an evil snow leopard who used to be a student of Shifu, has escaped from prison, where he had been put in twenty years ago. Shifu and the Five leave Po at the palace to go warn the villagers. The Boar Clan invade the Palace and steal the treasures there, but Po manages to stop them from stealing all the treasures. Shifu returns and sees Po's progress and sends him to Lotus Lake, a lake inhabited by turtles with Master Crane, for the river has been invaded by the Imperial Croc Gang, a group of crocodiles on Tai Lung's side.
The turtles inform them that the Imperial Crocodile Gang have taken over the pond and are going to steal the turtles' hatchlings. Mama Turtle asks them to save the hatchlings. Po manages to defeat the crocodiles and finds enough eggs to satisfy Mama Turtle. Po then goes to the pond center to save Mama's grandson, who was kidnapped by the Crocodile Queen. He ends up waking the queen, who sends the Crocodile King (or the Crocodile Sergeant) to chase and kill Po. Master Crane rescues Po and they fly threw a stream with the Crocodile Sergeant in hot pursuit. They eventually escape and the Crocodile Sergeant falls over the waterfall. Po then returns the baby turtle to Mama Turtle.
Noticing that Po is improving with his Kung Fu, Master Shifu takes Po to the Wudang Mountains, where Kung Fu was invented. There, the Great Gorilla and his minions are stealing all the riches in the mountains. Po defeats the Great Gorilla's minions and stages a final battle with the Great Gorilla, and eventually defeats him. Meanwhile, the Furious Five go to fight Tai Lung themselves, only to be defeated by Tai Lung and captured by his wolves that work in the Lang Shadow Army. Shifu goes to rescue the Five, and successfully does so, while defeating Tai Lung's army. Meanwhile, Po, who had been told by Shifu to return to the palace, gets lost, and winds up in Tai Lung's old training grounds. There, he finds a map and makes it back to the palace.
Shifu decides to go hold off Tai Lung while the Five, Po and the villagers escape. As they are about to leave, Po's father tells him the secret to his "Secret Ingredient Soup", which is....nothing. His father explains that to make something special, you just have to believe it is special Po realizes this is the same concept with the dragon scroll, which he was presented earlier (it was blank too).
Po sets off to the Palace. He meets up with Master Monkey, and they plan to destroy two ships belonging to the Lang Shadow Army using a water tower. Monkey clears a way to the tower and Po and Monkey both team up to defeat an Ox Bandit where they knock him towards the wood supporting the tower enough to collapse and destroy the ships. Po continues his quest to the Palace, where Shifu is nearly defeated by Tai Lung. Tai Lung knocks Po down the stairs and they roll down the steps and battle. After fighting Tai Lung's minions, Po and Tai Lung battle once again. Po defeats him with using Wuxi Finger Hold, and Tai Lung vanishes into thin air. Po is then accepted by the Furious Five and all the villagers as the Dragon Warrior and is claimed a true Kung Fu master.
Kung Fu Panda intended mainly for children and is based on the movie Kung Fu Panda. Players initially control Po, who differs from the movie in that he possesses a basic level of martial arts skill from the beginning, enabling him to participate in battle. In addition to fighting and jumping challenges, maintaining balance is another important element of the game, such as Po crossing tightropes, staying on moving platforms and using it to steer a boat through a dangerous river. Over the course of the game's narrative, the player improves Po's skill by adding various new fighting techniques and special moves, although in some parts of the game, the player will have to complete the tasks as another character.
After collecting a number of coins at the end of each level, the player has the option to buy upgrades to Po's moves and health, as well as a different set of new outfits. Eventually, as the player progresses through the game, they'll be able to unlock other characters, including Master Shifu and the members of the Furious Five (a team of elite fighters each with their own fighting styles and mini-games). In addition, the player will be able to use objects and weapons when fighting. Furthermore, before each new level, Po narrates the continuing story, while the words are being scrolled up on the screen.
In the Wii version, the Wii Remote is used to perform moves and skills, such as the Wuxi Finger Hold; in the PS3 version, the motion sensors of the Sixaxis controller can be used to control Crane in missions, where players play as him, while in the Nintendo DS version, while the D-pad moves Po, the touch screen is mainly used for combat moves, in the style of the DS version of Spider-Man 3, which was also developed by Vicarious Visions.[2]
The game also includes a multiplayer mode with new levels and characters. In addition, the game features new bosses, including the Great Gorilla, the Wu Sisters, and Nameless. The player can also collect action figures of the Furious Five and rare coins and use them to unlock things at the Extras Menu.
The game received generally positive reviews from critics. Even though the Xbox 360 version of the game received a 6.5/10 from GameSpot,[3] it scored a Metacritic rating of 75/100 from 42 critics.[4] It also scored 7.5/10 from IGN.[5] It also got a positive score of 8/10 from Game Informer.[6]
A sequel to the game called Kung Fu Panda: Legendary Warriors was made for the Wii and DS game systems. It received mixed reviews and achieved a 57 score on Metacritic.[7]
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