'Kung Fu Panda 2' doesn't take advantage of all possibilities

Kung Fu Panda 2

From: Griptonite Games/THQ

ESRB Rating: Everyone 10-plus (cartoon violence)

Price: $50

Games based on kids' movies have enjoyed a pleasantly unexpected surge in quality and attention over the last few years, and based on THQ's diverse array of Kung Fu Panda 2 offerings - four dramatically different games, tailored to their respective systems - it's a trend that will continue.

In the case of the Xbox 360, KFP2 is designed squarely for the Kinect. Without one, you can't even navigate the rather clunky main menu, much less play the game, so don't confuse this for a traditional game with optional Kinect-friendly trimmings mixed in.

As you might predict, Kinect's primary role here is to help Po (the Kung Fu Panda, in case you didn't know) perform all those cool moves he learned in the first movie. When you punch, kick, jump, block, or dodge, Po does the same.

Sort of.

Unlike, say, the boxing game found in Kinect Sports, KFP2 doesn't really allow for freestyle, one-on-one fighting.

Rather, it's more like Punch-Out!-lite with motion controls. The game will prompt you when you're free to attack or it's time to defend, and while you're sometimes free to mix your punches and kicks as you please, you're mostly tasked with reacting to your enemy. If he's on the attack, the game will give you cues to defend or dodge a certain way, and if you attack and he dodges, there are only a couple of countering moves that will actually do any damage. Sometimes, the game even forces you to call in the Furious Five and watch them finish off an enemy for you.

At first, when the fights are mindlessly easy, the limitations are a serious letdown for anyone who knows the Kinect is capable of overcoming such restrictions.

But once the fights become more interesting - multiple enemies, faster and more elaborate defensive stances for keeping Po on his feet - KFP2 finds a nice groove. At no point does it evolve into a furious challenge, but if the goal is to get players to sweat a little bit, it absolutely succeeds in spite of those self-enforced limitations.