Pandas are famous for several reasons, but none of them particularly exciting. For instance, they're fond of bamboo, sleeping and not reproducing efficiently. They aren't particularly renowned as great fighters, although they do a good line in black eyes. Still, in the movies and indeed in computer game licences, a panda can be a Kung Fu hero (and his dad can be a goose).

Po the panda isn't voiced by Jack Black as in the film, but by an excellent impersonator (we really couldn't tell the difference). He has plenty of amusing lines of dialogue in this 3D platformer crossed with a beat-'em-up, and it's these touches of comedy, coupled with a healthy variety in the levels and tasks it sets, that ensure a lively action gaming experience.

Some levels feature fairly standard objectives (e.g. find some relics), and some are jumping-heavy while others focus more on the fisticuffs. However, in between these are scenarios which are a little more involved, such as guarding a collection of valuable treasures and making sure they aren't stolen by sneaky thieves.

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There are always different elements thrown in on top of these basic recipes, such as driving sequences where you pilot a boat down a river, or fly a bird through storm clouds while punching vultures in the beak. And boss fights where you have to press specific buttons with quick reactions to win through, just like good old Dragon's Lair.

In fact, Kung Fu Panda creeps like a ninja through the vault of past gaming successes and nicks quite a few ideas. When Po executes a speed roll and zooms across a bridge collecting multiple gold coins, you could be forgiven for thinking he's morphed into a certain blue, spiky-haired hedgehog. The quick-fire combat, based on fast combo attacks, reminded us somewhat of Viking, which also employs Dragon's Lair-style boss battles.

Don't get us wrong; this game isn't some cheap rip-off. Yes, there are borrowed bits, but the resulting mix is a neat and varied combination of jumping and punching, with an RPG-light upgrade system thrown in between missions (the coins you collect are spent here). Kung Fu Panda can definitely be filed under the not over-populated category of very playable movie licences, although it isn't completely issue-free.

Predictably, one of the thorns in this panda's paw is the third-person camera. It's actually reasonably well behaved in the main, although in tough boss fights and pressure situations it can be aggravating trying to spin it around (using the right thumbstick) when you end up looking at your own backside at a critical juncture. Sometimes it cuts away to set viewpoints which are awkwardly zoomed out and distant, too.

The other annoyance is also a visual one. While the graphics are pretty well rendered on the whole, when the camera pans quickly we noticed some tearing effects cropping up at times. This is something we've not seen on the X360 before, and we found it rather off-putting when it happened.

Finally, Kung Fu Panda isn't hugely challenging, nor a massively long tale. You'll probably finish it in six to eight hours, maybe quicker depending on how much rose sniffing you get up to. Obviously it's more pitched at kids, but bigger kids can stick the difficulty level on hard and still have an enjoyable combat safari.

Kung Fu Panda is also extended by the usual challenge of collecting items to unlock specials, and there are some multiplayer mini-games chucked in too. These are for two to four players and they include straight up brawls, team games where there's an objective (such as co-operatively protecting a defenceless rabbit), along with simple tile and memory games.

A movie licence that's a fitting tribute to the film, Kung Fu Panda might be on the short side but it's an amusing and polished action game.