Planet 51 Review for PlayStation 3 (PS3)

System: X360, PS3, Wii, DS	Review Rating Legend
Dev: Pyro Studios	1.0 - 1.9 = Avoid	4.0 - 4.4 = Great
Pub: SEGA	2.0 - 2.4 = Poor	4.5 - 4.9 = Must Buy
Release: Nov. 17, 2009	2.5 - 2.9 = Average	5.0 = The Best
Players: 1-2	3.0 - 3.4 = Fair
ESRB Rating: Everyone	3.5 - 3.9 = Good

As you continue through the game's many missions, the human (alien) astronaut Chuck and his sidekick robot Rover land on the planet. You'll also be able to control these two characters during some missions. These two characters' missions help to provide some much needed variety to Lem's plethora of lawn mowing, racing, delivering, fetching, demolition derby, and drive to a specific destination type endeavors.

Planet 51 screenshot

Some examples are Chuck running from trash can to trash can through town using them as cover to avoid police and running through an alley chasing Rover, needing to perform quick-time button presses to successfully make your way through obstacles. Rover's levels on the other hand mainly consist of using his scanner to find special rocks and then collecting them or following a spotlight through hordes of enemies in order to remain hidden (which really doesn't make any sense).

Another major concern with Planet 51 is its difficulty. Early in the game missions are almost obnoxiously easy to complete, with putting the controller down and walking away being about the only way to fail. Besides the game becoming increasingly more difficult due to the faster speed of your available vehicles, as the game progresses you'll also find random difficulty spikes that may prove too much for younger gamers to handle. One minute you'll be completing a race with no problems and the next you'll be tasked with following an enemy closely, which either takes clairvoyance or multiple plays through for level memorization, and then absolutely perfect execution in order to achieve success. There are a good handful of missions in this game that I believe will cause many younger gamers to put down Planet 51 and never come back to it.

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So, while Planet 51 isn't nearly as bad as E.T. for the Atari 2600 was, it still has many issues that'll keep it from being a fan favorite. Whether it's the floaty and complicated vehicle handling, the confused radar, the repetitive nature of the missions, or the random and surprising difficulty spikes, Planet 51 gives players (especially younger ones) a multitude of good reasons to stay away. This is unfortunate considering that at least the game wasn't just another movie-based action platformer, but in the end the bad manages to outweigh the good.

By Adam Brown
CCC Staff Contributor

RATING OUT OF 5

RATING DESCRIPTION

3.2

Graphics
The game adequately resembles the film, minus some stiff character animation, but the lip synching is way off.

2.1

Control
The hover vehicles handle poorly for the most part, and trying to use the right analog stick to compensate for the floatyness is clumsy at best.

3.3

Music / Sound FX / Voice Acting
The music, sound effects, and voice work are all decent although somewhat limited.

2.4

Play Value
There are quite a few missions to be had as well as items to seek out and collect, but the missions are quite repetitive, there are unexpected difficulty spikes, and the hover vehicles that you'll use for almost every mission don't handle very well.

2.5

Overall Rating - Average
Not an average. See Rating legend above for a final score breakdown.

Game Features:

Alien world to explore: Explore the world of Planet 51 and try to outrun and outwit the Planet 51 Police and Army, find Chuck's spaceship and help Chuck return home to Earth. Take control of the main characters from the movie - astronaut "Chuck" Baker and his alien friend Lem - and use their special abilities and skills.

Vehicles galore: Race and chase as you complete tasks and evade the enemy in an incredible array of hover vehicles, ranging from cars, pick-up trucks, and bicycles, to taxis, police cars, heavy trucks, and even lawnmowers.

Tons of gameplay: Play through the numerous missions, mini-games, and check out the multiplayer action on Planet 51.

Beyond the movie: Relive memorable movie moments and discover new environments and missions created exclusively for the video game!