VG Reloaded writes: "The 360 version of Planet 51 was boring, awkward to control and hardly appealing to younger gamers. The DS version takes things even further by making the controls somehow worse and miraculously making the game even duller. How is this possible? Well, first of all…let's look at the controls.
The DS version of Planet 51 makes me wonder how a game this boring and awkward to play was ever let out of the development studio. Perhaps only to meet the deadline of the film's release, which is why it suffers on almost biblical proportions. If developers are going to make games based on films, they should wait until they are 100% happy with it BEFORE they release it instead of giving into the pressure of a deadline and the quality suffering. Maybe when they learn this lesson, we'll get a decent movie-game, but I won't hold my breath…"
El33tonline writes:
"Aliens. Ooh, scary! We read about mysterious aliens coming to earth, searching for intelligent life and failing to find it in the US. We read how they kidnap poor trailer trash hillbillies and do all sorts of nasty probes. We see movies of the little green men using ray guns to vaporise everything and everyone in their way. We listen to music that sometimes sounds like the artists are from another planet. And finally we play games about aliens coming to our planet and scaring babies. But in Planet 51, the whole concept has been turned on its head."
PSX Extreme writes: "Video games based on movies have increased in quality this generation. We've actually seen a few pretty decent efforts already; The Bourne Conspiracy and Kung Fu Panda have been solid and worthwhile, which is why I go into such reviews with an open mind. Unfortunately, Planet 51 is a step backwards due to somewhat sluggish controls, a style of gameplay that forces the player to complete trivial and extremely boring "missions," and an overall lack of immersion."
Planet 51 is an okay way to kill a few hours, if you're really so time-rich you can afford to waste your precious life driving very slowly around a dull alien planet. It's not horrendous, but it's light-years away from great.
