Kombo's Review Policy: Our reviews are written for you. Our goal is to write honest, to-the-point reviews that don't waste your time. This is why we've split our reviews into four sections: What the Game's About, What's Hot, What's Not and Final Word, so that you can easily find the information you want from our reviews.

What the Game's About
Monsters vs. Aliens: The Video Games follows the Hollywood movie by the same name. You play as Ginormica (aka Susan), Dr. Cockroach, B.O.B and the Missing Link through a number of missions outside of the movie's scope as well as major plot moments of the movie.

What's Hot
The developer Beenox seems to have hit the nail on the head with this movie game. Monsters vs. Aliens is squarely aimed at kids but the quality hasn't suffered for it. Controls work exceedingly well, gameplay is varied and paced well and you'll build new skills as the game progresses. The game is easy but the goal is to entertain families. That mission seems accomplished because while junior is the main target, older siblings or mom and dad can comfortably play the game without having to contend with poor design and development.



After each level, depending on how well you did, you'll have access to monster DNA that is a progress chart of all the power-ups and extras you spend game-earned points on. You can get extra challenges, concept art, deleted scenes, movie stills and lasting power-ups that will help you in later levels. Cooperative mode includes another person in the mix and provides more opportunity for others to play.

What's Not
The only issue is that the game will feel too molded to fit a certain model. The characters will always play a certain type of level. You'll go through the motions a number of times and there won't be any surprises in store after you get the hang of the flow of the game. It repeats ad nauseum until the end of the game.

Final Word
It seems like keeping it simple worked out for Monsters vs. Aliens. Taking what worked from other games and applying it intelligently is something Beenox should be applauded for getting right. Gamers have every right to be leery of a movie licensed game because of the years of crap forced out to hit a release date target but thankfully Monsters vs. Aliens breaks that cycle and makes a kid friendly game that has a level of quality rarely seen in a game of this sort.