Xiaolin Showdown is the official game based on the popular WB cartoon show. The game does a good job of capturing the overall essence of the TV show, from the fun brawls and quirky cel-shaded graphics. However, those who aren’t big fans of the cartoon show might find that the game borrows a little too heavily from Super Smash Bros., albeit not quite as polished. The controls can be frustrating, the AI can be a pain, and the overall experience is very repetitive. So, if you’re a fan of Xiaolin Showdown, this game may be something you should check out, otherwise you might be disappointed.

In Xiaolin Showdown, you play as one of the four heroes from the cartoon show: Omi, Kimiko, Raimundo, and Clay. You are charged with protecting some ancient relics from getting in the hands of Jack Spicer, an evil boy genius, and Chase Young, an evil heylin wizard with mystical powers. This entails getting into crazy free-for-all battles against robots and boss enemies in an enclosed space while often inadvertently attacking your teammates.

The game offers up an Adventure mode and a Showdown mode. Adventure is the story mode, putting you and your three allies through the game’s main storyline and leading you from one fight to another. The Showdown mode is an actual battle mode, where you and your buddies vie for dominance over each other in areas that you’ve unlocked.

The gameplay in Xiaolin Showdown is pretty fun at first, as it does a fine job of emulating the battle royales in Super Smash Bros. on a handheld format. However, the novelty wears off quickly, and the action quickly gets very repetitive. The fights lack the overall charm and addictiveness of the ones featured in SSB, and just feel boring after you pummel robot after robot.

Another sore spot is your teammate AI. While it’s good to have them around when it comes to dispatching enemies, they’ll oftentimes get in the way of your attacks and then get angry and smack you one. They’ll also race out and grab special items and power-ups, which is extremely annoying and negates the sense of teamwork that they are meant to evoke.

The controls are also another rough spot. Your character doesn’t move across the field terribly efficiently, and if you get close to something/anything, your character will automatically pick it up. This is a real pain, especially if you’re trying to throw down with someone else and you end up sidestepping to grab something you didn’t want.

Graphically the game looks pretty good, recreating the look and feel of the cartoon show very nicely through the use of cel-shaded graphics. The characters are well-represented, and the environments look nice.

Soundwise Xiaolin Showdown is decent, but not anything to get excited about. The music fits with the mood of the show and the voice acting is fine, to be expected.

Xiaolin Showdown is a good game for kids, particularly those who are big fans of the show. However, the rest of us may be disappointed in the repetitive gameplay, spotty AI and cumbersome controls.

Gameplay: 6.5
All-out battle royales can be fun, but the irksome controls and spotty AI soil the experience. The overall experience is pretty repetitive.

Graphics: 7.5
Xiaolin Showdown looks pretty good, and the cel-shaded character models do a fine job of capturing the spirit of the show.

Sound: 7.0
The game’s sound effects match the theme of the show.

Difficulty: Medium

Concept: 7.0
To say that the game “borrows” from Nintendo’s Super Smash Bros. franchise is an understatement, so no points for originality. However, the game does well when it comes to emulating mood of the cartoon.

Multiplayer: 7.0
The game allows for some intense 4-player wifi battles, but unfortunately no infrastructure mode.

Overall: 7.0
Xiaolin Showdown should appeal to fans of the TV show, but everyone else may be disappointed in the repetitive and unpolished gameplay.