Charles T. (Chuck) Baker is the Earthling astronaut who’s landed on what was supposed to be a desolate planet, only to find it habited by green-skinned aliens whose civilized society looks a lot like an idyllic 1950s or ’60s America – y’know, the one that only really existed in The movie Grease and TV shows like Happy Days. Planet 51 takes the idea of E.T. The Extra Terrestrial and flips things around, making the human spaceman the feared and misunderstood invader who the authorities want to capture and study.

Chuck’s less-than-friendly welcome to Planet 51 is mainly because the other citizens of Planet 51 think any Alien (in this case Human) invader will be like the Humaniacs as portrayed in their sci-fi movies and comic books. Humaniacs are one-eyed humanoid monsters that come down to the planet and turn everyone into zombies, and then take over the world…

The landscape is quite open and Lem at first can explore on foot or by hover bike (all the vehicles hover like in the Jetsons), and later he can drive a selection of cars, sports cars, jeeps and trucks. The fact that the vehicles hover, zoom along really quickly with the aid of a limited turbo boost and can rise above other vehicles to pass them makes the game at times feel like a cartoony WipeOut. There are over 40 missions and minigames to play and hidden comic books to encourage you to explore the three environments fully. In a game based around vehicles it’s unsurprising that there’s a heck of a lot of races to be done, but there are also destruction-derby style events, deliveries, paper boy, rounding up stray dogs, parking valet, foot races (both playing as Chuck & Lem) and stealth and collect ‘em up missions controlling Rover to be done. These varied missions mean that Planet 51 keeps the gameplay fresh, and although you’re unlikely to be playing it for hours on end it play well enough to make you want to see the story out, and collect all the comic books and unlock all the extras along the way.

The story is linked with cut-scenes straight from the animated movie by Pyro’s sister company, animation studio Ilion that stars Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson as Chuck, Justin Long as Lem and Rover, Gary Oldman as General Grawl and John Cleese as Professor Kripple. The movie is of a quality comparable to a Disney-Pixar production and Planet 51 the Game reminded me a lot of the Disney-Pixar Cars game, with a little less freedom and less sprawling environments making it more suited to younger gamers.

There are three 2-player modes (shame they’re not for 2, 3 or 4) that are fun to play once or twice but no more. Race, Car Crusher (destruction derby) and Hot-bomb (pass the bomb).

The gameplay is simple but addictive and the vehicles handle as you’d expect them to in a nice, floaty way. Some of the races might be a bit tough for very young gamers but in the main it’s enjoyable and non-taxing experience that provides a few strangely addictive tests even for seasoned gamers if they want to get the full 1000 gamerpoints. Planet 51 is good fun in short bursts and the unique relationship between animator and game developer means it’s totally faithful to the movie. If you enjoyed the movie you’ll enjoy the game, if you enjoy the game you’ll certainly enjoy the movie.