Rag Doll Kung Fu might seem familiar at first.  Certainly, if you’ve played Little Big Planet you’ll recognise the physics in action and even some of the level design.  That’s because it’s really the forbearer of the cute PS3 game, designed by Mark Healey who went on to form Media Molecule.

The idea of this PSN title is simple; it’s a free-for-all fight to the death with lots of objects to interact with and platforms to climb.  Add in some nifty physics and the fact that your characters are plastic toys and you have something quite unique.

While the main game is really a multiplayer beat-em-up that doesn’t work so well in single player, there are extra mini-games to keep you occupied when not with your mates.  These amount to challenges and timed levels and are fun to play the first time around but probably won’t have you coming back for more.

It’s that single player which is the reason to download this game though, a bit Super-Smash Bros in places and a bit mad in others, Rag Doll Kung Fu stamps it’s unique mark in the multiplayer games genre.  But with only local multiplayer it does feel like something is missing from this title being a full game, even a download-only one.

Controls are pretty easy to get to grips with, jump punch and kick, plus added sixaxis controls for ground pounding and special moves.  You can also launch off of platforms and use the sixaxis to perform a somersault, quite a nice addition.

Still, it’s fun and, more importantly, it’s free on the US PSN network (with no sign of a time limit to this offer), so the game scores a bit higher for costing £0.00!

7/10