Parents will admit that a game for kids usually means no real story depth, really basic graphics or the type of gameplay that will bore any child in an hour or two. Zubo, the latest graphic adventure game from Electronic Arts' England-based Bright Light Studio, seeks to break that stereotype by creating a game where the graphics were good, the audio was better and gameplay challenged new players and seasoned DS pros.

To differentiate itself, Zubo is a fully 3-D game. So players don't look down on the adventure, they'll experience the game from the in-game player's perspective. Plus, the graphics are similar to the PlayStation, not an easy task on the small DS.

Play begins by either selecting a boy or girl character and then immediately dropped into the world of Zubalon. Of course there's trouble, the world's been invaded by Big Head and his army evil beings known as Zombos, zombiefied versions of the world's indigenous species, the Zubo. Players are then tasked with ridding the land of the noxious threat with the aid of three classes of Zubos - defenders, fighters and performers (each represented by green, yellow and pink icons that float about each fighter's head). When in battle, players instruct their friendly Zubos to attack Zombos with a simple rock, paper, scissors strategy, each character's battle icon shows whether they're be more or less effective at removing HP from their opponent.

Instead of punching or slashing each other, each of the 50 characters employ over 100 such zany actions such as patacake, salsa slaps, loudspeakers and even a farting attack. Activating a move is done by selecting one of the Zubo's four touch screen actions. Some moves are merely battles to remove an enemy's HP, while others are used to weaken attacks, heal a Zubo in trouble and other moves that make the gameplay increasingly challenging. It's good to know that these enemies don't die but are merely "scared away." Bigger actions require power pills, earned during a battle and add another level of strategy later in the game.

Three Zubos find new challenges in such places as a pirate ship.

Performing the moves is very unique too, Zubos get rhythm outline that flow into them. While they're surrounded by a red outline, a yellow line moves in towards them. When the lines cross over each other, the player taps the touch screen. The move complex the move, the more times they'll have to tap in rhythm.

With 10 worlds, there's a lot to explore here. From Wild West, Fairytale to Pop and Horror, each of the areas looks lush, scary or playful with stinky swaps with lily pads, tombs, candy canes, rolling boulders and other details that make Zubo feel like a much bigger game. Visually, each character features unique eyes and costumes and as you encounter each of them, you can see the level of detail. Yet there's more, Zubo's creators made soundtracks for each of the levels on top of all the lush noises of the each world's backgrounds and hilarious battle noises. It's best experienced with a good set of ear or headphones.

Zubo is due to arrive on March 10th and so far it's a fun experience that kids (or adults) looking for new adventures will love. While you may have not heard about it yet, it's guaranteed to find fans of all ages as they realize that their favorite zany Zubo might reflect a part of what makes each player unique.