Planet 51: The Game is an action driving game, with some sandbox play, that can be described as Grand Theft Auto for kids. It is based on the animated movie with the same name. You will play as Lem (the young green alien), Charles 'Chuck' Baker (the stranded astronaut) or R.O.V.E.R. (the mechanical probe), in their joint effort to help the astronaut in getting back to the Earth.

The game has three acts, divided in 40 missions. You'll have to race, crash the cars, escape from the villains, find hidden rocks, transport goods, mow the lawn, etc. Throughout the course of the game, you can unlock rewards and gain achievements by completing missions in a set amount of time or without breaking the car, finding all the secret comic pages, performing jumps through billboards, etc.

The game supports multiplayer action in crashing cars and races, for 2 to 4 players, depending on the platform.