Shrek 2: The Game

Surprise, surprise, surprise.  A licensed game for a movie, aimed predominantly at kids that is actually pretty darn good and even innovative at times.  I didn’t really have too high of hopes for this game, especially in light of so many bad movie to game franchises and the unmitigated disaster that was the first game, but I came away very pleasantly surprised and confident that Activision did right by the license.  Shrek 2 is one of those rare games that should appeal to gamers and fans of the material, no matter their age or experience level.

In Shrek 2 you control Shrek, as well as three predetermined friends from the movie.  The characters that accompany Shrek depend on the level and situation that you are in, but they range from old favorites such as Donkey and the Gingerbread Man to new characters such as Puss in Boots and Lil’ Red (as in Lil’ Red Riding Hood).  As you play you can switch to any of the other three characters on the fly and at will, with each character possessing abilities and attacks unique to them.  One of the most endearing things about this game is that you aren’t tied to any one character, allowing the gamer to predominantly control whichever character they enjoy the most.  The various character’s unique abilities also comes into play as you try to solve the games myriad of puzzles, helping to keep the game fresh and also forcing the gamer to use each character, no matter how briefly that may be.

The gameplay is standard platforming all the way.  You’ll do a fair bit of battling foes, as well as collecting a wide range of collectibles, but thankfully, the fetch quest aspects indigenous to most platformers is kept to a very tolerable minimum.  Whatever characters you aren’t using at any given time, seem to possess some pretty decent AI, which comes in handy in some of the battles because the game does have a knack for sending hordes of enemies at you all at once.  The unused characters fight very aggressively and intelligently, allowing them to more than “pull their own weight”.  Interspersed throughout the game are levels or sequences called “Hero Time”.  In these sequences the focus is entirely on a single character as they traverse a level where their unique abilities are allowed to shine.  For instance, in one “Hero Time” you’ll guide Donkey as he rides atop his “significant other” the Dragon as they try to catch up to Fiona’s coach which has been commandeered by a wicked, witch; while in another you’ll control Shrek as he tries to help the local sheriff by loading up some unruly, fighting locals into the paddy wagon.  The “Hero Time” sequences don’t pop up too often, but they serve their purpose very well by breaking up the platformer sequences with unique styles of gameplay.  In addition to the single player game, you also have the option of playing through the game cooperatively with three other friends.  This is a really nice addition, with each player controlling a specific character.  If you have less than four players playing together, then the characters not being controlled can be switched to at will by the human players.

The graphics this game sports are pretty stellar all the way around.  While not quite on the same level as the movie, they are pretty doggone close, which is an impressive feat indeed.  The environments are vibrant and highly detailed, adding greatly to the sense that you are in fact exploring a “fairy tale” land.  The characters, playable and non-playable alike, are rendered with an obvious amount of tender loving care, as they are spitting images of their silver screen counterparts in both looks and motion.  Really, the only drawback in the graphics department is the bane of all platformers, the blasted camera.  Most of the time you’ll be viewing the gameplay from a very specific perspective, with which you can manipulate somewhat, but hardly ever to the degree you’d like.  It’s not a huge problem, if ever costing you health, but you will find times where you’ll wish you could push it over “just a little bit more”.

The sound department, for the most part, fairs every bit as well as the graphics.  For whatever reason, the developers didn’t use the actual voice talent from the movie, but they’ve hired some very competent replacements.  The voice talent, for the vast majority of the time, is indistinguishable from their movie counterparts, but from time to time, you might find a line or a word that doesn’t sound quite right.  Their lines are delivered with the appropriate inflections and emotions, creating both a believable and enjoyable aural experience.  The music is suitably cheery and fits in perfectly with the environs and subject matter.  The only drawback and it’s kind of big with me simply because it was blown so badly is the voice actor that narrates the storybook pages prior to and after each level.  There is some really witty and funny material that ties in perfectly to the whole Shrek “vibe” that is just completely blown by the actor reading the lines.  His reading of the lines is so robotic and monotone that the jokes written into the storybook pages (which often times only required a minimum of emotion to pull off) comes off grating rather than funny.  With these sections they had such a chance at comedic gold that rivals that of the movie, that it’s a shame that the ball was dropped.  It may not seem like a big gripe, and in the big scheme of things, it really isn’t in an otherwise stellar game, but it is enough that you’ll take notice.

In closing, Shrek 2 is certainly a very pleasant and welcome surprise, a rare licensed game that does justice, and even enhances the source material.  Fans of the movie, both young and old, will really enjoy the game.  It features all of the characters, places, wit, and comedy that make the movies so enjoyable that you just can’t help but to have fun.  If you’re one of the few who’ve had no exposure to the Shrek mythos or someone who just enjoys platformers, give Shrek 2 a try, you likely won’t be disappointed.  If however, you’re not a fan of Shrek (I’ve yet to meet anyone who’s not), then you should probably take a pass.

Gameplay: 8
Standard platforming the vast majority of time, but it’s really well done platforming.  Controlling the big roster of characters and switching among them is a breeze, with each being different from the last.  The “Hero Time” sections are generally a blast to play.

Graphics: 9
The graphics are really great at recreating the look and feel of the movies.  Very well done all the way around, but the camera can be mildly problematic and frustrating.

Sound: 9
The voice talent does a remarkable job of delivering their lines and mimicking the original Hollywood talent.  The only stumble is narrator of the storybook pages.

Difficulty:  Medium
The difficulty of the game ramps up slowly and methodically, for the younger gamer no doubt, but as you play you’ll find enough challenge for the experienced gamer to remain interested.

Concept: 8 
There’s nothing too terribly innovative about a movie tie-in game, but Activision did take the high road by creating something far different than what most would’ve expected.  It would have been pretty easy just to throw together a simple platformer where you controlled Shrek through the same paces we’ve all taken a million other characters through a billion other times.  But they changed things up by having you control a party of four distinctive and more importantly different characters.

Multiplayer: 8

I love co-op play.  There’s just something endearing about playing a game with friends or family where you aren’t trying to kill each other (although, I do like that too), but rather trying to achieve the same, common goal.  About the only problem with the co-op play is that it can make the game much easier if you’re playing with partners who know what they’re doing.

Overall: 8.5
A very fun and enjoyable game for a very fun and enjoyable franchise.  The game does an admirable job of capturing Shrek’s world and its inhabitants, while remaining compelling and interesting.  Fans of the movie will quickly become fans of the game, as will fans of platformers.  It’s well constructed and thought out, while being different enough from most other games of this nature that it deserves to be checked out by everyone.