Shrek 2
Published by: TheModGod on 2004-05-14
Page Views: 3333
Rating: 7/10
Developer Luxoflux is pulling an interesting 180 with this one. Since the company's last outing, True Crime, we've gone from adults-only killfest to kid-friendly action; from the concrete LA jungle to the la-la footpaths of Shrek 2's fantasy forests. While Shrek 2 is decidedly a "kid game," rest assured that you needn't worry yourself with memories of that last awful Shrek title. If Shrek were here, he'd likely call this one a different kind of beastie.
Picking up not long after the original movie leaves off, the game sees our band of sorta-kinda heroes off on the road to -- believe it or not -- squad-based combat adventure. Initially, the adventure party consists of newlyweds Shrek and Fiona, plus Donkey and the Gingerbread Man (who is now surprisingly useful, verging on badass). But throughout the game there is a sort of "troop rotation" which enlists the services of other characters from the fairy tale ranks, including tight-rope walking Puss in Boots, rotten apple-chucking Lil' Red, a dust-sprinkling Fairy, and the huffing, puffing Big Bad Wolf.
Most of the time, Shrek 2 is a straight-up squad-based action game. The player directly controls one character at a time, with the other three slaving to him/her and continuing to do their own jobs and conduct their own attacks. Players can freely switch between characters with a pull of either shoulder control. It's necessary to often switch because each character has unique, and in some cases, crucial abilities.
Shrek alone has the strength to pick up, carry, and throw certain objects (such as crates on which to stand or barrels of explosives), and also has a very useful body-slam attack that stuns groups of enemies. Puss in Boots, who only joins the party after an extended rhythm-based challenge, has the ability to effortlessly walk tightropes, which cross destroyed bridges and otherwise bisected levels.
Lil' Red is the gas-grenadier of the group, able to throw rotten apples that detonate with noxious clouds and affect large groups of enemies. And The Gingerbread Man -- or should we call him the Ninjabread Man? -- is an effective jumper, and can throw candy-canes that strike multiple targets with a shuriken/boomerang attack. He can also lure foes out into the open with an enticing bit of cookie bait. All of these special abilities are in addition to basic three-combo ground attacks of varying effectiveness.
Before long, the environments encourage the cooperation of multiple characters. Teeter-totters, for example, require two participating characters to operate -- a heavy lump like Shrek would jump on one end, allowing a lighter and more agile character to fly into the air, collect coins, or access out-of-reach platforms. The multi-character system works admirably well in the single-player game, especially since the AI for all current non-player characters is reliable.
Better still, Shrek 2 can become a multiplayer game -- or stop being one -- at any time, thanks to a dynamic add and remove scheme. If the Xbox senses another active controller, it inserts another active player, just like that. Should a fellow gamer suddenly have to rush home, their character reverts to AI control.
The primary style of gameplay is interspersed with occasional "hero time" moments. These are breakaway minigames that feature one or two characters. One involves Fiona's duet with some unfortunate, sonically vulnerable songbirds, and another is a follow-cam, Star Wars-style "trench run" with Donkey riding the Dragon.
Sadly, there are some downsides to Shrek 2. One of the biggies concerns the camera, which varies from unchangeable follow-cam to semi-controllable. It behaves itself in certain restricted segments, but it's downright frustrating in the controllable sections. The player's ability to swing the camera almost-but-not-quite freely makes for awkward moments. Ditto for the zoom in and out feature, which causes problems for spotting free-floating pickups. Also, character voices are impersonations, though only the fanboys are likely to note the difference.
What casual fans of the movie will notice is the change in humor... and not for the better. Yes, it's spun as a kid-friendly game, but apparently somebody in focus-group studies hasn't hung out with bright kids lately. Part of the all-ages charm of the original movie was that the humor had something for everyone, even adults, but it's slid down a few notches here. Some of the ostensibly funny dialogue is just plain weak, even on a kiddie-humor level. Also, early stages of the game offer up unimaginative, "filler" game mechanics, even by tutorial standards. Thankfully, the challenges liven up three or four stages in.
Shrek 2 is a solid game that leans towards the easy side. The only real flaws are an iffy camera and iffier reading of its potential audience. It's still the best interactive thing to happen to the Shrek universe thus far. Hardcore fans, as well as those who want to share game time with younger players, will find a wee bout of challenge and some visually faithful fun here. That'll do, Donkey... that'll do.
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