Shrek 2 Review (no fat)

Game Description

After a disastrous first installment the Shrek series is back to the video gaming world with their latest sequel; Shrek 2. After the result of the original, it seems that the developers really dedicated themselves to this game. Aimed for the younger players this installment really surprises in comparison to its predecessor.

Everyone’s favorite ogre couple is back in Shrek 2 and this time they are happily married. Shrek thinks that they will finally be in peace until one day when their blissful life is disturbed by an invitation from the king and queen of the kingdom of Far Far Away (Fiona’s parents). Once they arrive in Far Far Away they are greeted by Fiona’s parents who seem very happy to see her. The only problem is that Fiona’s father isn’t very pleased to see Shrek. The game follows the basic plot of the movie although there is a lot of diversity in the missions of the game.

Shrek 2 Gameplay

The gameplay is a lot better than the last release and even though it is aimed for the younger gamers, a lot of the older gamers are going to be satisfied. Although the gameplay doesn’t have much depth the game is fun to play. You’ll have a choice of 10 characters of which will be the main characters; Shrek, Fiona, Puss in boots, Donkey and other including the Gingerbread Man, Li’l red and the Big Bad Wolf. During the regular game missions you get the choice of taking four characters into any level. You may want to keep Shrek, Donkey and Fiona as your main characters, during most of the levels and, and chose another secondary character along with them. Your decision is very important as every character has its own special abilities, for example, Shrek is the strongest and can be used to activate large switches, puss is the only one that can walk on wires and etc. Once you’re in a level then you can switch to any one of the four characters that you have chosen. Your choice of characters depends solely on the situation in the game.

The other reason for being four characters in one level is that three of your friends can join in or leave at any time. This multiplayer mode turns out to be extraordinary as the three characters are not just watching the game character they are doing something. Once the users on the other three characters leave they go back to watching the game as spectators. It can turn into a four player game when your friends want to play and once the other users leave it goes back to being a one player game.

The game consists of a lot of missions from the Disney fairy tales like taking care of the Pied Piper’s rat infestation of the town and many other such puzzles. Gameplay is the core of Shrek 2 and it is definitely worth any gamer’s time. This is where Shrek 2 makes its own plot and makes a difference from the story of the movie. When you aren’t playing the minigame type missions you have a lot of enemies and obstacles in order to complete the level but with the four characters to choose from it is fun and challenging. There are also the hero time minigames in which you can play with only one character and it’s that characters hero time meaning that the character is the main character for that part of that game (examples of this hero time mode is when donkey is riding on Dragon trying his best to follow Fiona through the dark forest).

Shrek 2 Graphics

The graphics of Shrek 2 are good with the emphasis on the extraordinary character models. A lot of the environments have been taken from the movie and are very colorful and beautiful. The environments are from various fairy tales and the game looks as if it’s a completely different world. Although sometimes the surface of the water comes out muddy the graphics are good. The main problem with the games graphics is the camera which at times can get in awkward positions that can make it almost impossible to get a good view of the action.

Shrek 2 Sound

The sound is amazing. The original characters are not providing their voices for the characters so some may be disappointed. The voiceovers are great and sound like the real characters from the movie (especially Donkey), but when you get near the end of the game you start to notice that the characters might be different. The other sound effects are also great and mesh well with the gameplay. The music tracks are from the movie and are fairly decent. The sound can be supported by Dolby Pro Logic 2.

Shrek 2 Summary

A big improvement after the first installment, Shrek 2 is a game for all ages. There is a lot of fun gameplay featuring stories from famous fairy tales in the fairy tale world of Far Far away. The graphics are great as the character models look just like they were taken form the movie and paced in the game. Shrek 2 is definitely worth the buy and it would be fun for most gamers in their lower teens with lots of replay value coming from the choice of characters and the different types of gameplay.

Shrek 2 Cost

The game currently retails for $ 19.95.