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| by John Mundazio with additional editing by Beth E. Cochran | ||
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Activision's
'Shrek
The Third™'—
Chock Full of Fun!
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| by John Mundazio with additional editing by Beth E. Cochran | ||
|
Activision's
'Shrek
The Third™'—
Chock Full of Fun!
|
||
|
|
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Sometimes,
I just can't help but go into a game with certain expectations. If
I'm getting ready to play a Final Fantasy game, I tend to expect a long,
deeply moving story starring a whiny teenage protagonist. If I'm playing
an FPS, I expect plenty of gun battles and linear levels. And if I'm
playing a movie-based game, I expect a product that does NOT feel rushed
and half-finished by a company trying to cash in on box office receipts.
Fortunately, the Xbox 360 Shrek the Third game fulfills all of my
expectations for movie tie-ins. I love it! The game begins with the
death of the King of the country of Far, Far Away. With his final
breath, the king names Shrek the heir to the throne, much to the
annoyance of the ogre, who just wants to be left alone. After pressing
for more information, Shrek learns that the king has a son, who would be
the heir to the throne, if he weren't away at boarding school. Shrek
leaves on a quest to find Arthur and bring him back to Far, Far Away,
but all is not well, for Prince Charming has hatched an evil plan to
steal the throne while Shrek is away. Following the primary events of
the film– you play as Shrek, Donkey, Puss in Boots, Arthur, Fiona, and
Sleeping Beauty through a game that will most likely appeal to the age 6
to 11 demographic, though the lower age range might be a tad bit
frustrated by the boss fights and some of the jumping challenges where
you’re never quite sure if you’re going to hit the next platform. "Dad
can you do this part for me?" 
The
higher age range should have no problems perfecting their
combat skills with two button combos and the occasional fairy
dust-powered special move. Otherwise, you can simply hammer down on the
X-button and have a ball with your little ones. And the best part is
that your kids will be able to play through most of the game but will
still require your involvement to overcome some obstacles. Shrek the
Third boasts a single-player campaign that takes about four hours to
beat. There are also a few cool unlockables and numerous goals to
provide quite a bit of replay value. The title boasts six bonus
mini-games, some of which you can play with two people. They range from
the "Castle Attack" mentioned above to a Frogger-style challenge, in
which you move your characters from one end of a catacomb to another,
dodging all sorts of obstacles and moving platforms. All of the
mini-games are thoroughly enjoyable, and some of them even provide a
more rewarding experience than the campaign. It's nice to see a little
bit of effort on the part of the developer to create some enjoyable
little things to do after you've beaten the primary campaign. For this
and numerous additional reasons {like we adore Shrek and his pals} we
are giving this game the holiday gorilla thumb up as well as an Editor's
Choice Award! UB
