For years movies that have been turned into games have been the bottom of the barrel type of game.  The games rarely had anything to do with the actual movie and gameplay was practically non-existent.  However over the past couple of years there has been a renaissance in games based on movies.  While most of the games haven’t been considered “AAA” titles, some of them have surprised us with tight gameplay, great graphics and story lines following the movies.  Now it’s not uncommon to have a game released on the day a movie is released or even a few days before the movie is released just to try and cash in on the movie’s appeal.  Shrek 2, the game, is the latest attempt to appeal to the casual gamer that enjoyed the movie.  But this game isn’t full of ogre-sized gameplay and laughs; instead it’s a decent, under whelming game that will appeal to casual gamers.

In case you haven’t seen the movie yet, Shrek 2 is based upon Shrek and Fiona’s visit to Far Far Away land to visit Fiona’s parents, the King and Queen of Far Far Away land.  However Fiona’s parents believe that her ogreish curse has been lifted because she found her happily ever after, Shrek.  However, the King and Queen have no idea that Shrek is an ogre and Fiona is forever an ogre as well when they send an invitation for Fiona and Shrek to visit Far Far Away land for the grand royal ball.  Shrek isn’t too keen on the idea of visiting Far Far Away land and Fiona’s parents.  Shrek, Fiona and Donkey decide to visit Far Far Away land and soon their journey (and the game) begins.

Shrek 2 is a platform game where you can control Shrek or several different characters in the game.  The characters range from Shrek, Donkey, Puss in Boots and Giant Gingerbread Man.  Similar to other platform games you’ll run around, pick up coins, fight off the bad guys, jump to different areas and then fight a boss (or mini boss) at the end of the stage.  Most of the stages are based on the movie, but with some areas that were not included in the movie.  For example one area has you playing through a mineshaft, which is an area that I don’t remember being in the movie.  During each stage you will collect coins that you can spend on purchasing power-ups, and solve puzzles that are scattered throughout the stage.  It’s a platform game that will probably remind you of the movie but leave you wondering why you’re jumping around all over the place.

One of the reasons the two Shrek movies have been so good is the voice acting of Mike Myers and Eddie Murphy.  Unfortunately both of them are absent from their voice acting responsibilities in this game.  The actors that perform the voices in the game do a commendable job and sound very similar to Myers and Murphy but it just isn’t the same.  Another reason, at least I felt, for the movies being so funny is the fact the writing was always top notch.  There are always so many references and sayings mentioned in the movie that both adults and children could enjoy.  The developers tried to include the same cutting edge writing but it just seems to fall flat in the game.

Shrek 2 for PC isn’t really a bad game, but it’s a game that doesn’t live up to the movies.  Children will enjoy the game much more than adults will, which is probably enough to justify the purchase for the adults.  The gameplay is simple, standard fare that everyone should be familiar with; you collect coins, beat up the bad guys, destroy the boss, and then move on to the next stage.  Shrek 2 is a mildly amusing and entertaining game that will provide a few laughs and a few screams of frustration.

Gameplay 6.2 

It’s a platform game, so immediately most people will probably think of Mario.  Instead of controlling Mario, now you control Shrek or one of the other characters mentioned earlier.  You run around, collect coins, beat up the bad-guys, spend your money on power ups and then beat the boss.  The power-up aspect of the game is similar to what you see in the movie, the Fairy GodMother drive thru.   Through out the game you will run across drive-thru menus that sell power-ups and potions that you can use.  You probably won’t need to purchase a power up since most of the enemies are easy to destroy.  All of these are usually essential elements to a good platform game.  The controls are laid out similar to other platform games on PC.  You can control the character by either the W,A,S,D keys or the arrow keys on the keyboard.  The jump and punch commands can either be used with the Enter or Ctrl keys on the keyboard or the right and left button on the mouse. 

But since the move to 3D gaming a big issue with platform games has been the camera angle.  If you can’t see what to do, then how can you play the game?  Well this is a problem with Shrek 2, since the game is played out in a 3^rd person perspective.  You can control the camera by moving the mouse but sometimes the game will move the camera automatically.  It was always difficult looking above or below you while playing the game.  Several times the camera would shift to what appeared to be a first person perspective and I had no idea where I my character was located.  The characters themselves controlled well, but there were still some problems while jumping and fighting.  Sometimes while fighting the enemies would get stuck and no matter how many times I tried punching them I was never able to hit them.  Other times while jumping I would miss a ledge but the character would automatically start pulling up on an invisible block.  It just seemed that the game would decide for you if you hit an enemy or if you can make a jump.  This added to the frustration level of the game.

Graphics 6.0 

The graphics will probably be a sore spot for most gamers since most of the characters just didn’t look like they did in the movie.  At first I couldn’t tell if I was really looking at Donkey or another character within the game.  Shrek, for the most part, looked similar to what he does in the movie.  However the game just doesn’t have the same polished look as the movie.  Even the colors for the characters just didn’t look right and the majority of the character textures were bland.  The good parts of the graphics were the enemies and frame rate.  While most of the enemies you encountered during a stage looked the same, they looked good and animated nicely.  The frame rate was also very steady with most of the action coming across smooth.  But there would be an occasional glitch in the frame rate that would cause a problem, especially with the camera angle.  The graphics for the different stages and areas were nicely done as well, but nothing that will blow you away.  In fact I would like to mention that I believe the developers have a solid game engine built with the game; it can probably use a little more fine-tuning.

Sound 6.0 

The voice acting is the biggest issue in the sound department since it’s not the same actors from the movie.  The actors that voice the characters all sound very similar to the movie actors, but they don’t have the material to work with as the real actors did.  The characters will usually repeat the same phrases over and over again, but fortunately they did seem to use a different saying for each level.  For example, Shrek wouldn’t say the same when he was fighting a rat as he would fighting a bat.  The sound effects for the action during the game were all similar to each other.  When Shrek was punching someone it sounded the same as when Donkey was kicking an enemy.  The sound effects and voice acting would usually out drown the music during the game.  I commend the voice actors in the game for trying but sometimes it’s hard to compete with a classic team like Myers and Murphy.

Difficulty Easy/Medium 

Most players shouldn’t have a problem getting through the game in less than 20 hours, with most players getting through the game in 10 to 12 hours.  The hardest part of the game was the camera angle and making some delicate jumps.  When the camera angle would move to an area that obstructed your view it was more frustration then difficulty.  But completing some of the jumps in the game will cause a problem.  You have a double jump that you can perform by pressing the jump button again while at the peak of your jump.  But sometimes a platform that looks to be too far away, isn’t that far at all and you will jump over it with the double jump.  But then the opposite was true where you had platforms that appeared to be close to you but you miss them with a regular jump.  Most of the puzzles and enemies in the game were very easy.

Concept 5.5 

Let’s clear the air on one thing, this isn’t the same Shrek 2 game as the console version.  The console version allowed you to play as up to four different characters at one time, which is an interesting idea.  But the PC version of Shrek 2 is a single player, 3D-platform game.  You can only play as one character at a time during the game.  So one level will have you playing as Shrek, while another level has you playing as Puss in Boots.  As I’ve mentioned earlier you run around, collect coins, beat up the enemy and purchase power-ups.  For fans of the movie, you will recognize the different areas and characters in the game.  But some of the levels and characters in the game were not in the movie and will probably leave the younger crowd scratching their head. 

Overall 5.9 

In the end, Shrek 2 for PC isn’t a bad game; it’s just a game that doesn’t overwhelm.  It’s based on the tried and true platform game principle but with a few wrinkles still left in.  The camera angle, repetitive gameplay and voice acting will have you reaching for the escape key.  However the decent graphics, amusing story line, and easy to use control setup will have younger gamers hooked right away.  Probably the biggest issue with the game, since it’s a multi-platform release is the fact that this game isn’t the same one as the console versions.  All of the commercials and ads I see for the game show the console version and mention nothing of the fact that the PC version is a completely different game.  But it’s a game that provides enough humor and value for the casual gamer to justify the purchase.