Let`s leave the real world behind for a moment, close your eyes and enter the realm of fairy tales. Ready? Off we go to the land of ogres, talking donkeys and gingerbread men.
You guessed it. I am talking about everyone`s favourite green ogre, Shrek. And what would a great movie be without a great game to go with it? Welcome to Shrek 2 on the PlayStation 2.
The game follows the plot of the movie, with Shrek and Fiona receiving word that Fiona`s parents are holding a ball in Far Far Away land celebrating their daughter`s freedom. Gamers can control four of Shrek, Fiona, Donkey, the Gingerbread Man, Puss in Boots, Little Red Riding Hood, Drag, The Big Bad Wolf and Fairy at a time.
Controls are pretty basic and nearly identical for each character. When the game begins, only Shrek, Fiona, Donkey and Gingerbread Man are available. As you progress through the game, you will gain access to the other characters as well as their special abilities.
The game will decide which of the four characters will be needed to complete a level, so you need not worry about choosing the wrong characters. Each character`s special ability matches a specific puzzle they must complete.
Mechanical gates will require you to find a missing gear with Shrek`s face on it and set it in the correct place with the ogre`s lifting power. Gates with a horseshoe on them will need your courageous steed Donkey to break through them with his burrow kick.
The unique thing about Shrek 2 is that the characters need to work together to complete mission objectives and move to the next level. If you have access to a Multi-tap, three of your friends could join in on the action.
Like Spyro the Dragon, Shrek 2 offers random mini-missions to complete while you fulfil the duties of the main mission, be it collecting eyeballs, throwing chickens into pots, freeing gnomes from cages, collecting coins or one of the many others.
You will also get parts in the game that will require the four characters to battle some opponents. Once certain objectives are finished you will obtain snapshots and auto-save checkpoints. Your progress will be placed in a storybook of sorts for easy reference when needed.
Graphically, Shrek 2 is pleasing to the eye and there is a lot more detail here than one would expect from a movie rendition. The only thing I found annoying was when the camera view struggled to rotate at some points when using the right analogue stick.
This was especially frustrating when trying to get a better view behind a hill to see if there are any hidden coins there. But as a whole, the character modelling is solid and it has been put together quite well.
The voice actors have also done an outstanding job of imitating the original characters, so it really does give you the feeling of actually being in the movie, but unlike the movie, this game is one that will be enjoyed by kids, although adults will get bored with it quickly.
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