PlayStation 2

Shrek 2

There are some things in the video game world that will never change. For most every giant movie release, there's going to be a video game based on it. And as much as you think you can stop it, you can't. In fact, some games come out before or on the same day as the movie release. But the downside with movie-to-game translations is that they generally don't work. I can only think of one or two that I actually liked; such as Enter The Matrix. But otherwise they always seem to fall short. But in comes, one company, and the only giant green orge I've ever seen with a Scottish accent to try and change that perception.

Not having yet seen the movie, and trying to stay away from any real plot spoilers, I’m not quite sure how closely the Shrek 2 game follow the events in the upcoming Shrek 2 film. That said, the game does appear to be based on events in the film, with characters ranging from Puss In Boots to The Gingerbread Man appearing to lend Shrek, Donkey and Fiona a hand.

From the start of the game, Shrek 2 surprised me. It begins with one of the most unique character setups I have ever seen. Then, only a few minutes later, I find myself bursting with laughter at the game's hilarious dialogue. If those voice-overs didn't come direct from the film, they found excellent Mike Myers, Eddie Murphey and Cameron Diaz impersonators. And to top it off, the graphics are bright, colorful, and nicely match the film's fairytale atmosphere.

Nach dem durchschlagenden Erfolg von Shrek an der Kinokasse war es natürlich nur noch eine Frage der Zeit bis auch der zweite Teil die Leute wieder scharenweise in die Kinos locken wird. Anders sah es bei der Versoftung des ersten Shrek Abenteuers aus. Damals noch als Xbox exklusiv vermarktet, sorgte der Oger eher für lange Gesichter als klingelnde Kassen Doch damit soll jetzt Schluss sein. Zeitgleich mit dem Start des zweiten Kinoabenteuers kommt auch das passende Spiel in den Handel. Und wir bei Gamers.at haben uns dazu die Playstation2 Version mal etwas näher angesehen.

I'll admit it. Shrek 2 surprised me. I was expecting yet another derivative title of questionable quality. On the contrary, the green ogre delivers with an entirely solid gaming experience.

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.

Overall this game is actually well done and can be considered pretty fun, aside from the repetition, especially if you can find friends to play with, but it is also not aimed at the older audiences. The game is deemed fit for teens or younger. If you like the movie you may also like the game, but as for me I will probably go find a more mature game to play. For you parents out their looking for a game to get your young kid, this can be a great family game, but don’t take my word for it. Try it out for yourself and decide.

Another Shrek game -- the mere idea of it may already be sending shivers down your spine. It's actually amazing that someone is willing to make a Shrek game after the catastrophe that was Shrek Extra Large. However, Activision, with the help of the True Crime: Streets of L.A. team (Luxoflux), has decided to take on this rather large and green challenge. Has Shrek regained his video game honor? Read on.

The video game tie-in has basically become a standard part of your average summer family movie package, alongside the plush toys and the backpacks and all the other marketing flotsam. So, it's no surprise that Activision has released a Shrek 2 video game just weeks before the film opens. What is surprising, considering the bottom-of-the-barrel level of quality you usually get from kid-friendly licensed games, is that it's actually pretty good. Hot off of True Crime: Streets of LA, Shrek 2 seems like an extreme shifting of gears for developer Luxoflux, but to its credit, the game comes together fairly well. However, the older kids who found some chuckles in the adult-aimed nudge-and-winks found in the original Shrek movie probably aren't going to find anything too compelling here.

Si ce Shrek 2 est sans aucun doute la meilleure adaptation de la licence à ce jour, avec son gameplay rigolo, surtout en multi, il n'en demeure pas moins trop limité sur la longueur et surtout, agaçant par ses problèmes de jouabilité.

Graphically, Shrek 2 is easy on the eyes, and animations are especially good. The collecting is a pain, the CPU-controlled characters' path-finding AI is primitive, and the camera has a habit of zooming too far back, but the biggest problem is that it's just very simple and easy - probably a side effect of being made for a broad audience.

I can recommend Shrek 2 enthusiastically to kids and novice gamers, and marginally to all other fans of the movie. But to true action game aficionados, the game will surely be too simplistic to be sufficiently rewarding or compelling. These gamers should look elsewhere.

An entire cast of characters is playable, and you'll always have four on the screen at any given moment, with one exception: "Hero Time." These events (there's usually one per level) use the special skills given to each playable character and place them in a short mini-game by themselves. For example, Puss In Boots can walk on tightropes, so his Hero Time is a small level with lots of that action. Lil' Red can throw apples, a requirement of her mini-game. Most of these games are fairly simple and can be beaten on the first try, so long as you're familiar with the standard conventions of platform games.

When all is said and done, Shrek 2 is a better game than it could have been and is at least recommendable for young children, particularly the Xbox and Gamecube versions since they feature better graphics and built-in four-player support. Though the objectives are overly simple and quite repetitive, the game is well programmed with decent graphics and a solid pace, and the cooperative aspect should make for many lively slumber parties. Just don’t expect it to keep the grown-up ogres entertained for long.