Shrek the T**d (Shrek The Third (Xbox))

Member Name: samueltyler

Product:	Shrek The Third (Xbox)
Date:	13/06/08 (70 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Nice for the kidz perhaps?

Disadvantages: Poor graphics, sound and level design

The summer can feel pretty long to me. I always seem to have saved up a lot of holiday by this time and have to use it or lose it. I imagine that most people would love this and take their loved ones on a holiday; however, on my budget a holiday normally means some hardcore sitting and playing games. As a treat I normally pop into Blockbusters and rent 2 or 3 budget games for a week. Unfortunately, this means that I often end up playing movie tie in games that turn out to be a bit rubbish. On occasion I come across a hidden gem, but in most cases I am as disappointed as I was in 'Shrek the Third'.

Gameplay

It seems that the kid's film tie in game is the last bastion of hope for the generic platformer game this generation. Like countless Pixar and DreamWorks' games before it 'Shrek the Third' takes the form of a platformer. Throughout the game you get to play mostly as Shrek, but you also get to inhabit many other characters including Puss, Fiona, Donkey and Sleeping Beauty. Unlike games such as 'Ratatouille' or 'Meet the Robinsons', 'Shrek 3' has avoided trying to go down a modern open 3D environment route and instead stuck to old school linear play. Therefore, the game plays a little like a poor man's 'Crash Bandicoot'.

The essence of how good a platformer is all about how it feels. Unfortunately, this game is a little too floaty and you often find yourself missing a jump due to poor programming rather than bad skill. The biggest issue is that the gameplay is not interesting enough to keep you entertained for more than a couple of hours. The countless number of items that can be picked up is an old school idea now. It is this feeling of being outdated that limits 'Shrek the Third'. (2 out of 5)


Characters/Story

The plot of the game parallels the film and you recreate in levels what you saw. There are a couple of additional parts, but mostly you are either in Far Far Away of Artie's School. Kids in particular will be happy to play as their much loved friends, but there is little in the way of dialogue to make them interesting. Personally I felt it was a poor use of a potentially good IP. (2 out of 5)


Longevity

This is one area that may admittedly split the player base as the game is actually pretty lengthy if you are aiming to fully complete it. My initial playthru was about 6 hours and that included all the levels at a fair pace. However, even after completing the final boss there were many collectables that I had missed. I imagine that for an adult this one experience would be enough, but children may get further enjoyment from going back to older levels and collecting every last piece of junk. These collections link into the achievements as well so people looking to gain all these will have to play the game at least a few times. (3 out of 5)


Graphics

Imagine if a game fell out of the ugly tree and had the unfortunate luck of hitting almost every branch on the way down. 'Shrek the Third' could be this game. The levels are very bland, but at least acceptable. Many of the textures are flat and the objects look like they are floating on the floor. However, it is the character models that are a shame as they do not live up to the films by any stretch of the imagination. I would have hoped that Activision would have spent the most time getting these right, but it seems they did the least they could and felt that was enough. (2 out of 5)


Level Design

With their linear point A to point B paths there is no other way to describe the levels in this game as bland. There are no branching paths, no hidden areas like in 'Lego Indian Jones'. Admittedly they do the job, but I have not played something like this since the late 90s. (2 out of 5)


Sound

I have described to you the below par graphics, level design and gameplay, but despite their flaws these areas just about worked. It is the sound that really spoils the game. It is important imo in a game based on an animation to try and get the real voice actors. Activision did not do this and across the board the voice acting is abysmal, Shrek and Donkey in particular sound poor enough that even small children will realise that something is not quite right. With a repetitive piece of music to add to this the sound is not good. (1 out of 5)


Summary

'Shrek the Third' is not a good game. However, it was not bad enough for me not to complete it. Eventually I decided that it was unambitious and ugly, to the extent that it felt like a game from the last generation. I can imagine that some younger children will enjoy recreating some of the action from the film, but my advice would be to purchase one of the far superior Lego games instead. (2 out of 5)


Maker: Activision RRP £50
Amazon uk £13.96

Summary: A below average platformer