Shrek 2 for Game Boy Adv Reviews by Gamers

Shrek on the Game Boy Advance is nothing new. The system's seen three previous games featuring PDI/Dreamworks' ogre of varying quality, from the absolutely abysmal ( Shrek Swamp Kart Speedway) to the surprisingly fun (Shrek: Hassle at the Castle.) Luckily, the GBA rendition of the new theatrical release is tilted on the good side of the scale; in fact, it's the best Shrek game the system's seen so far. The game's skewed young, so the challenge isn't quite there, but it's a satisfyingly lengthy game that owes a lot to The Lost Vikings for its design.

Features

• 25 levels
• Five playable characters
• Cartridge save (Three slots)

Shrek has had quite a beefy videogame career ever since his theatrical debut nearly five years ago. In that time he's been in brawlers, racers, party games and platformers across all sorts of consoles and handhelds. To coincide with the summer Shrek 2 flick, Activision went to its pals at Vicarious Visions to produce an adventure that followed his adventures in the movie. In fact, the Game Boy Advance version mirrors the story so tightly that it even contains a few spoilers for those who might not have seen the film yet. And because the game shipped more than two weeks before the theatrical release, an early purchase may ruin enjoyment of the film. But if you're reading this after May 21st, you're golden.

When the Shrek brand was under the TDK umbrella, the company produced games that featured an oddly deformed art style that didn't exactly fit the direction of the film. For Shrek 2, Vicarious Visions stuck with the style guide of the movie, even going as far as using accurate 3D models for the sprites. The result is an absolutely beautiful Game Boy Advance side-scroller with accurate and faithful animation that pays great tribute to the work that PDI has done with Shrek and its sequel. The game doesn't go overboard with hardware-enhanced visual effects, instead letting the artwork and animation do the talking for the GBA's capabilities. Sure, games like Donkey Kong Country on the Super NES pulled off the same techniques ten years before, but it's great to see development teams pour similar effort in the less-prominent and more supplemental GBA market.

For Shrek 2, Vicarious Visions went with a design that puts many of the film's colorful characters to use. The result is a game that's heavily inspired by Blizzard's classic The Lost Vikings, where players must get through specific platform challenges by utilizing each character's strengths and abilities. Shrek's beefy, so he can carry items that can be stacked elsewhere, or butt-stomp weakened floors. Donkey can leap higher and kick down walls. Later on players will acquire new characters, like swashbuckling Puss In Boots who can cling to walls and grind down banisters, as well as other characters who won't be mentioned here due to the fact that noting them would seriously destroy surprises in the film. Let's just say that their inclusion turns the game from a careful puzzle game to a borderline Castlevania design.

And that's why Shrek 2 is, overall, a successful GBA game; even though its foundation and theme have been lifted out of The Lost Vikings, there's been a lot of creative inclusions to the design to make it more contemporary. For example, players can (and many times, will have to) control multiple characters at the same time by holding the shoulder buttons together. Or, they can acquire special abilities by finding items, like a fairy to help characters float across chasms, or a ghost to sneak by enemies undetected. There are even levels that require a bit of stealth to avoid spotlights beamed along the walls.

The only real drag is the game's difficulty, or lack thereof: there's not many situations where players will be left scratching their heads. Many of the puzzle elements are rather straightforward and obvious, their designs kept simple for the younger crowd. But to finish the game perfectly, there are coins that are tucked away in strategic locations that will take some thought. So, while it's not a tough task to beat the game, it's not a cakewalk to complete it in its entiretly. And even though it's tailored for the young, there are some spots that are a little awkward; since there's no manual control over the camera, some of the levels force players to jump blindly into off-screen locations which can lead to an instant death situation. Luckily there's infinite lives in Shrek 2, but even so, trial-and-error leaps-of-faith are still an unfair design element that should be kept to an absolute minimum.

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