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SHREK THE THIRD XBOX 360 REVIEW |
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Shrek games
have made a reputation for delivering a festive
experience for the young audience. In the case
of Shrek the Third, it certainly has maintained
that image. Kids ages 8-12 will not be
disappointed when they see their favorite
characters are here intact. At Inside Hotwire
3D, we are always kid at heart, and to see this
game made it on the next generation console has
made our day. It’s hard to find a game that
allows parents to spend time with their kids and
above all something that both age groups can
enjoy. Shrek the Third does that with its corky
mini-games, but this experience is dampened by
lack of multiplayer variants. Needless to say,
the single-player mode should keep kids engaged
intellectually and entertained for hours.
Shrek the Third continuous the tradition of
button-mashing frenzy--that is heavy on
collecting items, light on puzzle-solving, and
some platforming. The theme is set in medieval
times polished with fairytale backgrounds. The
story revolves around Shrek tracking down an
heir to the throne while Prince Charming brings
about a coup d’etat. The story is narrated in a
puppet show form and it’s very interesting to
see how these sequences play out. You’ll play
alternatively as Shrek, Donkey, Puss in Boots,
and Fiona at various stages of the game. In
addition to having unique skills for each
character, everyone will have a hidden power.
When activated it puts you in bullet time,
allowing you to clobber enemies with minimal
effort. |
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PRODUCT
OVERALL RATING: 8.0 OUT OF 10 |
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Aside from
traditional arcade combat, Shrek provides an
occasional puzzle solving element. They usually
involve patterns identification, which kids
shouldn’t have a problem working it out. There
are some platform sequences that require you to
jump on different ledges. They are a bit tricky
due to the fixed camera angles. The camera
doesn’t quite adjust to the platform you’re
jumping on. Therefore, you tend to fall off a
lot. The best part of Shrek the Third lies in
its two-player mini-games. You have a couple of
shooting variants: one of which includes using
canon as a weapon to demolish incoming pirate
ships at the beach. The other has you shooting
tomatoes at different pop-ups on the screen. You
also have a shuffleboard game, where you slide a
puck to obtain the best score, and a funny
frog-herding mini-game.
Graphically, the game is not as brilliant as we
would have imagined it to be but considering
this is just a kid’s game, it’s not too bad. The
character models are very much in sync with the
film. The animation is amazing and the frame
rate is extremely smooth. The console that
produces the best presentation is the Xbox 360.
The Wii version comes in second with some fairly
decent textures and good lighting effects. The
PS2 version looks nice, too! However, due to
hardware restraint to process information, some
of the visual effects are missing. The sound
effects are a little muffled but they do their
job. You’ll hear the landing of kicks and
punches right on cue. The music is okay for the
most part and fits the theme well. The
voice-over work is the highlight of the sound
department as actors did an incredible job
reprising their roles.
Overall, Shrek the Third is a really fun family
game. The gameplay is very simple and anybody
can pitch in simultaneously thanks to the
incredibly easy controls. Though the camera can
be problematic at times, the impressive
animation compensates for that. Most of the
excitement comes from the game's two-player
variants. While Shrek the Third is years from
reaching a Mario-party phenomenon, the game will
still keep kids entertained for awhile. Choose
the version for Xbox 360 if you want a
higher-quality presentation. For a more engaging
gameplay, pick the Wii version. Keep in mind,
this title has been released for a much younger
crowd. So, if you're expecting a grueling action
adventure, you’d be very disappointed.
Regardless of what version of the game you pick,
Shrek the Third is a good family title that
shouldn’t be missed. |
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