When it comes to movie based games nobody really expects Shrek to break the mold and be a great movie to video game tie in. So the question is, does Shrek set the bar for future video games based on movies, or is it yet another reason why movies should stay on the big screen and off of the little one?
For anybody who has played the previous Shrek games, you should not be too surprised with the gameplay for Shrek Forever After. Most of the gameplay in Shrek Forever After is consisted of you solving puzzles and defeating enemies. That's about it, gameplay wise. There is nothing in Shrek Forever Afters gameplay that will revolutionize video games in anyway. It's simply far too repetitive, but it's hard for the game to be anything other than that. The one added in gameplay feature that was not in the previous game is the fact that you can interact with the enemies differently. In some levels instead of just simply defeating an enemy you'll have to find creative ways to get around them. An example is if there's an enemy standing in front of a treasure chest, you might have to drop a box on him to acquire that treasure chest. It's just unfortunate that the gameplay is just so close to that of Shrek the Third. When you're in battles you just simply button mash. While it's hard for games like this to be anything other than that, we would have liked for the battles to require some sort of strategy other than just simply spamming a button over and over.
There are a few added in features, but nothing that will make you run out and have to purchase the game. One of those new added features is the ability to play with any of the four characters at any time. So now instead of playing a specific character in each mission, you can now play as Shrek, Fiona, Puss-N-Boots, or Donkey anytime during any of the missions by simply pressing a button. If you look as Shrek as a game that will last you a good while, then you might want to move on to another game. Shrek Forever After is only compiled of 6 missions, with each of those lasting only about 30 minutes or so. If you decide to go after the collectibles you might get 5-6 hours out of the game, but that's at the most. Another feature added is drop in, drop out co-op. At any time during the course of the game you can hit the start button on your second controller and you can have another person join you on your way to defeating Rumplestiltskin. In some levels, there are optional puzzles that require you to use two controllers to complete them. While these are few and far between, they give you the ability to try out the co-op while not having to play the whole game with it.
The story in Shrek Forever After is that of the movie. You start out with Shrek signing over his life to Rumplestiltskin, therefore turning Rumple into the King of Far Far Away and leaving Shrek to what he was before he met Fiona or Donkey. You spend most of the game, 6 missions, trying to find Rumple, but you run across a few of his henchmen along the way. While on your journey to find Rumple you join the Ogre's who are also working to find him and defeat him. The Ogre Camp is where the story is centralized. There is where you purchase upgrades, acquire new special abilities for your character and where a good chunk of the story happens at. But just like any other movie based video games this year, the video games story is nothing compared to that of the movie, which it should not be. Also, unlike Iron Man 2 earlier this month, Shrek Forever After does not stray too far away from the story of the movie. It's in all reality very similar to the movie's story, but with key parts taken out to avoid spoiling the movie for everyone.
Like most family fun games there are collectibles to gather. It seems like game developers throw in collectibles just to add a touch of replay ability to their game. That is no different in Shrek Forever After. There are both secret items and treasure chests to collect here. Most of them, if not all, are easy to find as they don't hide them in obscure places. The secret items can be anything from a stack of pancakes to a wanted poster of Shrek or Fiona. Although the collectibles are not insanely hidden there are quite a few to collect throughout the game. Most levels have somewhere between 5-10 secret items and 15-27 treasure chests you can collect, and yes getting collectibles are optional.
While playing through the game beating enemies and collecting treasure chests you will earn coins. Coins come in bronze, silver and gold. Bronze coins are worth one, silver coins are worth 3, while gold coins are worth 5. So essentially getting one gold coin is equaled to you getting 5 bronze coins. These coins are in turn used to buy upgrades for your characters. After playing a level you then get transported back to the Ogre Camp, which is the central hub of the game. Once back at the Ogre Camp you can buy upgrades from the upgrade shop. There are multiple things for you to upgrade, which also adds a tad bit more replay ability to the game for those completionists out there. You can upgrade your health, and you can upgrade so that when you defeat a certain amount of enemies in a row they drop a powerup, such as a gold coin power up, that will make it so as long as that power up is active you'll only collect gold coins. Another upgrade is a disco ball, after defeating a set number of enemies in a row you pick up a disco ball. Once you have it simply set it on the floor and watch your enemies start dancing to the music. It's something that is enjoyable to watch for the first time. Those and a whole lot more upgrades are at the upgrade shop. All in all, there are around 10-12 upgrades and most of them are not needed to get you through the game, but some of them, like the disco ball, are just fun to grab.
If you were expecting breathtaking visuals from this game, then you will be sorely surprised. Visually, the game is what it should be, not a PS2 looking game, but it certainly does not compare to recent releases like Alan Wake. And let's be honest, it shouldn't. It did not have the time or the budget that most games have. However, we do expect a little more from the Shrek games. The cutscenes look as if they're taken from the movie but the rest of the games visuals are choppy at best. When you come to a cutscene in the game you'll absolutely love the animation as you'll think it's something they cut out of the movie, which is saying something. Although most of the time the cutscenes are just Rumplestiltskin playing with Shrek, Donkey, Fiona, and Puss-N-Boots figurines, the visuals are still ten times better than that of the actual game's visuals. When it comes to the visuals for the rest of the game they're borderline next-gen visuals. The only reason why they get approved as being next-gen visuals is because they're in HD. The animation that was so amazing in the cutscenes is lost in the actual gameplay visuals, which is sorely upsetting. Think of Shrek the Third's visuals with a little update to them, that's what you get with the visuals throughout the rest of the game. The characters look good, bu the same old bland textures and the same old green and brown colors will almost make you feel sick of looking at them.
Now when it comes to the audio, the soundtrack is actually pretty good. Whenever you go into a battle the game will trigger a song from one of the Shrek movies. Most of them, if not all of them, are really fun to listen too, unless it's the fourth battle in a row you've heard the same song, over and over again. The cast that plays the main characters are not that of the movie actors. However, you would not know that by just simply playing the game. The cast of the video game sounds so much like the cast of the movie that you would think Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, and Cameron Diaz did voice their characters in the game. Still, both the audio and visuals in this game are what you would expect from a game like Shrek, not marvelous or amazing by any means, but they both do their job, and in a respectable manner.
All in all when it comes to movie based games, their have been much, much worse than Shrek Forever After. While it's not a GOTY contender or a game that will last you anymore than a few hours, it's still an all around fun family game to play. If you're a parent, then your kid would surely enjoy this game and if you're an achievement lover, you're sure to love it as well. Overall Shrek Forever After doesn't mind blowing impress you, which it shouldn't. It does turn out to be a very well made video game based off of a movie though.
