Shrek and his band of merry misfits have been a staple in Hollywood animation for a few years now. Packed full with more jokes for the parents than the kids the movie pretends to be geared towards, Shrek has become something of a cash cow for Dreamworks Animation Studios. So it should come as no surprise that Dreamworks had a 3rd feature length film based on the loveable orge and everyone's favorite donkey, and even less of a surprise that Shrek the Third is headed to all of the major gaming platforms.

In past years, a multi-platform release really meant a game was ported between the major systems with little to no difference between versions. Today, with consoles like the Wii and the DS and their very unique control options, more developers are actually tailoring multi-platform games to take advantage of these features. Activision has done just that with Shrek The Third.

Before you even consider picking up Shrek The Third on the Wii, though, make sure you have a the Wii Nunchuck Controller; it is required to play this game. If you've already got one - and you should - keep reading.

The storyline of Shrek The Third unfolds just like the movie, so there won't be any surprises here for those who have already seen it. In a nutshell, and I'm going to spoil it all here for you, Fiona's father dies, leaving Shrek to become king. To avoid having to rule the kingdom of Far Far Away, Shrek sets out to find Fiona's cousin, Artie, the only other possible heir to the throne. While on his journey, Prince Charming returns to Far Far Away seeking revenge. As you play through the game, most of the time you will be playing with Shrek, Donkey, and Puss in Boots, but the game switches back to Fiona to advance the plot.

Visually and aurally, the Wii is the weakest of the bunch, but Activision did a solid enough job of utilizing the Wii's power to not stand out as a sore thumb. Animation was good, if a little hazy, and voice acting and other sound effects rounded out a well-polished effort.

As with all Wii titles, the key to a game's success is how well the developer makes use of the Wii Remote and its unique abilities. For Shrek The Third, the control scheme feels very strange at first, but then it becomes like second nature. The game sports a bevy of moves that you can perform as any give character. These moves include the normal attack/punch and a power attack move. Thrown in for good measure is a finishing move that becomes available when you stun an opponent. For the Wii, your normal attack is achieved by shaking or "waggling" the Wii Remote. I hate the word waggle, but I don't know how else to describe the movement. Your power attack uses the Nunchuck in similar fashion although the shaking movement powers it up and it is unleashed when you stop moving the Nunchuck. While it sounds simple enough, it does take a little getting used to. At first, I absolutely couldn't stand it and I was longing for a standard controller. After a few hours I really got used to playing that way and began to quite enjoy myself.

Character movement is done with the d-pad on the Wii Remote or the analog stick on the Nunchuck. I preferred using the analog stick. The aforementioned finishing move is triggered by pressing the C button, which the game reminds you of when the move is available.

Shrek The Third packs in a pretty impressive set of gameplay types and unlockables. The basic story mode is where you will spend most of your time and it is broken up into levels, each of which has a list of quests to complete. These quests range from performing 5 finishing moves to finding a certain number of items littered throughout the level. At level's end, you are rewarded with gold coins for each of the quests you completed. These coins can be used to unlock costumes for the characters, game options to boost your skills, multiplayer levels, and a few other things. If you don't complete all of a level's quests, fear not: you can replay any level you have previously completed.

In addition to the Story Mode, Shrek The Third packs in a few extras in the form of Multiplayer and Minigames. The Multiplayer mode consists of a single game called Castle Capture, where you are pitted in a head to head race to knock down the opposing person's towers with a catapult. Castle Capture, a game where you don't actually capture anything, is actually quite fun and is introduced in the Story Mode of the game. The Minigames that are included are Catacombs Leap, Frog Herder, Ships Ahoy, Shooting Gallery, and Shrekleboard. I quite enjoyed the Shooting Gallery and Ships Ahoy, but the rest were pretty mediocre.

Shrek The Third is a solid action/adventure game that shows Activision's desire to build a unique experience on the Wii. The controls take a little warming up to, but in the end they will have you feeling right at home. Content-wise, Shrek The Third may seem geared towards a younger audience, but the control scheme alone makes it difficult for some younger kids to play. I would suggest evaluating this on a child by child basis before buying it. For the older kids, Shrek is a fun game to play that you will probably tear through in a short time. Being able to replay levels is a good feature, but ultimately you won't feel like you need/want to. For this reason, Shrek The Third is strictly a rental. Despite the extra features, there isn't enough to justify adding this to your collection (unless you are a huge Shrek fan, then it might slide up to being a bargain bin purchase).

Jul 6, 2007 | 0 comments
Chris Rasco