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Intro Shrek was a surprise smash that featured Mike Myers as a lovable ogre and one-time funny-man Eddie Murphy as his donkey side-kick as they went on a voyage to save Princess Fiona, voiced by Cameron Diaz. While the movie was a warm-hearted comedy that was enjoyable to both kids and adults, the Xbox title released afterwards didn't live up to the movie's high values of both quality and comedy. Revamped for the GameCube, Shrek emerges yet again in Extra Large, and like its Xbox predecessor, it's a poor offering that will appeal only to the most forgiving gamer. Gameplay: 3/10 As Shrek, gamers will have a world map to navigate as they make their way to various locations in their task of accomplishing fifty goals. Each world has a set number that can be achieved, and levels can be exited and visited later at the player's whim. This sort of freedom is welcome and it's a shame more titles don't allow for it; there really is nothing worse than being stuck on a difficult part and having the game deadlocked as there is no way to skip past it to finish off other tasks and return to the troublesome spot later. With the powers of kicking, belching, farting, and punching, Shrek can also light his gas on fire for some explosive results. The powers fit in well with his movie persona and are sure to give a chuckle to the younger gamers out there. The levels, for the most part, also fit into the fairytale mythos so prevalent in the movie. A few worlds had some liberties taken in their creation, but it's understandable and they fit in well. The problem really comes from their design. In short: the levels are just poorly designed. There really isn't any other way to put it. Objectives will be stated, but the instructions on how to accomplish them are vague, and the levels have so many different platforms and ledges with such an incoherent design that a good deal of time will be wasted going up platforms that lead to nowhere. If there is a specific object to push, it easily gets lost by being either too small or just blending in with the environment; the same for passageways. The camera angle is also a problem as it doesn't allow complete freedom and will get stuck showing the action at a poor angle. The option to look up or down is also severely hampered; it seems as though the camera will move, but nothing more than what is already seen will be revealed, and considering how heavy the game is on jumping puzzles, that becomes a serious problem. Shrek also controls very loosely and mixing that in with a rigid and limited camera angle is a poor combination. The problems are aggravating for regular players, and the younger gamers will definitely be turned off and discouraged by the confusing levels and lack of clear instruction. The
strongest point to Extra Large is that the comedy from the movie is there,
as slapsick happens throughout the levels themselves and also during the spoken
cutscenes that progress the story and explain levels. The look of the game is
on par as well, but everything is executed so poorly that it just wasn't an enjoyable
title. Graphics: 3/10 There's
no doubt that the overall look and design is befitting of the settings set forth
by the movie. The various courses and characters are all in the same cartoonish
vein, but the technical faults and general blandness, mainly due to a poor and
limited palette, drags Shrek down to a very low level. Sound: 6.5/10 Control:
4/10 Overall:
3.5/10 [ top ] | |||
