Shrek The Third review

Shrek The Third is basically what you would expect it to be: a half-assed movie license cash-in

GamesRadar+ Verdict

Pros

  • +

    Goofy moments will produce laughs

  • +

    The difficulty won't frustrate young 'uns

  • +

    Shrek sounds like Shrek

Cons

  • -

    Mindless combat

  • -

    Narcolepsy-inspired level design

  • -

    Mostly grating "humor"

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How far can you stretch the excuse that a game is designed for children? At a rating of E10+, Shrek The Third is just too simplistic. If a ten-year-old can handle Super Mario, surely they will be bored with the single button attack combos necessary to take on almost any foe.

The gameplay is braindead and repetitive: run up to bad guys hit them until they die. Sure, you can do a few special moves, or if you want to make things really easydo a powered up attack, but there is nearly no need to. Occasionally you have to do a jump attack (gasp!) or navigate a 15 second "puzzle." A boss encounter with a huge ice dragon can be overcome by picking your favorite attack button and mashing it because you'll win in a brawl.

The only breaks from the liberal ogre smashing you dish out come from Shrek's pal Donkey giving a little lip and a handful of minigames. Though both are short, they give the game some of the flavor and humor of the movies. During a catapult game you have to aim your choice of siege weapon at the towers and fire by holding down a button for the correct amount of time. Hitting special targets unlocks special ammunition (eg: cows or big spikey balls). Sure it's been done before, and it probably doesn't justify buying the whole game on its own, but they're a nice break from the monotonous bad guy bashing.

Although There are a few chuckles involving Donkey, and using Puss-in-boots' special "cute eyes" move to daze foes is good for a smile, the majority of attempts at humor are tired and lazy. Most of the laughs consist almost entirely of fairy-tale characters talking with "unlikely" voices: valley-girls or surfer dudes.

More info

GenreAction
DescriptionIf you want a Shrek fix, you won't have to look far, because it will be on at least one system you own.
Franchise nameShrek
UK franchise nameShrek
Platform"Wii","Xbox 360","PS2","PSP","DS","PC"
US censor rating"Everyone 10+","Everyone 10+","Everyone 10+","Everyone 10+","Everyone 10+","Everyone 10+"
UK censor rating"","","","","",""
Release date1 January 1970 (US), 1 January 1970 (UK)
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Matthew Keast
My new approach to play all games on Hard mode straight off the bat has proven satisfying. Sure there is some frustration, but I've decided it's the lesser of two evils when weighed against the boredom of easiness that Normal difficulty has become in the era of casual gaming.