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

  • +

    A few goofy moments produce laughs

  • +

    Difficulty won't frustrate young 'uns

  • +

    Controls are decently responsive

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 just flailing a Wii Remote over and over.

The gameplay is braindead and repetitive: run up to bad guys and shake the remote. Sure, you can do a few special moves, 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 shaking the remote and tapping the A button, because you’ll win in a slugging match.

During a catapult minigame, you are told to hold the remote vertical to build power, and then flick it downward to fire. Yet simply holding the remote up will make the catapult fire automatically at peak strength, so you end up just turning the catapult a little to the left and the level finishes itself.

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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CATEGORIES
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.