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Apr. 29th, 2009 02:50 pmAm ver' disappointed with Shrek the Third game.
The earlier Shrek II on PS2 (which I enjoyed courtesy of![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
ajon) was very much multiplayer-oriented; the four characters on the screen could be taken control of at any time by 1-4 players, and each character's special abilities were required at some stage of the game[1]. It was fun and pretty and engaging and even a little challenging at times.
Shrek the Third is none of those things. Though I admit I've only played it for about five minutes, the graphics appear simplistic[2] and the gameplay facile. Most egregiously, the main game is single-player only, with the multiplayer aspect being relegated to some mini-games[3]. Considering I bought the game purely because it seemed to be one of the rare X360 multiplayer games, this is somewhat annoying. (Kung-Fu Panda did the same, advertised "1-2 players" yet separated the "1" from the "2", but at least it had the redeeming feature of actually looking pretty darn smooth.)
Unfortunately I don't think I have the receipt - I bought it a few weeks ago and only justtricked persuaded Ant to have a go - so I'm not sure what to do with it. Sell it on to Game, maybe...
[1] A model used in many a modern 1P/2P game, such as Army of Two, Spyro: Dawn of the Dragon and the various the Lego [Franchise] games. It's a model with a number of good points, not least of which is that it's easier for the game designers, though it does mean you need to at least think about devising some AI for the computer player that takes over when the game's running with fewer than the full complement of players.
[2] I note that the game appears to have been released on the Xbox 360, Wii and PS2. The thought occurs that maybe - maybe - the developers developed for the lower-spec' systems, and just spruced the lighting up a bit for the X360. Seriously, the title screen almost looks 8-bit. After the sleek visuals of The Force Unleashed it's a bit of a shock.
[3] That said, according to the Gamespot review, the tower mini-game is actually the best thing about the game. Maybe I should be grateful I don't have to wade through the rest of the drivel to get to it.
The earlier Shrek II on PS2 (which I enjoyed courtesy of
ajon) was very much multiplayer-oriented; the four characters on the screen could be taken control of at any time by 1-4 players, and each character's special abilities were required at some stage of the game[1]. It was fun and pretty and engaging and even a little challenging at times.Shrek the Third is none of those things. Though I admit I've only played it for about five minutes, the graphics appear simplistic[2] and the gameplay facile. Most egregiously, the main game is single-player only, with the multiplayer aspect being relegated to some mini-games[3]. Considering I bought the game purely because it seemed to be one of the rare X360 multiplayer games, this is somewhat annoying. (Kung-Fu Panda did the same, advertised "1-2 players" yet separated the "1" from the "2", but at least it had the redeeming feature of actually looking pretty darn smooth.)
Unfortunately I don't think I have the receipt - I bought it a few weeks ago and only just
[1] A model used in many a modern 1P/2P game, such as Army of Two, Spyro: Dawn of the Dragon and the various the Lego [Franchise] games. It's a model with a number of good points, not least of which is that it's easier for the game designers, though it does mean you need to at least think about devising some AI for the computer player that takes over when the game's running with fewer than the full complement of players.
[2] I note that the game appears to have been released on the Xbox 360, Wii and PS2. The thought occurs that maybe - maybe - the developers developed for the lower-spec' systems, and just spruced the lighting up a bit for the X360. Seriously, the title screen almost looks 8-bit. After the sleek visuals of The Force Unleashed it's a bit of a shock.
[3] That said, according to the Gamespot review, the tower mini-game is actually the best thing about the game. Maybe I should be grateful I don't have to wade through the rest of the drivel to get to it.
