Shrek the Third (video game)

Shrek the Third
Developer(s)	7 Studios and Shaba Games (Xbox 360 and PC) Amaze Entertainment (Wii, PS2 and PSP) Vicarious Visions (Nintendo DS and GBA) Gameloft (Mobile)
Publisher(s)	Activision
Composer(s)	Winifred Phillips, music produced by Winnie Waldron, additional music by Geoff Zanelli
Platform(s)	Game Boy Advance Mobile Nintendo DS PC PlayStation 2 PlayStation Portable Wii Xbox 360
Release date(s)	NA May 14, 2007 PSP NA June 5, 2007 EU July 20, 2007 AUS July 24, 2007
Genre(s)	Action and Adventure
Mode(s)	Single player, Multiplayer
Rating(s)	BBFC: PG ESRB: E10+,E(DS, GBA) OFLC: PG PEGI: 7+
Media/distribution	DVD-ROM (Xbox 360, PC, Wii & PS2) UMD (PSP) Flash card (DS) Cartridge (GBA)

Shrek The Third is an action video game based on the 2007 DreamWorks Animation animated film of the same name, developed by 7 Studios, Gameloft, Amaze Entertainment and Vicarious Visions. The game was published by Activision on May 14, 2007 for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 2, Wii, PC, Nintendo DS, and Game Boy Advance. A PSP version was released in June.

The soundtrack was composed by Winifred Phillips, produced by Winnie Waldron, with additional music by Geoff Zanelli.

The storyline of Shrek the Third is based on the film: Shrek has to find Arthur to have him serve as king of Far Far Away while Prince Charming attempts to storm the city and take the throne by force. Players can play as main characters from the film, including Shrek, Donkey, Puss in Boots, Princess Fiona, Fiona's cousin Arthur and Sleeping Beauty. The game consists of 20 levels, some of which branch off from the main story of the movie, and features both single- and multi-player play. Reviews have been mixed, which Xbox 360, Wii, PS2, and GBA version holds a score of under 60% on the critic aggregate reviews site GameRankings, while the PSP, DS and PC received a score of and over 60%.

Gameplay

Story mode

The game's general interface (PS2 version) for story mode in one of the early levels.

There are 6 characters you can play as, all 5 of the movies' main characters, Shrek, Donkey, Puss in Boots, Artie, Princess Fiona, and one of the supporting characters, Sleeping Beauty. Puss in Boots is the only character that can double jump. Gingy, King Harold, and Pinocchio are voiced by their movie actors.

The Penguins of Madagascar make a special appearance in the pirate ship level in one of the corner crates. You find Kowalski and Skipper says, "We're going to the wide open spaces of Antarctica, to the wild.", just like in the first "Madagascar". There are 20 levels in Shrek the Third. The levels are highly linear, but with side paths containing goodies for the completion of the various mission-style quests. Each level has 3 or 5 quests in them. After completing a level, the player is awarded bonus Far Far Pounds, the game's currency used for purchasing items in the gift shop. The difficulty setting multiplies the bonuses obtained.

There are numerous boxes, barrels, and other smashables scattered around the levels. Most contain fairy dust for use in special attacks but a few contain coins and food. In addition, there are coins of gold and red colors (called Far Far Pounds), often just lying around, but sometimes in smashables or treasure chests. Under certain circumstances, enemies can also give coins. Gold coins are worth 3 pounds and red coins are worth 10 pounds. Shrek the Third has fighting with fists and swords against various enemies such as pirates, guards, jocks, and witches. After an enemy has sustained several hits, a finishing move can be used on him/her. Felled enemies will drop fairy dust that will fill up the three-part special attack meter. Bad guys are pirates, demons, evil knights, wicked witches, tennis players, as well as Prince Charming himself .

Minigames

This is the "Ships Ahoy" minigame on round 9 and its general user interface.

There are 6 minigames in Shrek the Third. Playing them does not affect the main game (that is, no bonus Far Far Pounds are awarded). By obtaining a high enough score after each game (the amount varies depending on the game), three different medals are awarded: bronze, silver and gold (in order from lowest to highest).

Development

In 2005, Activision signed a deal with DreamWorks to handle licensed video game titles, extending a partnership which began with the Shrek 2 console games. Activision said they were "very excited to further expand its licensing agreement with DreamWorks on the third installment in the blockbuster animated series.". Ron Doornink, CEO of Activision Publishing, said "Shrek has proven to be one of the most popular children's video game properties worldwide and we expect to continue building on the success of the franchise with the release of our upcoming game Shrek SuperSlam and future games.".

At Microsoft's sixth annual European gamed show in 2006, running Wednesday and Thursday, September 27-28 in Barcelona, Spain, the Washington-based console manufacturer revealed substantial news for both Xbox 360 and PC. The news conference, held at the Theater National Catalunya in Barcelona, held approximately 400-500 people, and packed about 95% capacity. A video montage then showed off previous shown footage from this game during the conference.

In November 1, 2006, Activision announced the development studios who worked on the game. Shaba Games was set to handle the console versions, Vicarious Visions was taking on the DS and GBA titles, Amaze Entertainment was working on the PSP game and Beenox was developing for the PC.

The video game marriage between Activision and DreamWorks started going well; the companies announced later that month that their partnership extended into a "long-term, broad-based alliance" which gave Activision worldwide exclusive game rights to DreamWorks Animation films. Activision had a fruitful relationship with the film studio, resulting in tie-in games for Madagascar, Shrek, and Shark Tale. The agreement covered additional games based on these properties during non-film years, as well as games based on sequels to these films. The company looked forward to an even closer working collaboration with the production teams at DreamWorks Animation. Their relationship allowed them to deliver interactive entertainment experiences that remain true to the films while bringing the extraordinary stories to life through the visually immersive nature of interactive entertainment.

Reception

Upon its release, Shrek the Third received mixed reviews from critics. The Xbox 360, Wii, PS2, and GBA version holds a score of under 60% on the critic aggregate reviews site GameRankings, while the PSP, DS and PC received a score of and over 60%. IGN's Bozon gave the game a 6/10, stating it was "Three-dimensional in look, one-dimensional in gameplay.". Bozon also stated "Shrek the Third isn’t a bad game; it’s an unpolished one.". Hilary Goldstein commented on the review that "Games based on movies are often bad. Shrek the Third manages to avoid being complete trash, but continues the trend of mediocre movie-licensed games. The core idea of creating a God of War-style game suitable for kids could have worked if not for some technical hiccups and boring enemies. At first, Shrek is mildly entertaining and might even hold the interest of some casual gamers, but after an hour things becoming horribly repetitive. The regular slowdown doesn't help and some of the stand-in voice actors are abysmal. Shrek the Third should mock videogames in the same way the movie mocks pop culture. Instead, it falls into an all-too-familiar pattern of button-mashing redundancy.". In exception, Jack DeVries, another member of IGN, did gave the DS version a 7/10, stating "Shrek the Third may not be the prince of the Nintendo DS, but thankfully it's not a smelly green monster either.".

External links

• Shrek the Third - the Official Game Website
• Shrek the Third Walkthrough and Strategy Guide
• Shrek the Third at MobyGames
• Shrek the Third page at GameSpot