Shrek 2 (video game)

Shrek 2
Shrek 2 North American GameCube box art
Developer(s)	KnowWonder (Original PC), Aspyr (Original PC version porting for Mac), Luxoflux (Cross-platform), Beenox (Cross-platform vesion porting for PC), Vicarious Visions (GBA), Skyworks Interactive (Mobile)
Publisher(s)	Activision
Composer(s)	Kevin Manthei
Engine	Unreal Engine 2 (Original PC an Mac), LuxEngine 2 (Cross-Platform)
Platform(s)	GameCube, PlayStation 2, Xbox, Game Boy Advance, Microsoft Windows , Mac OS X
Release	Windows Mobile
Genre(s)	Action-adventure
Mode(s)	Single-player, multiplayer

Shrek 2 (porting for the PC version as Shrek 2: Team Action at Beenox) is a 2004 cross-platform video game created by Luxoflux and Original PC version of Shrek 2 created by KnowWonder (MAC version ported by Aspyr) and published by Activision in 2004. Based on the 2004 CGI-Animated film sequel of the same name, the player is able to play as Shrek or nine of his friends throughout the game, and travel through 11 levels, while being able to switch between the 4 characters available in each level.

Plot

Shrek 2's storyline follows the same plot of the movie. Shrek and Fiona are on a journey to Far, Far Away Land to visit Fiona's parents. Shrek's in-laws aren't too thrilled that a crude ogre is married to their beloved daughter, so the battle for acceptance ensues. The game also covers things not shown in the film. Plot elements are delivered primarily through a storybook interface (text and illustrations) shown before each level.

Gameplay

In each level, the player controls a team of four characters, and can switch between them at any point. Each character has a unique ability that aids them in fighting enemies or moving through the environment (for example, Donkey can destroy obstacles and Fiona can slow down time).

The game is broken into different chapters, each with their own set of goals. One chapter might require the player to make sure three blind mice safely make their way to the witch's house. Another chapter might have the player act as a deputy in Far, Far Away Land—collecting bits of Humpty Dumpty, stealing treasure from a troll, escorting Cinderella while she window shops for a glass slipper, or ridding the town to the Pied Piper's rat infestation, collecting chickens for a stew, or battling Puss in Boots via timed button presses.

Players play mini-games that the player will have to complete when the player isn't traveling on hazardous paths from point A to point B. Challenges that require the player his/her entire party include having to punch chickens into cook pots or a pen, escorting characters through a stage (Billy Goat Gruff and the three blind mice), and collecting fairies, jewelry, etc.

The second type of mini-game, dubbed "Hero Time," gives one character a challenge to complete, usually emphasizing that character's particular skills displayed in the movie. Donkey at one point has to chase a fleeing onion wagon well riding on the back of Dragon. Fiona holds a private concert for a flock of black birds she's collecting for a pie (via exploding them by rhythm based button presses). Shrek has to throw a bunch of thugs into a paddy wagon.

Characters

Playable

• Shrek special: Lift, Shrek can lift items and dazed enemies. He is the Ogre protagonist of the game and is forced on an adventure to save his wife, Fiona from Fairy Godmother's plans. He is willing to fight any monster to prove to Fiona's father King Harold that he is worthy to be her husband. His Hero Time is in Far Far Away, throwing rioting peasants in the Patty Wagon. Voiced by Michael Gough.
• Princess Fiona special: Time Slow, Time is slowed down to enhance her fighting, à la The Matrix. Fiona used to live in a tower until Shrek rescued her for Lord Farquad. The two fell in love and by a curse of a witch, Fiona was turned into an ogre for her love. Now she is joining her husband to Far Far Away to meet her parents. Her Hero Time is in Shrek's swamp. She sings with the birds in such a high pitch they explode for Grandma's pie, a reference to "Shrek". Voiced by Holly Fields.
• Donkey special: Burro Blast, A powerful bucking kick. Donkey is Shreks closest friend and although a bit of a coward, he is willing to help Shrek in any adventure. He helped the big guy in saving Fiona and now wants to help stop Fairy Godmother and save the marriage. He is married to Dragon who unknown to him, is pregnant with his Donkey babies. His Hero Time comes in the Witch chase level. Really it can be said it is Dragon's Hero Time as she is the one who chases and saved Fiona from a lethal fall in an out of control carriage as Donkey rides on her back. Voiced by Mark Moseley.
• Gingerbread Man special: Cookie toss, Cookies are thrown that attract enemies. Gingy is a Gingerbread man turned alive by his father the Muffin Man. He was captured by Lord Farquaad but now is ready to help his friend Shrek with his new adventure. In an attempt to help, he created a 20 foot little brother named Mongo. He got the group into the castle but slipped into the moat were Gingy is last seen morning his death. His Hero Time is in Jack's Farm where he must climb the hill to fetch water from Jack's well. Voiced by James Arnold Taylor.
• Lil' Red special: Poison Apple toss, Explosive apples are thrown. Red is a baseball pitcher who joins the group after hitch hiking with them to Far Far Away. Her Hero Time is in Fairy Godmother's factory. She uses her apples to hold back Godmother as the others escape. Voiced by Tara Strong.

Dragon: Dragon used to be the guardian of Fiona's castle but after being defeated by Donkey has now fallen in love with him. They are married and Dragon is pregnant with Donkey's six babies. Dragon only appears in Level 2, Donkey rides her during his Hero Time. Voiced by Frank Welker. Puss in Boots special: Tightrope walking. Puss is an assassin paid by King Harold to kill Shrek. He is defeated and spared for help in the adventure. After all he ends up being one of Shrek's closest friends. His Hero Time is in the Road to the Farm level. He must use his tight rope special to bring the elevator down from the top of a waterfall. Voiced by André Sogliuzzo.

• Big Bad Wolf special: Huff n' Puff, Enemies are blown away with a gust of wind. This comes in particularly useful when the character is fighting on high places, as it can instantaneously kill enemies by blowing them away. Wolf is a little resentful at going through such danger for Shrek but is actually quite proud of his power. He is one of the creatures who helps Gingy in the jailbreak. His Hero Time is in the Jailbreak level where he must climb the "Stairway of Doom" to save Shrek, Puss, and Donkey. Voiced by James Arnold Taylor (and Aron Warner reprising the role briefly in the game).
• Tinkerbell special: Pixie Dust, Causes character to float. She helps Gingy plan the Jailbreak of Shrek, Puss, and Donkey and is quite quick to keep Wolf in line. Only seen in the Jailbreak level, she is the only playable character without a Hero Time. Voiced by Tara Strong.
• Human Shrek and Horse Donkey special: Charge, Shrek and Donkey run faster than usual and Shrek attacks the target with his sword. After drinking a Happily Ever After potion. The two turn into a handsome hero and a noble steed. The potion effects the love of the drinker as well so Fiona reverted back to human form and Dragon turned into an unseen Pegasus. Their Hero Time is in the mountain level where they must chase Fairy Godmother to save Snow White.

Bonus

• King Harold: the father of Fiona. He expected to see Fiona married to Prince Charming but is shocked to find Shrek instead. He teams up with Fairy Godmother to get rid of Shrek so that Charming can take his place. He finally comes to terms with his daughter's love. Voiced by Michael Gough.
• Mongo: The giant brother of Gingy, he is the only non-playable character to have a Hero Time in the second to last level. Human Shrek is the one doing the work but the Hero Time icon is Mongo so it is considered his. Voiced by Frank Welker.
• Magic Mirror: Mirror appears at the beginning of every level to dictate the whereabouts between that connect the story. He also serves as a guide through the game and advises the team on what to do next. Voiced by Mel Fair.
• Lil' Red's Grandma: She appears at the end of level 1, waiting for her chicken soup. She surprisingly looks like the Fairy Godmother, minus the wings, glasses, and wand. Voiced by Vanessa Marshall.
• The Three Pigs: the three pigs are assigned to take care of Jack and Jill's farm while they are away but are too lazy to actually work so they request the help of the group in return for the package to sneak into Fairy Godmother's factory. They are afterwards captured during a jailbreak but saved by Gingy and a gang of creatures. Voiced by Cody Cameron.
• Three Blind Mice: friends of Shrek. At the end of the first adventure, they were turned into horses to pull the carriage. On the way to Far Far Away, the three are turned back into mice as to serve as ingredients in witchery. The three remain mice but are captured during Shrek's jailbreak and are saved by Gingy and a group of creatures. Voiced by Chris Knights.
• Seven Dwarves: these little workers must be saved by the group around Shrek's home. They are then seen again in the mountain pass, advising the team on how to get through in return for the rescue of Snow White. Voiced by James Arnold Taylor.
• Goat Brothers: three brothers living on the trail to Jack and Jill's farm. They require the group's help to return them to their homes after a few mishapes with trolls. Voiced by James Arnold Taylor.
• Snow White: captured in the mine. She is kidnapped by Fairy Godmother but is saved in Handsome Shrek and Steed Donkey's Hero Time.
• Papa Bear: The father of the Bear Family. He is seen in Far Far Away as Mongo is in the city. Papa seems to be more worried about the cities well fare then the citizens. Voiced by André Sogliuzzo.
• Queen Lillian: Only seen in the storybook intro to Far Far Away, she is Fiona and Shrek's mother and King Harold's wife.
• Pinocchio: Pinocchio has one cameo in the game, in a movie still when you complete the bonus game Floating Floor.

Villains

• Fairy Godmother: the games antagonist. She is determined to see her son, Prince Charming, marry Fiona even if it means an ogre falls in the process. She has help from King Harold who owes her after she turned him from a frog to a prince for his wife Lillian. In the end she is defeated at the ball. Voiced by Jennifer Saunders.

(Prince Charming: The son of Fairy Godmother and her right hand man. He feels cheated that Fiona married Shrek and wants her hand. He is defeated at the ball. Voiced by James Arnold Taylor.

• Leprechaun: This wee little man appears in every level to charge the group passage through coins or a service. He also sells upgrades that help the team in battle. In the second to last level he demands the group pay him a billion coins but without the money, Mongo steps on him. Voiced by James Arnold Taylor.
• Monsieur Hood: found in Shrek's swamp. He tries to mug the gang but fails. Voiced by André Sogliuzzo.
• Witch: a witch living on the trail to Far Far Away. She turned the horses back into mice to use in her witchery. Voiced by Vanessa Marshall.
• Troll: he appears in 4 levels as an enemy or miniboss. Voiced by André Sogliuzzo.
• Stone Warrior: This big bully lives inside of Mt. Grimm. He was an ordinary statue turned alive by the Fairy Godmother. But, Shrek, Donkey, Gingy, Wolf, and Puss in Boots eventually defeated him. Voiced by Frank Welker.
• Lord Farquaad: The villain of the first film only makes a cameo on the path to Gingy's house as a statue fighting a statue of Dragon. Also, sometimes when a character dies, he is heard laughing evilly.

Development

Shrek 2 was created by Luxoflux and KnowWonder and published by Activision in 2004. The game is based on the 2004 animated film of the same name by Dreamworks. TDK shown the game at the E3 convention in May 2003. Activision announced on December of that same year that they would be working with DreamWorks to develop and publish video games based on the upcoming Shrek 2 movie, before they released the first trailer for the game in Spring of 2004.

Soundtrack

The score for the game was composed by Kevin Manthei and Kevin Riepl with additional music by Rob Berry. The soundtrack album consists of 58 tracks with over 65 minutes of score. It can be bought exclusively at KMM Productions.

Track listing

01. Swamp Theme
02. Oh Merry Men!
03. Chicken Mini-Game
04. Spooky Forest Theme
05. Cemetery Creep
06. Cemetery Combat
07. Fat Knight Fight
08. Spooky Combat
09. Spooky Hero Time
10. Far Far Away Theme
11. Humpty Riot
12. Outlaw Theme
13. Ratical Battle
14. Troll Combat
15. Chicken Mini-Game
16. Ogre Killer Medley
17. Walking the Path Theme
18. Bridge Combat
19. Riverbank Theme
20. Combat
21. Talking to a Goat
22. Talking to a Leprechaun
23. Intro
24. Hub Theme
25. Flower Power
26. Haunted Corn Patch
27. Blueberry Mini-Game
28. J&J Hero Time
29. Fairy Godmother's Theme
30. Sneeking in the Halls
31. Factory Chase
32. Potion Room
33. Fairy Hero Time
34. Exterior Sneek
35. Ball Room
36. Caught Combat
37. Mama Spider Combat
38. Troll Combat 2
39. The Hallway
40. Mines Combat
41. Dark Rooms
42. Plaza
43. Mines Hero Time
44. Rooftops
45. Cookie Attacks
46. Cookie Hero Time
47. Final Boss Phase 1
48. Final Boss Phase 2
49. Shell Music
50. The Ending
51. Coin Theme
52. Riverbank alt. Versions
53. Spooky Forest Mice
54. Spooky Hero Time alt. Version
55. Jack n Jill concept piece
56. Jack n Jill Blueberry chase
57. Jack n Jill Haystack Needle
58. Scrapbook music - fairytale ending

Reception

Almost every console version of Shrek 2 received praise and mixed response from critics, receiving over a 70% for each of the console versions from Gamerankings. IGN reviewer Mary Jane Irwin called the Gamecube, Xbox, and Playstation 2 versions of Shrek 2 "an amusing jaunt into the world of the movie." and Craig Harris, another reviewer of IGN, called the GBA version "an absolute treat, especially for those who dig the artstyle of the film." though stated it to be "nothing new." The Game, along with Spider-Man 2, shipped more than 5 million units combined and were the best-selling titles of May and June, respectively.

External links

• Official website
• PC version of Shrek 2 released with the movie release
• PC version of Shrek 2 ported from consoles