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Shrek Super Slam

Shrek Super Slam

Written by Shawn Kendrick on 1/12/2006 for PS2  
More On: Shrek Super Slam

Does anyone else think that Shrek, sounds just like the Fat Bastard character from the Austin Powers movies? Well at any rate, Mike Myers has gotten a lot of mileage out of that Scottish accent. Although I like both Fat Bastard and Shrek as much as the next guy, I think it may be time to put them both to rest for awhile.

Obviously the folks from Shaba Games, and Activision, don’t feel the same, at least when it comes to squeezing the Shrek franchise for just a little more dinero. The latest attempt at beating a dead horse, comes in the form of Shrek Super Slam.

The paper thin premise of this title, is that Donkey’s fire breathing, winged, big eared, half jack ass - half puff the magic dragon, offspring just won’t go to bed. This of course impedes on TV night for Donkey and his friends i.e. Shrek and everybody else. To get the little guys to sleep a bedtime story is told. This story basically creates the matches through out the game.

To actually call the story mode a story mode is kind of ridiculous really. Basically all we have here is some very brief staging for each fight sequence. Once each sequence is started, the gist of it is, you need to slam your opponent more than they slam you. This mode is surprisingly fun but way to simple. There is a lot of destruction and some pretty decent moves to keep us entertained. The problem is, it is hard not to kick ass in this game. This is particularly true when you are one of the quicker characters.

After you’ve spent the half hour it takes conquering the story mode, you may want to try the challenge mode. (I am exaggerating here but not by much.) After cruising through the story mode I initially thought, “well maybe this mode is where the meat of the game is”. I couldn’t have been more wrong. Even though 45 challenges sound like a lot, they aren’t.  They aren’t at all. These challenges are basically mini games and by mini I actually mean micro.

Now that I’ve told you all the bad, I should be fair and tell you about some of the good. Wait a minute I’m still thinking…….. The graphics! Yes! the graphics aren’t bad at all! The characters simply look and move like they do in the films. The sound is actually excellent as well. The voice talents perform excellent renditions of the original voices.

The actual game play is not bad as well but this game is way, way too easy. Even the demographic that this game is aimed for will have no problem getting through this game. The only aspect that may add just a little to the shelf life of this game is the melee mode. Like every other melee mode in the history a gaming, you can play 2 to 4 players. The plus to this is entertaining 2 to 4 not so easily entertained kids at the same time.

In the end this game is essentially Super Smash Bros in a Shrek suit. Just like Smash Bros. the game play, graphics, and sound are pretty good. The game itself, however does not last as long as the time you would stand in line to purchase it. Unless you are some sort of Shreki or something I wouldn’t recommend buying this title. If you’ve got some little ones running around I would recommend this as rental only. I could see this title entertaining a group of kids for a night but not much longer.

In a Land Far Far Away is where this title needs to stay. Despite good graphics and decent game play, the latest installment in this inexhaustible franchise leaves much to be desired. There’s no potion or magic spell in existence to turn this frog of a game into a prince. As they say in the fairy tales…. THE END.

Rating: 5 Flawed

* The product in this article was sent to us by the developer/company.

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About Author

Shawn has been an avid gamer for the last 20 years. Although he enjoys all genres of gaming, he holds a special place in his heart for shooters. Shawn also has a voracious appetite for sports games. Currently, he is thoroughly enjoying Tiger Woods PGA 2006. View Profile