Shrek (video game)

Shrek is a 2001 platform video game developed by Digital Illusions CE (DICE) and published by TDK Mediactive for the Xbox, based on the 2001 animated DreamWorks film of the same name. The game was released on November 14, 2001 as one of twenty-two Nirth American launch titles for the Xbox, and later Europe on March 14, 2002, also a launch title for the system. A reworked version of the game, called Shrek's Extra Large, was released for the GameCube on October 31, 2002 in North America and on October 24, 2003 in Europe. A port for the PlayStation 2 was planned for 2003, but was cancelled due to TDK Mediactive being acquired by Take-Two Interactive later that year, as a result losing the rights for Shrek video games. Extra Large uses the same engine and game mechanics as the original Xbox release, but with an altered story and different levels.

The game was noted for being one of the first commercial titles to make use of deferred shading.

Gameplay
The player completes objectives ("Good Deeds"). In most objectives, the player hunts for an object and completes an action. Not many objectives vary from this, though a few will occasionally vary.

Plot
Following a completely different narrative than that of the eponymous film which it's based on, Shrek is meant to be a “continuation” of the story of the film, taking place after the title character has set out to regain his swamp and become a “‘de facto’ hero” to the fairy tale creatures Shrek is delivered a message by the infamous Magic Mirror that his wife Princess Fiona has been captured by an evil wizard, Merlin. Shrek must travel to Merlin's Dark Tower Fortress of Pure Evil, but an impassable fog has been laid across the Fairy Tale Lands. The fog and Merlin's Fortress can be passed through the completion of Good Deeds. The Magic Mirror gives Shrek a Book of Good Deeds and offers to teleport him to places where Good Deeds are required.

Reception
Reviews of the game range from very mixed to negative. GameRankings and Metacritic gave it a score of 52% and 49 out of 100 for the Xbox version, and 34% and 36 out of 100 for the GameCube version.

Reviewers criticized the gameplay, visuals (specifically the GameCube version), and audio. IGN described the game's puzzles as "run of the mill" and complained of the lack of audio in certain sections of the game. X-Play criticized the GameCube version's framerate, "jerky" animation, and camera control claiming it could make some players nauseous. Critics generally praised the game's graphical presentation, with X-Play's Skyler Miller saying the game's graphics were "impressive at a standstill" and Raymond Padilla of GameSpy claiming the in-game graphics matched the movie's visuals.

Trivia

 * This was the first Shrek video game to be published by TDK Mediactive.