Shrek 2's storyline follows a similar plot to that of the film. Shrek and Fiona are on a journey to the Kingdom of Far Far Away to visit Fiona's parents. Shrek's in-laws are unhappy that a crude ogre is married to their daughter Fiona and turned her into an ogre, and the battle for acceptance ensues. The game covers things not shown in the film. Plot elements are delivered primarily through a storybook interface (text and illustrations) shown before each level.
Gameplay
GameCube, PlayStation 2, and Xbox versions
In this version of the game, the player is able to play as Shrek or his friends and travel through 11 levels. 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 its own set of goals. One chapter requires the player to make sure three blind mice safely make their way to the witch's house. Other chapters have the player acting as a deputy in Far, Far Away Land—collecting bits of Humpty Dumpty, stealing treasure from a troll, helping the police clear out rioting hooligans from the streets, escorting Cinderella while she window-shops for a glass slipper, ridding the town of the Pied Piper's rat infestation, collecting chickens for a stew, or battling Puss in Boots via timed button presses.[2]
Players play mini-games when they are not traveling on hazardous paths from point A to point B. Challenges that require the player's 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, jewels, etc.[2]
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 while riding on the back of Dragon. Fiona holds a private concert for a flock of black birds she is collecting for a pie (via exploding them by rhythm based button presses). Shrek has to throw a bunch of thugs into a paddy wagon.[2]
Game Boy Advance version
This version is a side-scroller with graphics resembling the Donkey Kong Country series, developed by Vicarious Visions. The game is separated into five books (worlds), each with five chapters (levels). The story of the game is a compressed version of the movie it is based on. The playable characters are Shrek, Donkey, Puss in Boots, Human Shrek and Gingerbread Man, each with their own unique set of skills.
Development
The game was first announced at E3 2003 in May that year, as a co-publishing collaboration between Activision and TDK Mediactive, the then-current video game license holder for the Shrek franchise, with Luxoflux announced to be developing the title.[3][4][5] In December 2003, Take-Two Interactive purchased the North American operations of TDK Mediactive and rebranded them as Take-Two Licensing. With this, Activision terminated their publishing deal with TDK and instead announced a new partnership with DreamWorks for the Shrek license instead.[6][7] Shortly after Activision announced that they would continue to work with DreamWorks to develop and publish several video games based on the upcoming movie,[8] before they released the first trailer for the game in Spring of 2004.[9]
Two versions of the game were released for the PC; one developed by KnowWonder for younger audiences using Unreal Engine 2, and the other a port of the original console release under the title Shrek 2: Team Action which was developed by Beenox.[10]
The score for the game was composed by Kevin Manthei and Kevin Riepl. The soundtrack album consists of 58 tracks with over 65 minutes of score. It was released on May 6, 2004, by KMM Productions.[11][12]
Shrek 2 received "mixed to average" reviews from critics.[19][21][20][23][22]GameRankings and Metacritic gave it a score of 72.56% and 72 out of 100 for the Game Boy Advance version;[13][19] 72.27% and 70 out of 100 for the GameCube version;[14][22] 71.92% and 71 out of 100 for the PlayStation 2 version;[15][21] 71.29% and 72 out of 100 for the Xbox version;[16][20] 62.90% and 55 out of 100 for the PC version;[17][23] and 49% for the Mobile version.[18]
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,"[2] 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 he stated it to be "nothing new".[40]
The game, along with fellow movie sequel based game published by Activision, Spider-Man 2, shipped more than five million units combined and were the best-selling titles of May and June, respectively.[47]
In the United States, Shrek 2's Game Boy Advance version sold 700,000 copies and earned $18 million by August 2006. During the period between January 2000 and August 2006, it was the 35th highest-selling game launched for the Game Boy Advance, Nintendo DS or PlayStation Portable in that country.[48]
By July 2006, the PlayStation 2 version of Shrek 2 had sold 850,000 copies and earned $26 million in the United States. Next Generation ranked it as the 70th highest-selling game launched for the PlayStation 2, Xbox or GameCube between January 2000 and July 2006 in that country. Combined console sales of the Shrek series reached 2.5 million units in the United States by July 2006.[49]
