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The lovable ogre appears once again on the Gameboy Advance. The Shrek series has for a long time been one of DreamWorks’ most successful franchises. It has managed to appeal to a wide range of audiences, though the videogames have usually sided with the younger audiences. Shrek SuperSlam continues this tradition though the game is fundamentally solid.
Shrek Superslam includes some sort of the story, though it is unlikely that many people will go through it since the developers also gave us the choice of skipping through each one. The stories are a bit funny though they aren’t anything of substance.
The game includes three main gameplay modes: Story, Mega Challenge, and Melee. Story mode includes the forgettable story I hinted at above but quickly dissolves into a series of battles. Mega Challenge includes 25 minigames to play through while Melee mode lets you change some game variables. All three modes are fairly similar, with the game breaking down into fighting characters from the Shrek universe.
Shrek SuperSlam includes a number of characters including Gingerbread Man, Fiona, Prince Charming, Donkey and of course, Shrek, alongside new characters made for the game. The game has a pretty simple control scheme with providing attacks and combos that change slightly depending on the character you’re using. You’re able to link up combos though the game lets shameful players exploit the same combo. The game includes weapons, which you can pick up from the environment. The actual gameplay involves you fighting one of the game’s many characters in multi-tiered (yet small) arenas.
On the GBA, the game includes a multiplayer mode for up to two players. Gamers who purchased the wireless multiplayer for the GBA will be happy to know that Shrek Superslam uses it, though the typical cable is supported also. The multiplayer action doesn’t differ much from the single player with matches quickly becoming button mashing havens.
The game’s visuals are good for the GBA. The 2D sprites used for the character models closely model those from the movies. The animations are equally adequate. The game’s environments are very interactive with a lot of it being destructible. The backgrounds are pretty well detailed, as well. The developers were able to squeeze quite a bit from the GBA.
The game’s audio is pretty funny. The sound effects are much exaggerated and perfectly fit the Shrek universe. The background music is quite preppy but again fits the game very well. The quality of the sound is pretty good, considering that the game is running on the GBA.
Shrek SuperSlam deviates from the standard platforming fare of the Shrek series. That said, the game’s combat system is surprisingly fun despite being quite button-mashing friendly. It also retains the Shrek humor found in the previous games. -- Jake Wilson, PGNx Media
---- Nov 29, 2005
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