Shrek SuperSlam Review
20 December 2005 | By Khan
It may be a big hit with the younger players who will enjoy the basic slamming action
Shrek Superslam, developed by Activision, is based on the movies from Dream Works Shrek series. This game captures the look and feel of the movie really well. The eye-candy visuals, special effects and huge environments take you right back to the movie. There are many surprises and rotten characters who will try to get the better of you in the game. This is a good example of a game, which has elements of parody, legendary fairytale and popular culture. Often you will be highly entertained by the excessive witty humor. Shrek’s funny dialogues make an integral part of the game. If you’re a big fan of the Shrek series you’ll definitely love this game. Shrek Superslam returns with most of the characters like Fiona, Puss-in-Boots, Donkey, Pinocchio, Gingerbread man, Red Riding Hood, Black Knight, the villainous Prince Charming and a few new characters.
The game contains different modes such as story mode, melee mode, mega-challenge mode and training mode. In the story mode Shrek and the gang help Donkey and Dragon put their children to sleep making up bedtime stories in the process. In each story there are two assigned characters fighting against each other in hilarious situations. Here we find funny scenes, which are basically, parodies on fairytales, movies, TV shows and other popular icons. The downside is that the animated series are planned. Mega challenge has a series of 45 mini-games based on fighting, with villains and new characters made specifically for the game. This level could be described as the slameggedon mode as you gain power by continuously slamming your opponent. There is a ‘slam meter’ which can reach a high level if you slam your opponent enough times.
This action may seem very appealing to a 8 year old but a teenager or an adult will get bored of it very quickly. Melee mode resembles Super Smash Brothers match only it requires no real skill at playing. This mode has 16 environments, all 16 of which are semi destructible. Destroying the elements in the environment can sometimes give pop-ups and weapons. The game-play tends to get a little goofy with all the punches, jumping and combo moves. Basically you will continue to fight your opponent in arena style WWE match.
Training mode as the name suggests teaches you how to play the game and it tends to get a bit boring. All the action are essentially castles crumbling, gingerbread houses falling etc. It is very distinct how the environment smashes into pieces. Adults might not find the game as appealing as children. But if you’re a fan of the Dream works series you will enjoy every minute of it. The game can be boring if you play alone and slightly amusing if you play with another player. The player with the maximum amount of slams wins over his opponent, this again sounds similar to the Super Smash Bros game. Also the controls are very basic involving use of buttons just to throw or slam opponents. The more you slam your opponent the more power-ups you gain. You can even use your environment to fight against your opponents e.g. beehives, leg of lamb, chairs etc can be used as weapons. Sometimes you feel that the action is fast and mixed up eventually causing chaos and leading to a lot of button smashing.
The basic plot is a bit slow and the sense of challenge is missing in the game. The AI does not seem to be much of a threat. Sometimes the action tends to get a bit repetitive with continuous object throwing and slamming. At other times you may find yourself getting stuck behind an obstacle such as a horse cart which can be a bit annoying.
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| Puss in Boots is back with his swift fighting techniques and cute adorable style | Shrek using his infamous gross green farts as a weapon against one of the opponents |
The game contains different modes such as story mode, melee mode, mega-challenge mode and training mode. In the story mode Shrek and the gang help Donkey and Dragon put their children to sleep making up bedtime stories in the process. In each story there are two assigned characters fighting against each other in hilarious situations. Here we find funny scenes, which are basically, parodies on fairytales, movies, TV shows and other popular icons. The downside is that the animated series are planned. Mega challenge has a series of 45 mini-games based on fighting, with villains and new characters made specifically for the game. This level could be described as the slameggedon mode as you gain power by continuously slamming your opponent. There is a ‘slam meter’ which can reach a high level if you slam your opponent enough times.
This action may seem very appealing to a 8 year old but a teenager or an adult will get bored of it very quickly. Melee mode resembles Super Smash Brothers match only it requires no real skill at playing. This mode has 16 environments, all 16 of which are semi destructible. Destroying the elements in the environment can sometimes give pop-ups and weapons. The game-play tends to get a little goofy with all the punches, jumping and combo moves. Basically you will continue to fight your opponent in arena style WWE match.
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| Donkey, Shrek, Gingerbreadman and Puss in Boots reunite to fight
in 'slamegeddon mode' |
Princess Fiona displays some cool Kung Fu moves |
Training mode as the name suggests teaches you how to play the game and it tends to get a bit boring. All the action are essentially castles crumbling, gingerbread houses falling etc. It is very distinct how the environment smashes into pieces. Adults might not find the game as appealing as children. But if you’re a fan of the Dream works series you will enjoy every minute of it. The game can be boring if you play alone and slightly amusing if you play with another player. The player with the maximum amount of slams wins over his opponent, this again sounds similar to the Super Smash Bros game. Also the controls are very basic involving use of buttons just to throw or slam opponents. The more you slam your opponent the more power-ups you gain. You can even use your environment to fight against your opponents e.g. beehives, leg of lamb, chairs etc can be used as weapons. Sometimes you feel that the action is fast and mixed up eventually causing chaos and leading to a lot of button smashing.
The basic plot is a bit slow and the sense of challenge is missing in the game. The AI does not seem to be much of a threat. Sometimes the action tends to get a bit repetitive with continuous object throwing and slamming. At other times you may find yourself getting stuck behind an obstacle such as a horse cart which can be a bit annoying.
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| The backgrounds are good but not very detailed | Another slamming action |
SHREK SUPERSLAM VERDICT
With all that said the final conclusion is this game has some smooth and fluid animations. The music and sound effects are fairly well done. It retains the witty humor, which is an integral part in the movie. None of the original voices have been used which is kind of disappointing. However the voice-overs sound close enough to be the real thing. The camera is well positioned so one can see the entire action from all angles in the arena. The constant button mashing could leave you bored and annoyed. Although the attacks are based on parody fairytale, popular culture spoofs can get a bit goofy at times. There is nothing extraordinary about Shrek Super slam which may or may not make you want to come back for more. It may be a big hit with the younger players who will enjoy the basic slamming action.
TOP GAME MOMENT
My favorite moment in the game is Princess Fiona’s famous Kung Fu style fighting. Even the parody on all the TV show characters was hilarious.
