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 Shrek. This is the only video game that is not an action-adventure like in Shrek 2. It is also the only Shrek video game to be rated T for Teen by the ESRB. The game was released on November 15, 2001 as one of twenty-two North American launch titles for the Xbox and March 28, 2002 in Europe. A reworked version of the game, called Shrek Extra Large, was released for the GameCube on October 31, 2002 in North America[1] and on October 24, 2003 in Europe. A port for the PlayStation 2 was planned for 2003, once again under the name Shrek: Extra Large, but was cancelled due to TDK Mediactive being acquired by Take-Two Interactive later that year, as a result losing the rights for Shrek games.[2] Extra Large uses the same engine and game mechanics as the original Xbox release, but with an altered story and different levels.

Shrek
Developer(s)Digital Illusions CE
Publisher(s)TDK Mediactive
Director(s)Gary Corriveau
Designer(s)Gary Corriveau
Atman Binstock
Programmer(s)Atman Binstock
Richard Geldreich
Artist(s)Denis Cawson
Composer(s)David Kerr
Platform(s)Xbox, GameCube
ReleaseXbox
  • NA: November 15, 2001
  • EU: March 28, 2002
Gamecube
  • NA: October 31, 2002
  • EU: October 24, 2003
Genre(s)Platformer
Mode(s)Single-player

The game was noted for being one of the first commercial titles to make use of deferred shading.[3][4]

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 is 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.[5] 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.

Development

On December 20, 2000, TDK Mediactive signed a five-year deal with Dreamworks to produce video games based on the Shrek license; the plan upon signing was to release a Game Boy title coinciding with the film's release and issue another game for "a next generation platform" in the fourth quarter of 2001.[6] On February 6, 2001, the next-generation console was announced to be Xbox, development duties would go towards Sandbox Studios, and the game would use character and object models from the original movie.[7] On May 16, 2001, IGN released nine clips of gameplay footage from the Xbox title, noting "details in the graphics including loads of bump mapping an [sic] per pixel shading."[8]

Reception

On December 11, 2001, TDK Mediactive CFO Martin Paravato reported sales for both Fairy Tale Freakdown and the Xbox game making up "a significant portion of our revenue."[30] Shrek was the ninth-highest selling Xbox for the month of November 2001, selling 45,900 units and making up 2.6% of the console's revenue.[31]

As of October 2002, total units of all of TDK's Shrek games released at the time, including the Game Boy Color, Xbox, and Gamecube games as well as Hassle at the Castle (2002), totaled over 1.2 million units in sales.[32]

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,[10][12] and 34% and 36 out of 100 for the GameCube version.[9][11] Reviewers criticized the gameplay in particular, as well as the 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.[22] 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"[28] and Raymond Padilla of GameSpy claiming the in-game graphics matched the movie's visuals.[20] The Gamecube version's visuals were less favorably received, with IGN critiquing the game's lack of bump mapping when transitioned over to the Gamecube as well as the poor animation.[33]

References
  1. "Shrek Extra Large - GameCube - IGN". IGN. Retrieved April 8, 2014.
  2. IGN (September 3, 2003). "Take-Two Acquires TDK Mediactive". IGN. Retrieved October 1, 2017.
  3. "History - Electric Sheep Games". electricsheepgames.com. Archived from the original on December 2, 2013. Retrieved April 14, 2011.
  4. "Rich Geldreich's website". Retrieved April 10, 2012.
  5. IGN Staff (June 13, 2001). "Shrek Interview (Xbox)". Retrieved June 14, 2019.
  6. "Shrek Signs with TDK Mediactive". IGN. December 20, 2000. Retrieved October 13, 2020.
  7. "Shrek Confirmed for Xbox". IGN. February 6, 2001. Retrieved October 13, 2020.
  8. "E3 2001: First Movies of Shrek on Xbox". IGN. May 16, 2001. Retrieved October 13, 2020.
  9. "Shrek Extra Large for GameCube". GameRankings. Retrieved July 17, 2014.
  10. "Shrek for Xbox". GameRankings. Retrieved July 17, 2014.
  11. "Shrek Extra Large for GameCube Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved July 17, 2014.
  12. "Shrek for Xbox Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved July 17, 2014.
  13. Marriott, Scott Alan. "Shrek (Xbox) - Review". AllGame. Archived from the original on November 15, 2014. Retrieved September 14, 2015.
  14. EGM staff (January 2002). "Shrek". Electronic Gaming Monthly (150): 230.
  15. Brogger, Kristian (January 2003). "Shrek: Extra Large". Game Informer (117): 102. Archived from the original on August 27, 2004. Retrieved July 17, 2014.
  16. Helgeson, Matt (January 2002). "Shrek". Game Informer (105): 86. Archived from the original on November 15, 2004. Retrieved July 17, 2014.
  17. Iron Monkey (November 15, 2001). "Shrek Review for Xbox on GamePro.com". GamePro. Archived from the original on February 8, 2005. Retrieved July 18, 2014.
  18. Baldric (December 10, 2001). "Shrek Review (Xbox)". Game Revolution. Retrieved July 18, 2014.
  19. Lopez, Miguel (November 15, 2001). "Shrek Review". GameSpot. Retrieved July 18, 2014.
  20. Padilla, Raymond (December 8, 2001). "Shrek (Xbox)". GameSpy. Archived from the original on February 17, 2005. Retrieved July 18, 2014.
  21. Shea, Cam (April 2002). "Shrek". Hyper. No. 102. p. 80.
  22. Casamassina, Matt (November 12, 2002). "Shrek Extra Large". IGN. Retrieved July 18, 2014.
  23. Lopez, Vincent (November 19, 2001). "Shrek (Xbox)". IGN. Retrieved July 18, 2014.
  24. "Shrek". Next Generation. No. 85. January 2002. p. 42.
  25. "Shrek Extra Large". Nintendo Power. 163: 218. December 2002.
  26. Bailey, Steven (April 2002). "Shrek". Official Xbox Magazine. No. 2. p. 78.
  27. "Shrek". Official Xbox Magazine. January 2002.
  28. Miller, Skyler (December 9, 2002). "Shrek Extra Large (GCN) Review". X-Play. Archived from the original on December 19, 2002. Retrieved July 18, 2014.
  29. Saltzman, Marc (December 28, 2001). "Xbox launch lineup". The Cincinnati Enquirer. Archived from the original on March 6, 2008. Retrieved July 18, 2014.
  30. "Shrek Not Among Top 6 Selling Xbox Titles". Digital Media FX. December 11, 2001. Retrieved October 13, 2020.
  31. "Microsoft's Xbox Gamble" (PDF). Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth. 2002. p. 22. Retrieved October 14, 2020.
  32. Orlando, Mike (October 30, 2002). "Shrek: Extra Large ships". Nintendo World Report. Retrieved October 13, 2020.
  33. Casamassina, Matt (November 12, 2002). "Shrek Extra Large". IGN. Retrieved December 27, 2019.
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