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Shrek The Third is a video game based on the 2007 DreamWorks Animation film of the same name. The game was released on May 14, 2007 for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 2, Wii, PC, Nintendo DS, and Game Boy Advance. A PSP version will be released in June. It was developed by 7 Studios, Amaze Entertainment and Vicarious Visions and published by Activision.

The storyline of Shrek the Third is based on the film: Shrek has to find Arthur to have him serve as king of Far Far Away while Prince Charming attempts to storm the city and take the throne by force. Players can play as main characters from the film, including Shrek, Donkey, Puss in Boots, Princess Fiona, Fiona's cousin Arthur and Sleeping Beauty. The game consists of 20 levels, some of which branch off from the main story of the movie, and features both single- and multi-player play.

Cast

• John Cleese ... King Harold, Narrator
• Michael Gough ... Shrek, Announcer
• Mark Mosely ... Donkey, Stage Hand, Bandit #3
• Andre Sogliuzzo ... Puss in Boots, Jock Captain, Pirate #1, Evil Trees
• James Arnold Taylor ... Arthur Pendragon (Artie), Prince Charming, Gnome
• Holy Fields ... Princess Fiona, Witch #3, Ogre Baby
• Erin Mathews ... Sleeping Beauty, Witch #4, Dronkey
• Jon Curry ... Merlin, Evil Knight #3, Pirate #2
• Natalie Lander ... Lady of the Lake, Witch #2, Ogre Baby
• Jim Meskimen ... Hook, Attendant #2, Geek
• Cody Cameron ... Pinocchio, Evil Pinocchio, Jock #2
• Susan Blakeslee ... Wicked Queen, Witch #1, Dronkey
• Sean Bishop ... Cyclops, Attendant #3
• Conrad Vernon ... Gingy (Gingerbread Man), Evil Knight #1, Jock #1
• Phil Lamarr ... Sir Lancelot, Peasant #2, Attendant #1
• Jess Harnell ... Pirate Captain, Peasant Actor, Evil Knight #3
• Amanda Troop ... Cinderella, Dronkey, Ogre Baby
• Roger Rose ... Peasant #1, Bandit #1, Pirate #3
• Margaret Tang ... Director
• Tom McGrath ... Skipper

Key features

Shrek the Third immerses players in the Shrek universe and lets them go beyond the film.

• Gamers interact with characters from the film as well as new characters exclusive to the game in order to take advantage of their unique moves, special abilities and combat skills.
• Players travel through the epic Shrek universe in 20 peril-filled movie-based and game exclusive levels such as Academy Grounds, Evil Queen’s Castle (game exclusive), Pirate Ship and more.

Shrek the Third is the only game to let players experience the signature humor and outrageous adventures of the reluctant hero and his friends.

• Epic boss battles draw fans further into the Shrek universe as they defend the kingdom of Far, Far Away against Prince Charming and his bumbling band of down and out fairytale friends.
• As gameplay progresses, players learn to use each character’s unique moves for the challenge at hand.

Shrek the Third’s gameplay combines several, popular gameplay elements.

• Players learn to utilize each character’s special abilities and combat skills including Shrek’s “Ogre Power”, Fiona’s “Flying Kick”, Puss N’ Boots “Cute Puss”, Sleeping Beauty’s sleeping “Swoon” attack, and Artie’s “Power of Excalibur” that must be used successfully to get back to Far, Far Away.
• Unique levels with numerous puzzles and platform challenges including three Princess levels (players play as Fiona and Sleeping Beauty) challenge gamers to work their way out of difficult situations.
• Gamers can engage in six multiplayer mini-games including Castle Attack, Shrekleboard, Frog Herder, Shooting Gallery, Catacombs Leap and Ships Ahoy.

Story mode

Levels and quests

There are 20 levels in Shrek the Third. The levels are highly linear, but with side paths containing goodies for the completion of the various mission-style quests. Each level has 3 or 5 quests in them. They are generalized as follows:

• Perfect - completing the level without dying.
• Tourist - finding all the souvenir mugs within the level.
• Collect all of something (such as pirate peg legs or toy whales). Missing some causes the player to have to recollect what was collected previously. For levels with 5 quests, there are 2 of these, but, levels with only 3 quests don't have this quest. These involve finding from 1 to 9 of something.
• The finisher - complete a set number of finishing moves before the level is completed, usually 5.
• Bonus complete all extra missions

Items

There are numerous boxes, barrels, and other smashables scattered around the levels. Most contain fairy dust for use in special attacks but a few contain coins and food. In addition, there are coins of gold and red colors (called Far Far Pounds), often just lying around, but sometimes in smashables or treasure chests. Under certain circumstances, enemies can also give coins.

Completing levels

After completing a level, the player is awarded bonus Far Far Pounds, the game's currency used for purchasing items in the gift shop. The difficulty setting multiplies the bonuses obtained. The categories are broken up as follows (based on normal difficulty):

• New quests completed - 200 Pounds are awarded for each new quest completed. Old ones don't count.
• Opponents defeated - 5 Pounds per opponent defeated, to a maximum of 250.
• Thingies smashed - 2 Pounds per smashable object (such as boxes or barrels) destroyed.
• New souvenir mugs found - 100 Pounds per new mug obtained. Collecting previously collected ones don't count.
• Far Far coins found - This is a grand total for that of the Far Far coins found throughout the level. Gold ones are 3 Pounds and red ones are worth 10.
• Style - The highest fighting style obtained within the level. If the player got "x100 Amazing!", they'd be rewarded 100 Pounds at normal difficulty.

Enemies

Shrek the Third has fighting with fists and swords against various enemies such as pirates, guards, jocks, and witches, some of which have a shield. Depending on the difficulty setting, enemies take a varying number of hits to defeat. After an enemy has sustained several hits, a finishing move can be used on him/her.

There are 5 available difficulty settings, 3 of which available at the start. Higher difficulty settings mean enemies take more hits to defeat and the character can take less damage before dying. The player has an unlimited number of lives regardless of the difficulty setting.

Minigames

There are 6 minigames in Shrek the Third. Playing them does not affect the main game (that is, no bonus Far Far Pounds are awarded). Here's a description for each of the 6 minigames.

Castle Capture

The player chooses between two different medieval-style weapons such as the catapult and an arrow launcher. The goal is to knock down the castle towers using these weapons. Single-player mode has a timer and is encountered at various times in story mode. Balloons occasionally pop up and if destroyed, some special item is used on the catapult, usually a cow or spike ball. The wind can offset the position of the object launched making it tricky at times.

Catacombs Leap

There are 12 different rounds each with progressively harder difficulty. The goal is to get each of four characters across a series of platforms and traps before the timer runs out and without falling. Each character (Shrek, Donkey, Puss N' Boots, and Arthur) can double-jump which makes it easier, even though only Puss N' Boots can double jump in story mode. There are stars scattered around and for every 500 points gained, an extra life is awarded. Falling off the stage, getting hit by a trap, or running out of time causes the player to lose a life. Scoring is based on stars collected and time bonuses after all 4 characters reach the goal.

Ships Ahoy

With at least 9 rounds, pirate ships come from all directions with an ever-increasing density and number of required hits. Shrek must use a cannon placed on top of a castle tower and defeat the pirate ships before they get on shore. The first rounds are easy in that there are few enemies and the ships are very easily destroyed. By round 8, there are many ships and they take several hits to defeat. The main limitation is the reloading of the cannon balls. There are 5 cannon balls and after destroying a black pirate ship, which takes 4 hits, it takes 3 seconds to reload those 4 that have been fired and by round 8 where there are several ships that need several hits, this reloading can prevent the player from defeating the pirate ships fast enough. Scoring is based on the type of ship destroyed. Given at the end of the round are additional bonuses. The number of ships destroyed multiplied by the accuracy percentage (10 ships destroyed with 90% accuracy yields 900 bonus points) multiplied by the perfection bonus (double only if the player never misses in a given round).

Shooting gallery

With Shrek handling a tomato-launching catapult, the player is to hit the various targets that pop up before the timer runs out. There are at least 30 rounds, each getting progressively more difficult with faster-moving targets. There are anywhere from 8 to 15 targets per round and 45 seconds to destroy them all. There are 5 rounds within a group and after completing the 5 rounds, they are repeated with the targets moving faster (and the sound effects playing at a faster speed). The targets are of the various enemies found in the game such as pirates and witches. Other targets include a clock and Donkey. The clock gives a 10-second time bonus but Donkey gives a 10-second time penalty. Double-hits (taking out two targets with one shot) give a 5-second bonus. Scoring is based on the time remaining at the end of a round, accuracy (80% accuracy means 80 bonus) and perfection (100 bonus if the player never missed in the given round).

Frog Herder

In the 10 rounds of frog herder, there are 1 to 6 frogs that must get to ponds at the far left and right sides of the river. Various power ups appear that boost the running speed or make Puss N' Boots attractive so he can freely lead the frogs to the ponds. The player is given 30 seconds to complete the 10 rounds. By the third round, mushrooms that explode are also included, of which send the character or frogs back to the stream. Scoring is added at the end of each round and is based on the number of frogs that get into the ponds (100 for each) and the time remaining (10 for every left over second).

Shrekleboard

Shrekleboard is much like Shuffleboard with Super Monkey Ball-like enhancements. There are 6 scoring pockets arranged like a pentagon. At the far end are 100-point pickets. On the far sides are 50-point pockets and the closest has a single, large 25-point pocket. The center area has a -25 points pocket. The first of 24 rounds is normal but then things like anchors, sliding boxes, launching ramps, and explosive barrels are added to the mix to make the game much more difficult. The player is to score at least 25 points in each round. There are two separate scores - a round total and a grand total. The round total is what is scored on the given round. The grand total is the cumulative total for all rounds before the current.

Medals

By obtaining a high enough score after each game (the amount varies depending on the game), three different medals are awarded: red, silver, and gold (in order from lowest to highest).

References

1. Liz, Jose (2007-05-14). "Activision Ships Shrek the Third". PGNx Media. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
2. Scalzo, John (2007-03-02). "Shrek the Third Fact Sheet". Gaming Target. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)

External links

• Activision Official Website
• Shrek the Third - the Official Game Website
• Shrek the Third Walkthrough and Strategy Guide

• 2007 video games
• Game Boy Advance games
• Nintendo DS games
• Wii games
• PlayStation 2 games
• PlayStation Portable games
• Xbox 360 games
• Windows games
• Shrek video games
• Film based video games