| Introduction
'Shrek - Hassle At The Castle' is the third GameBoy
title based on the Oscar winning animated movie. Unfortunately,
the previous two titles were terrible. The first, 'Fairytale
Freakdown' for the GBC, could best described as a substandard
beat'em up while the second, 'SwampKart Speedway' for
the GBA, was simply appalling. Now, some two years after
the movie and with a new developer, we have a title
that's the closest thing yet to the movie's original
plot.
GamePlay
'Hassle At The Castle' has you platforming through
a variety of different challenges. To start with, you
can only control Shrek and this is the case until you
free Donkey and later Princess Fiona by rescuing them
from their various captors.
One of the first things you'll notice about the actual
gameplay is that it features an almost perfect learning
curve regardless of ability. The first couple of levels
simply challenge you to stop some villagers or knights
from attacking you, whilst the later levels become a
lot more complicated.
Another plus is the reasonable amount of variety
in the actual objectives. Some levels for example are
timed, so getting into a castle and back out again before
the clock reaches zero might take more than just a single
try. Some glimmers of originality are also evident,
like the part where Princess Fiona has to sing to a
bird in the correct pitch to make it explode.
In most platform games, bonus items are always an
important feature, and 'Hassle At The Castle' has its
fair share of them. These range from weapons, such as
sticks and stones, to the occasional magical item that
allows you to fly for a short period of time. Each of
the three characters is also blessed with a special
weapon, which must be charged up by beating enemies
and are really helpful in impossible situation. Shrek
for example, possesses a mighty roar, which slays everything
on screen at that time and can also remove several life
points from one of the many bosses you'll encounter.
The bosses themselves become more powerful as the
game progresses but, as usual, you can discover their
weak spots by studying their fight patterns.
The save feature is completely automatic and if you
complete the game, you're rewarded with a level select
option. Once you complete the game though, there's little
incentive to play it again, even on a more difficult
setting.
Controls
This latest Shrek game is obviously aimed at a younger
audience and as a result, the control system has been
kept incredibly simple. Choosing to ignore the shoulder
buttons, all the on screen actions are manipulated by
the 'D-Pad' and the 'A' and 'B' buttons. One thing you'll
notice, however, is that your three controllable character
have very different strengths and weaknesses and it's
up to you to work out the best man (or Donkey, or Princess)
for the job. Thankfully, the controls are responsive
so don't blame it if you miss time a jump or run out
of floor.
Graphics
The developers have opted for the rather odd 'big
head' characters sprites, which in most console games
are usually only avail bale as a cheat. In 'Hassle at
the Castle', however, the 'big head' effect works quite
well since it allows a wider range of facial expressions
and is actually quite appealing in a deformed sort of
way.
As for animation, it is simplistic but very pleasing
and complements the style of gameplay perfectly. This
is all set against some beautiful environments taken
from the movie and tied up with cut screens featuring
actual stills also from the movie. Overall, 'Hassle
At The Castle' far surpasses the two previous outings
and, with the visuals responsible for the movie's appeal,
you can only wonder why it's taken so long to get it
right.
Sound & Music
While the soundtrack seems very fitting in Shrek's
Fairy Tale Land, the loop is a little short and most
gamers will eventually find it a little irritating.
Also, outside of the battle grunts and clashing of weapons
there's not much in the way of actual voice samples
which could have injected some humor into the game.
The game still manages nicely without it of course,
although it may be something to include when the next
bout of games to tie in with Shrek 2 reaches us sometime
in 2004.
Final Comments
With TDK Mediactive botching up the first two Shrek
titles you've got to wonder why this one wasn't released
first. Although 'Hassle At The Castle' isn't original
or ground-breaking, it is fun to play and ultimately
that's what matters the most, especially if it's targeted
at a younger audience. In addition, there's some extended
gameplay to be had thanks to the multiplayer modes which
only require a single copy of the game. Overall, this
is a definite 'third time lucky' for Shrek and proves
that some movie tie-in games are actually worth buying.
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