Shrek SuperSlam
Better than licensed games ought to be.
Published: October 26, 2005
According to Activision, Shrek 2 was the best selling children’s game of 2004. Given that Shrek as whole has been largely popular since DreamWorks finally hit big with a CG animation project that could go toe-to-toe with Disney, this is no surprise, but the game didn’t exactly fare splendidly with the critics.
But, this is a perfect example of how a) the gaming press still doesn’t mean jack and b) consumers will buy something regardless of how good it is. This is exactly why we keep getting licensed games that are pure crap -- because they sell, and publishers know it. The only solution, then is to either hope for better licensed games or find a way to inform the masses that they’re buying crap.
Since the latter never stopped the public from buying tons of Army Men games, clearly we have to hope for the former. Luckily, it’s happening. There’s still far more crap than decent games out there, but the development teams are getting bigger and the ties to the original license stronger. As a result, we’re starting to see stuff like Shrek SuperSlam.
At its heart, this is just a basic melee combat game, and one that borrows liberally from Capcom’s PowerStone and HAL’s [/i]Super Smash Bros.[/i], which is fine. The result is a game that plays well, looks good and uses the license to fantastic effect, even if it’s not really all that amazing as a stand-alone product.
It’s not horrible, don’t get me wrong, and like many in the industry, I thought it would be without even picking up a controller. Once I did, though, and saw how developer Shaba Games had constructed a simple fighting game with a few layers of depth underneath, I felt ashamed that I’d gotten caught in the trap of assuming we couldn’t have a really good Shrek game. Guys (and girls), I’m sorry, I was wrong, and you’ve done right by the license.
While the game does have a minor story which puts the cast from the films, from Shrek to Foina to the Gingerbread Man to Prince Charming (as well as some great original characters Shaba created) in a handful of situations told as stories to lull some wild dronkeys (that’s dragon-donkeys) to sleep.
It’s a nice way to unlock some basic costumes, but it can be blown through in about 10-15 minutes, tops, and can be won with little more than button mashing. But SuperSlam is deeper than that. Sure, you have your branching combo tress – some of which are quite long, and usually belong to the more demure-looking characters – so button-mashing’s certainly an option. But the game also throws in a complex air dashing system, a right analog stick dodge, blocks, throws, wall lunges and of course the SuperSlam itself.
In fact, that’s how you win matches; there are no life bars, just recorded SuperSlams, so launching into successful attacks to fill your Slam Meter and the hitting Triangle will let you slam anyone you hit with the super attack into the scenery. The destruction, aided by Havok physics, is exquisite, and though it’s all pre-set in which set pieces break when, it’s still amazing to see the devastation when the round finally ends and the tally is made, and because there’s no life bars or running totals, it makes for incredibly hectic matches.
Perhaps too hectic, really. Even though there are a slew of unlockable characters, the number of stages isn’t terribly high, and when you have four-player games going on, the camera pulls back rather far, leaving the characters to blend in too much with the background, and often meaning you lose who you’re controlling in the crowd – especially in the game’s later Mega Challenge stages.
But, this is a perfect example of how a) the gaming press still doesn’t mean jack and b) consumers will buy something regardless of how good it is. This is exactly why we keep getting licensed games that are pure crap -- because they sell, and publishers know it. The only solution, then is to either hope for better licensed games or find a way to inform the masses that they’re buying crap.
Since the latter never stopped the public from buying tons of Army Men games, clearly we have to hope for the former. Luckily, it’s happening. There’s still far more crap than decent games out there, but the development teams are getting bigger and the ties to the original license stronger. As a result, we’re starting to see stuff like Shrek SuperSlam.
At its heart, this is just a basic melee combat game, and one that borrows liberally from Capcom’s PowerStone and HAL’s [/i]Super Smash Bros.[/i], which is fine. The result is a game that plays well, looks good and uses the license to fantastic effect, even if it’s not really all that amazing as a stand-alone product.
It’s not horrible, don’t get me wrong, and like many in the industry, I thought it would be without even picking up a controller. Once I did, though, and saw how developer Shaba Games had constructed a simple fighting game with a few layers of depth underneath, I felt ashamed that I’d gotten caught in the trap of assuming we couldn’t have a really good Shrek game. Guys (and girls), I’m sorry, I was wrong, and you’ve done right by the license.
While the game does have a minor story which puts the cast from the films, from Shrek to Foina to the Gingerbread Man to Prince Charming (as well as some great original characters Shaba created) in a handful of situations told as stories to lull some wild dronkeys (that’s dragon-donkeys) to sleep.
It’s a nice way to unlock some basic costumes, but it can be blown through in about 10-15 minutes, tops, and can be won with little more than button mashing. But SuperSlam is deeper than that. Sure, you have your branching combo tress – some of which are quite long, and usually belong to the more demure-looking characters – so button-mashing’s certainly an option. But the game also throws in a complex air dashing system, a right analog stick dodge, blocks, throws, wall lunges and of course the SuperSlam itself.
In fact, that’s how you win matches; there are no life bars, just recorded SuperSlams, so launching into successful attacks to fill your Slam Meter and the hitting Triangle will let you slam anyone you hit with the super attack into the scenery. The destruction, aided by Havok physics, is exquisite, and though it’s all pre-set in which set pieces break when, it’s still amazing to see the devastation when the round finally ends and the tally is made, and because there’s no life bars or running totals, it makes for incredibly hectic matches.
Perhaps too hectic, really. Even though there are a slew of unlockable characters, the number of stages isn’t terribly high, and when you have four-player games going on, the camera pulls back rather far, leaving the characters to blend in too much with the background, and often meaning you lose who you’re controlling in the crowd – especially in the game’s later Mega Challenge stages.
