Shrek: Hassle at the Castle

Published by TDK Mediactive
Platform: GBA
Released - Out Now
Price : £24.99

Even if you’ve never seen the film, most of you will recognise Shrek, a film about a big green ogre who befriends a donkey, fight enemies and ends up rescuing a Princess, who is not all what she seems to be. Well that’s almost exactly what you’ll be doing in this latest offering from TDK.

You don’t have to play as Shrek throughout the entire game though, you can choose to play the Donkey or Princess Fiona, who in turn, each have their own unique abilities as well as weaknesses. All three of the characters have a ‘power’ attack but this is only available when the power meter flashes, so use this attack wisely. You can sometimes pick up stones to attack enemies, very handy in certain sections of the game.

All of the game’s actions are controlled through the use of the A and B buttons. This gives Shrek a cunningly simple but effective control system, as you jump, punch and roar your way through the levels.

The cartoon approach to the design is great and the levels look good. The roar effect is good as the whole screen moves to demonstrate the power of the attack. Be careful though if you’re sensitive to flashing lights or images.

In Shrek Hassle at the Castle, you can play in either Story mode or Fighting mode. The Story mode is the main part of the game where you can take on the role of the three characters available. There are seven levels, each with two to three stages providing a good game length. At the start of each stage you are given simple instructions about your target, for example ‘Take Red to Grandma’s House’. All of the information is given textually in a clear and easy to read font. Fighting mode is where you can link up with your friends to play against each other, using a Gameboy Advance Link cable and at least one game pac.

Up to three people can play on Shrek Hassle at the Castle in Story mode, as there are three save game slots. Once you have completed a stage your progress is automatically saved, an essential feature for the younger player. Another feature of the game is that you can adjust the difficulty level, choosing from Easy, Normal or Advanced, so that younger gamers can enjoy the game too. However, there’s plenty of challenge in the game and you’ll keep yourself amused for hours.

Overall Game Rating: 7.2/10
A good GBA title that lets you pick your favourite Shrek characters and play through a similar story line to the original film.

Deaf Gamers comment:
No problems here, even for younger children.