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Shrek 2 for PlayStation 2
Shrek 2 for the PlayStation 2 lets you lead a group of fairy-tale characters through an adventure full of battles, collection tasks and short puzzles. Shrek, Fiona and Donkey are joined by changing teammates, including Puss in Boots and the Gingerbread Man. Your group usually consists of four characters. Their different abilities determine who can remove a barrier or open up part of the route.
When playing alone, you switch characters with the shoulder buttons and the others follow under computer control. With extra controllers, up to four players can join the main adventure together. You coordinate who performs a task and when everyone moves on. Combat revolves around simple attacks against groups of enemies, interspersed with moving objects and collecting what an assignment requires. For three or four players on PlayStation 2, you need a Multitap.
Hero Time challenges regularly take one character out of the group for a separate task. This interrupts the normal teamwork with a short section centered on that character's special qualities. The fairy-tale environments and cutscenes follow the film's atmosphere and add situations of their own. The camera sometimes needs adjusting while navigating, and computer-controlled characters can get stuck behind obstacles. Especially when playing together, discussing the route and dividing roles remains important.
Region and language
Our PlayStation 2 games are PAL editions and come with a Dutch or English box, unless stated otherwise. By default, you receive the version for the European market. We note it in the product details if the region is different or the box is in another language. In almost all cases, the game is playable at least in English, and often in the other five common European languages too.
Manual
Shrek 2 for PlayStation 2 includes the manual unless the product title states otherwise. If the booklet is missing, the title says “No Manual”. This lets you see before ordering whether the game comes with a manual.
The manuals included with our games usually contain at least English and often around six European languages. The exact languages vary by edition, so Dutch is not always included. The booklet explains the controls and the main rules. You can use it to check how to control the game, which actions are available and how its different features work.
The history of Shrek 2
Shrek 2 was released by Activision in 2004, the same year as the second DreamWorks film. Luxoflux developed the PlayStation 2, Nintendo GameCube and Xbox versions. The team worked with DreamWorks' animators on the characters' realization. The adventure used locations from the film but also received its own environments and characters to fill out the journey between familiar events.
The choice of a four-person group shaped the design. Each hero received a particular job at obstacles, while players could join or leave during the adventure. Luxoflux thereby made cooperation part of the main route. The separate Hero Time sections provided room to give one character a scene of their own. The spoken dialogue uses replacement voice actors; the original film cast did not reprise their roles here.
Platform differences matter with this title. Activision had KnowWonder develop the PC version and Vicarious Visions the Game Boy Advance version. Those editions took their own approach and offered only a single-player adventure. The PlayStation 2 version belongs to the console variant with eleven levels and local cooperative play. It is this combination of character switching and completing missions together that distinguishes this edition.
Similar games for PlayStation 2
Madagascar for the PlayStation 2 also has familiar film animals with their own abilities traveling through different chapters. The gameplay regularly changes with the character. Shrek 2 usually keeps a group on screen together and uses that lineup for puzzles. Particularly when several people play, that consistent group takes on a different significance.
Over the Hedge combines animal humor with combat and gathering items in human neighborhoods. Working together is an important part of its action too. Shrek 2 uses a larger group of four and rotates fairy-tale characters between chapters. The environment therefore more often calls for a particular power within the team.
Ice Age 2: The Meltdown mainly follows Scrat as he jumps and collects nuts. Sid and Diego receive smaller tasks of their own. Shrek 2 puts more emphasis on puzzles solved with multiple heroes. Your choice is therefore between an adventure centered on one agile lead character and a journey in which the group is constantly involved.
The Incredibles distributes superpowers across separate levels and situations for different family members. Shrek 2 often places those abilities alongside one another within the same group. Both connect film scenes with additional fights and obstacles, but in Shrek you can also complete most of the main route with several players on one console.
Sonic Heroes also asks you to choose the right hero for an obstacle. You switch between speed, flight and power within a team of three. Shrek 2 handles that choice at a gentler pace, with collection tasks and simple character puzzles. Sonic builds its routes much more heavily around high speed and maintaining momentum.
