Shrek's one of those licenses that did well at the box office but got massacred as a videogame. However, in the hands of Activision and Luxoflux, Shrek 2 for the GameCube, though it has some shortcomings, is actually quite good, and worth checking out if you have a passion for everyone's favorite green ogre.

At its core, Shrek 2 is what Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles should've been. You set out on adventures with four characters from the Shrek universe and you can control each on the fly. However, where the game excels is in its multiplayer. Three other players can jack in at any time and control a character, making Shrek 2 a pretty decent party game. Each character has his or her own special abilities, and you'll need them to get past enemies as well as puzzles. For example, Princess Fiona has a Matrix-like ability called slow time that allows her to, as you may have already guessed, slow down the action so the party can get past obstacles. Gingerbread Man can throw cookies to hit switches and targets, and Puss in Boots can walk on vines. All of this creates a symbiotic experience where all four players need one another to survive.

Shrek 2's levels throw all sorts of obstacles as well as enemies at the players and it keeps things fresh. Sometimes you'll just have to pound on enemies, but other missions are more colorful, such as tossing chickens into a boiling kettle or escorting the three blind mice through a witch's dark forest. However, the game also puts certain characters on the spot with Hero Time. These solo performances have Fiona singing to collect black birds for a pie and Donkey trying to catch a wagon while riding on the back of a dragon, a mission we had quite a bit of fun playing.

While they don't push the GameCube to its graphical limits, Shrek 2's visuals are very pretty. All of the characters look very much like their movie counterparts and are beautifully animated. In addition, the environments they walk around in are equally impressive, in particular, wood textures and fire effects look cool, though the water is a mixed bag. The game runs in progressive scan, so HDTV owners can take advantage of the higher resolution, but don't feel left out of you can't access it, as the game is gorgeous enough on a standard television.

While Shrek 2 is a fairly enjoyable game, it doesn't have that extra "oomph" to push it a top the pile of fabulous movie-based games (though admittedly, that particular pile is rather small). The four-player fun only lasts so long, and if you're playing the game solo, you're A.I. controlled teammates aren't very helpful. Sure, they'll beat on enemies, but if you're not constantly switching and/or watching them, they'll probably get knocked out well before you. They're just not smart enough. When we knocked down a tree as Donkey so my party could cross a river, Shrek walked off the edge and we had to restart at the checkpoint!

We were also disappointed by the lack of extras. While this is more of a nit pick, we have to admit that Electronic Arts spoiled us with its Lord of the Rings games. Where are the interviews? Concept Art? What's presented is solid, but the focus is really on the gameplay and we're a bit disappointed. It's not good when a $49.99 game's best extra feature is a Baskin Robbins coupon (buy one sundae, get the second one free).

The game's camera serves to frustrate more than help. It can't be 100% controlled, making it easy to miss items. However, it doesn't really hamper the gameplay, as you can easily get around and check stuff out. Lastly, the game suffers from bouts of slowdown, but it doesn't ruin the experience.

Complaints aside, we found Shrek 2 to be a quality movie-based game filled with solid enough gameplay to warrant a purchase, but only if you're a fan. The four player is enjoyable, but the experience fizzled out the longer we toyed with it, as the concept isn't very original. Also, if you're not into Shrek, this definitely isn't for you, and you'd be better served to check out similar games. However, we congratulate Luxoflux and Activision on a job well done, as they've managed to breathe life into the series, something that'll be quite comforting if there's a Shrek 3. At least we'll know the games are in good hands.