Shrek the Third for Nintendo DS - Should You Grab It Up Or Walk On By?

Our hero's at the very beginning of the game include Shrek, Puss and Boots, and our new heir to the thrown Artie. What makes the game play so poor is the fact that you have to use each character during different specific sections of the game. Puss and Boots can jump really high, so you will need to switch over to his character whenever you need to access a high platform.

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Shrek has the ability to slam himself into enemies, and he is the only one who can smash through walls or rocks. If there is a barricade of fallen rocks, you will need to switch over to Shrek in order to break through on to the next part in the game.

Artie carries a dagger and is able to throw the dagger at enemies while keeping a safe distance away. He can also stab enemies at close range, but it's best to stay far away. I found Artie to be mildly useless considering the fact that his dagger is not very efficient at throwing, or stabbing. Artie also comes packed with a shield in order to block oncoming attacks, or to throw it at them.

Now the game play may not sound all too horrendous, but it is. At first the non-stop switching of characters is not that bad, and the graphics are nice enough to make you think that Shrek the Third is a good game, but eventually the repetitive switching gets tedious and very frustrating.

You can link up with the other characters when you are playing as 1. They will follow you like zombies when you are linked up, but the issue with this is that if you step ahead just a few short steps the link vanishes, and the other characters will remain where they are motionless. Having to go back to link up with the other character's is really annoying, especially when you find you are doing it consistently throughout the game. If you do not link up, you will have to go all the way back to where the character last was.

Basically you have to work together in order to solve the scenes puzzle, in order to advance on to the next puzzle scene. It has a very similar connection to the way you must play LEGO video games. Shrek the Third for the DS is a game that is a combination of puzzle/adventure.

Donkey is not one of the main characters you will be using, but you can summon him whenever you are stuck or feel the need for help and assistance. Donkey will show up, freeze enemies, or levitate your character. I found that I did not need to summon him because the enemies in the game are far and wide spread. Basically you will only see 4 or so enemies on every level. Shrek and Artie can easily wipe out the enemies with little to no effort.