Shrek Super Party

Shrek: Super Party
PAL region GC cover art
PAL region GC cover art
Developer(s) Mass Media Inc.
Publisher(s) TDK Mediactive
Platform(s) PlayStation 2, GameCube, Xbox
Release PlayStation 2
  • NA: November 16, 2002
  • PAL: February 14, 2003
Xbox
  • NA: November 29, 2002
  • PAL: November 29, 2002
GameCube
  • NA: May 30, 2003
  • PAL: May 30, 2003
Genre(s) Party
Mode(s) Single-player, multiplayer

Shrek Super Party is a party video game released in 2002 by Mass Media. The game is based on the Shrek movie series. This game is also similar to Pac-Man Fever (which has the same developer) and the Mario Party series of games. It was the last Shrek game to be published by TDK Mediactive

Overview

The characters Shrek, Fiona, Donkey, Lord Farquaad, Thelonius, and Monsieur Hood are available for play. Five realms are available for play, each with its own mini-games: The Keep, The Windmill, The Swamp, The Castle, and The Farm. The cover features four colored castles and four characters Shrek, Donkey, Princess Fiona, and Lord Farquaad. Some are team games where the 1st player teams up with the 3rd player, and the 2nd player teams up with the 4th player.

Gameplay

The purpose of the game Shrek Super Party is to be the first player to collect a certain number of "Precious Drops". This number can be preset in the "game settings" menu at the beginning of the game as anything between 200 and 800 in intervals of 100. The drops can be collected through making bug matches or by reaching "Realm Caches".

At the start of the game, players compete in a mini-game called "Bug Catcher," where players must run over bugs of various colors that wander around Town Square. At the end of the time limit, each player receives a starting number of precious drops calculated from the value in precious drops of each match collected. Throughout the game, each player maintains a hand of 5 bugs, color-coded by value:

Color Precious Drops
Green 1
Red 2
Yellow 3
Orange 4
Blue 5

At the end of each mini-game, each player has the opportunity to trade bugs with the other three players. The order and number of bugs traded is determined by the outcome of the previous mini-game. 4th place does not get to trade bugs, 3rd place can trade 1 bug with any other player, 2nd place can trade 2 bugs with any player(s), and 1st place can trade 3 bugs with any player(s). Following team matches, each of the winning players gets a turn to trade two bugs with either of the losing players. After trading is done, each player is awarded the amount of precious drops that their hand of 5 bugs is worth. Bugs only have value if part of a match, and bonus points are awarded depending on the size of the match:

Number of Same-Color Bugs Matched Bonus Drops Awarded
2 10
3 15
4 20
5 25

For example, a hand with 2 blue bugs and 3 yellow bugs would be worth [(5x2)+10]+[(3x3)+15]=44 precious drops. Once precious drops are added to each player's score at the end of the trading round, all of the matching bugs are replaced by randomly generated bugs that replenish each player's hand.

Each player chooses a realm to traverse toward a "Realm Cache". The game is set up along a board game model, with each player taking turns moving spaces along paths towards the "Realm Cache". The Realm Cache increases each time a player selects the realm. Player movement is determined by a ball drop game over a three by three numbered grid, with each of the numbered squares corresponding to a different number of spaces the player moves forward: 1 to 9.

Each square also results in a different outcome. The possible outcomes include: Epic Battle, Daring Duel, Lose Drops, Gain Drops, Magic Mirror, Boots (which send the player to the evil bog), Magic Portal, Pixie Dust, Short Cut, and the final Realm Cache. The squares Magic Mirror, Boots, Magic Portal, Pixie Dust, and Short Cut appear only once per realm. Landing on another player sends that player to the evil bog. If a player gets sent to the evil bog three times in one game, they are required to do one single naked lap around the exterior of the house the game is being played in.

Outcome Gameplay
Epic Battle All 4 players participate in a randomly selected mini-game. Each realm contains 6 mini-games that can be played.
Daring Duel Player selects another player to challenge to a duel. All 4 players participate in a mini-game, but bugs are only traded between the winning party and the losing party of the duel.
Lose Drops A random quantity of drops is subtracted from the player's score. Alternatively, the player will select another player to receive the lost drops.
Gain Drops A random quantity of drops is added to the player's score. Alternatively, the player will select another player to take drops from.
Magic Mirror Player must succumb to the Magic Mirror's whim. The Magic Mirror randomly generates an Epic Battle, Daring Duel, Lose Drops, Gain Drops, Boots, Magic Portal, or Pixie Dust.
Boots Player is sent to the evil bog. Players in the evil bog are referred to as "Bog Monsters." A player must roll a 4 or higher on their next ball drop to return to Town Square and select a realm. If a player lands on Boots 3 times over the course of a game, they must run a naked lap around the house.
Magic Portal Player is teleported to the magic portal square of an adjacent realm. Magic Portals teleport players to the next realm in a counter-clockwise fashion as viewed from the realm selection screen.
Pixie Dust A pouch of Pixie Dust allows the player to select a new realm at the start of their turn. Pouches of Pixie Dust can be accumulated and used on any turn during the game.
Short Cut Player's character is subjected to a silly animation that advances their position in their realm.

Shrek Super Party is a strategy game. Success is dependent on a player's knowledge of their opponents' and their own strengths and weaknesses at each of the 30 mini-games. The impact of mini-game outcomes can be offset or amplified by the skill with which players trade their bugs.

Reception

Reception
Review scores
PublicationScore
GCPS2Xbox
AllGame[1]N/A[2]
CVGN/AN/A4/10[3]
EGMN/AN/A2/10[4]
Game InformerN/AN/A3.25/10[5]
IGN3.8/10[6]2.9/10[7]3/10[8]
Nintendo Power2.2/5[9]N/AN/A
OPM (US)N/A[10]N/A
OXM (US)N/AN/A3.9/10[11]
TeamXboxN/AN/A4/10[12]
Aggregate scores
GameRankings44.25%[13]46.56%[14]39.07%[15]
Metacritic40/100[16]30/100[17]33/100[18]

The game was met with mixed reception for the GameCube version and negative reviews for the Xbox And PS2 versions upon release. GameRankings and Metacritic gave it a score of 47% and 30 out of 100 for the PlayStation 2 version;[14][17] 44% and 40 out of 100 for the GameCube version;[13][16] and 39% and 33 out of 100 for the Xbox version.[15][18]

References

  1. ↑ Marriott, Scott Alan. "Shrek: Super Party (GC) - Review". AllGame. Archived from the original on November 13, 2014. Retrieved September 14, 2015.
  2. ↑ Marriott, Scott Alan. "Shrek: Super Party (Xbox) - Review". AllGame. Archived from the original on November 13, 2014. Retrieved September 14, 2015.
  3. ↑ CVG staff (January 8, 2003). "Xbox Review: Shrek Super Party". Computer and Video Games. Archived from the original on May 24, 2007. Retrieved July 18, 2014.
  4. ↑ "Shrek Super Party (Xbox)". Electronic Gaming Monthly (163): 158. February 2003.
  5. ↑ Reiner, Andrew (January 2003). "Shrek: Super Party (Xbox)". Game Informer (117): 114. Archived from the original on November 15, 2004. Retrieved July 18, 2014.
  6. ↑ Chambers, Chadd (July 14, 2003). "Shrek Super Party (GCN)". IGN. Retrieved July 18, 2014.
  7. ↑ Goldstein, Hilary (November 21, 2002). "Shrek Super Party (PS2)". IGN. Retrieved July 18, 2014.
  8. ↑ Goldstein, Hilary (November 19, 2002). "Shrek Super Party (Xbox)". IGN. Retrieved July 18, 2014.
  9. ↑ "Shrek Super Party". Nintendo Power. 169: 138. June 2003.
  10. ↑ "Shrek Super Party". Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine: 131. January 2003.
  11. ↑ "Shrek Super Party". Official Xbox Magazine: 80. February 2003.
  12. ↑ "Shrek: Super Party Review (Xbox)". TeamXbox. January 19, 2003. Archived from the original on August 17, 2009. Retrieved July 18, 2014.
  13. 1 2 "Shrek: Super Party for GameCube". GameRankings. Retrieved July 18, 2014.
  14. 1 2 "Shrek: Super Party for PlayStation 2". GameRankings. Retrieved July 18, 2014.
  15. 1 2 "Shrek: Super Party for Xbox". GameRankings. Retrieved July 18, 2014.
  16. 1 2 "Shrek: Super Party for GameCube Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved July 18, 2014.
  17. 1 2 "Shrek: Super Party for PlayStation 2 Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved July 18, 2014.
  18. 1 2 "Shrek: Super Party for Xbox Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved July 18, 2014.
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