Shrek Superslam E3 2005 Preshow Report

One of the games we got a chance to see for the first time at Activision's pre-E3 event in Los Angeles was Shrek Superslam, a melee free-for-all brawl featuring the popular burly green ogre and about 20 of his friends and foes. Evidently inspired by games like Power Stone and Super Smash Bros. Melee, Shrek Superslam looks like it's going to be chock-full of silly fun, not to mention plenty of references to the blockbuster film series.

While we didn't get to actually play the game, we did get to see a four-player demo of it running, which featured a variety of different characters, moves, and locales. We also specifically saw the PS2 version in action, though Shrek Superslam is headed to just about every current-generation platform, and we understand that the underlying themes are going to be pretty consistent from one version to the next. In addition to the 20 characters (including Donkey, Puss in Boots, Princess Fiona, and more), Shrek Superslam will reportedly feature 16 different interactive environments, many of which are lifted directly from the Shrek movies and some of which are original creations. The original settings, such as the Kung-Fu Monastery, take the same tongue-in-cheek approach as what you'd expect to find in a Shrek title.

A bunch of different modes of play will be included, like the melee mode, a story mode, practice, training, ladder, and megachallenge--the latter of which is like a series of minigames. Regardless of the mode, the action will generally revolve around pummeling people. Characters can swat at each other with their fists and feet or whatever weapons are at their disposal. They can also charge up unique superslam moves, which will deal lots of damage and will be difficult to avoid. These slams can even wreak havoc on the environment itself, causing the stages to break apart realistically, which ought to help keep the momentum of the battles constantly shifting as they wear on. Power-up potions will also be there to tip the scales in different players' favor.

At E3, we figure we'll get to give the game a run for its money. What we saw of it at Activision's event looked quite good, with characters and environments that looked just like their cinematic counterparts. We didn't get much of an impression of the game's audio (speech seemed to be completely missing from what we could tell), but we hope that Shrek Superslam will ultimately deliver both the look and the humor of the series. We'll bring you more details on this one just as soon as we get to see it up close.