Shrek: Ogres and Dronkeys – NDS – Review

Shrek: Ogres and Dronkeys is a different type of
Shrek game than previous editions. Here, the emphasis is a simulation/virtual
pet theme where players train the babies by interacting with them in various
ways. Training these skills helps the babies unlock mini
games, which can then be played at any time. This sounds like a fun
combination for young players, but sadly the promise soon peters out.

It seems that Fiona and Shrek have to put in some royal travel time around the
kingdom, doing their royal public relations thing. However, they have a
problem: who’s going to watch the young ogres while they’re gone? Ah, yes, the
dwarf! The dwarf babysitter can use your help in keeping up with the ogres and
their playmates, the dronkeys. All that is
required is to care for, entertain, and feed these babies! If only it was as
easy as this in real life.

The main storymode is where all the action is.
Here, players will choose two of the babies. These babies will appear in the
playroom, where players can interact with them. There is a
toybox for toys, shelves for personal-care items,
and a bath area in an adjacent room. Outside, there are many areas with
collectibles and other items to find.

Playing with the babies teaches them important skills that will help them find
the collectibles that are in hard-to-reach areas. The
toybox is where the toys are, and players can select them by opening
the playbox and then choosing the toy from the
menu. At first, there are only a few items available. Additional items can be
purchased in the store when players earn points. These points are earned by
the babies learning new skills with the toys.

The babies will have certain skills they need to learn, such as stacking
certain blocks on top of each other, as well as other combinations of toys.
They will need to learn how to throw and kick the toys, and other similar
actions. These skills are listed in task lists, and will be displayed briefly
across the screen when the babies do them for the first time. When the toys
for certain skills are present on the floor, an activity icon will be
displayed. Once this main skill is learned, a message will be displayed.

From time to time, the babies will need to be brushed, fed, or cleaned. A
floating icon will appear above their heads indicating a need. Players will
need to select the care item and drag it to the baby and use the stylus to rub
it back and forth over the baby. When the baby is dirty, players can take it
to the bathroom and give the baby a bath.

Mini games
are opened up by collecting items outside. There are five play areas outside,
each of which has a mini game. Once 10 items are
found in a certain area, the mini game becomes
available. These mini games are all very simple
games that are played with the stylus. For instance, the bowling game is
played by the player simply using the stylus to draw a line from the bottom of
the screen to the top alongside a directional arrow. Then players will watch
the ball roll and knock down the pins. Really, that’s it. The other four games
are pretty much the same in terms of complexity. Players will use the touch
screen and stylus for all the games.

At first glance, this game looked pretty cool. I like simulation games for
kids, and the ogres and dronkeys are really cute.
The first several minutes of play are fun, as players get to choose toys, drag
them around and watch the babies play with them. However, this becomes rather
boring when players realize that they really can’t interact with the babies
all that much. There is no true interactive between player, toy and baby. The
player can drag the toys around the room, and then watch the baby pick it up
and do things with it, but that’s it. The personal care items add a little
variety, but not a whole lot.

Outside isn’t a whole lot better. All the babies will do is
follow the stylus in the shape of the rattle around
the level, collecting items along the way. This opens up the
minigames, but the minigames
are too simple to be much fun. All players will do is either tap the screen,
or drag the stylus. Now, using the stylus can be fun when there are more
complex motions to do, but just drawing a straight line, tapping a hay bale in
the air or leading the babies around with the stylus to catch fireflies isn’t
much fun.

This game is a sad case of what could have been. The general format of a
simulation game, coupled with a simple platform game with collectibles, is
good. Throw in some mini games, and it should be a
decent game with these super-cute dronkeys and
ogres. However, there just wasn’t much effort put into the actual game after
the initial concept, evidently. While there are a ton of toys and food items
to choose from, players really don’t get to do that much with the items.
Still, it is kind of cool to watch the babies play
with toys like the Jack in the Box and the spider. Giving baths are cool, but
there’s not much to do except scrub that baby.

The platform action outside also seems fun at first, but it again becomes
boring due to the very slow pace of using the stylus to lead the baby around.
The mini games should be a fun break from the
regular gameplay, but it’s almost like the
designers felt compelled to use the touch screen for everything. A couple of
touch-screen games would have been Ok, but not every one. The bowling game is
the most “non-game” I’ve ever seen, with players only drawing a line to bowl.
The others aren’t much better.

There is a multiplayer mode that is good in that it doesn’t require the other
players to have their own systems or games, but the multiplayer games are the
mini games, which are boring in single play and
just as boring playing with others.

I
believe this game had promise, and would have been better if the mini games
had been different. The game is aiming for a very young crowd, but they would
have had more fun with some matching and coloring games, and some simple
puzzles. Also, the simulation could have been a little more elaborate, with
players doing things like throwing the balls to the babies, or teaching them
some words. A mediocre game that only has the Shrek
license going for it.

Gameplay: 6.0

The
gameplay is adequately amusing for brief amounts
of time, but even the very young will become bored soon.

Graphics: 8.0

The
graphics are the best aspect of the game. All the characters look like they
should.

Sound: 6.0

The
music is good, but not much above average.

Difficulty: Easy

The
game is very easy, as it is for young children.

Concept: 6.0

This
is a decent concept, but it suffers from poor execution.

Multiplayer: 5.0

The multiplayer
mode lets multiple players play the mini games. The good news is that players
can share one NDS system, the bad news is that they have to play the mini
games.

Overall: 6.0
This
game is not much fun. It has potential, but the game as it is doesn’t offer
hardly anything for kids to do besides watch the babies play and play a few
simple mini games. The platforming isn’t a whole
lot of fun, either. Once all the items are round, there isn’t any point to
replay the levels. Parents may want to pass on this one.