Shrek 2 Remastered is coming out in November, it has been announced. I wasn't aware there was a Shrek 2 game for PS2, the OG Xbox, GameCube and PC, probably because in 2004 I was too busy thinking about all the other games coming out. You know, stuff like Half-Life 2, World of Warcraft, Halo 2, Metal Gear Solid 3, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas and Wings of Power: WWII Heavy Bombers and Jets.
But Shrek 2 does indeed exist, though contemporary reviews don't point to it necessarily justifying that existence. "You know folks, this game is pretty bad," wrote Nintendo World Report. "Shrek 2 is harmless, inoffensive, middle-of-the-road action for young children," Eurogamer wrote with superlative diplomacy. IGN gave it a 7 even though the reviewer "dreaded" playing it.
It's a 3D platformer, kinda, though it has some interesting features. You can switch between four characters on the go, which clearly inspired Rockstar during the making of GTA 5. It supports local and online co-op for up to four players, which is probably the best way to play it (the original only supported local). There are eleven levels, and apparently they're all quite varied, adopting various moments in the film with aplomb.
It appears to be a port of the PS2 version. The PC version of Shrek 2 was quite different to the console versions, a fact that has caused a bit of fuss in the Steam forums, though a contemporary review from Gamespot notes that "the PC version undercuts that [PS2] title with poor visuals, rougher, shallower gameplay, and an outrageously short running time."
Aspyr Media is handling the port, whose recent work includes the Lord of the Rings: War in the North re-release, and the Neverwinter Nights 2 enhanced edition.
The elephant in the news is that Shrek 2 Remastered releases on November 10, which is nine days before GTA 6. Quite how we'll all be able to wrench ourselves away from this 2004 film-to-game adaptation to suffer Rockstar's latest, I don't know.
Jokes aside: that Shrek 2 was released in 2004 does at least guarantee that humans made it.