An Ogre Far, Far Away
Shrek’s first visit to Fiona’s incredibly stylish homeland—a magical kingdom called Far, Far Away—will have the ogre up to his stinktiferous armpits in responsibility. After you reach what locals call “the F.F.A.,” Shrek and company go to work for the local law enforcement to impress his new in-laws Harold and Lillian, who also happen to be the King and Queen. This level is larger than most and is divvied up into separate missions you can tackle in any order you like. Each one is set up like a mini hero challenge for Deputy Shrek, who is usually joined by his fellow deputies.
The F.F.A. has it all.
Street Brawl
Shrek, who plays this mission as a solo Hero Time challenge, gets to round up gangs of brawling thugs and toss them into the paddy wagon in the Street Brawl mission. Hold down X to target the wagon and use Shrek’s belly-flop to stun several thugs at once. If Shrek gets flattened and can’t go on, you can still knock thugs into the wagon by smacking them with another hero. Don’t miss the magic bean hovering over the awning to the left of the springboard, near the exit.
Friar Fat Boy
Even in Shrek’s fairy tale world, everybody loves delicious chicken. Help the Friar round up the fryers by popping the poultry on their pecking pates and using Shrek’s ogre strength to pick them up and toss them in the pen. Alternatively, you can use the other heroes to beat the fowl into the pen, but that method isn’t nearly as foolproof. Or Donkey-proof.
Time for a chicken round-up!
Ratical
Anyone who’s played an RPG in the past 10 years knows there’s always a rat fight. In Shrek 2, there’s more than rats to worry about—the Pied Piper himself is causing trouble. You’ll have to deal with him before you can finish this job. Fortunately, though his rat pals are quite nasty, the Piper will fold like a cheap napkin after a single ogre love tap.
Shopping Spree
Cinderella does her part to reinforce blonde princess stereotypes in this escort mission where Shrek and his deputies must protect the cell-phone-chatting Cindy as she ogles the merchandise in the F.F.A.’s exclusive clothing shops. But gangs of princess-hating thugs are on the prowl. Use Fiona’s bullet-time power to keep Cinderella from taking too much damage as you clear out the bandits. Cindy’s pretty fragile … I guess her shoes are made of glass or something?
Falling to Pieces
When you’ve tried everything to put Humpty Dumpty back together again, it’s time to bring in the ogres and donkeys. You’ll have to use Lil' Red to reach the pieces that are way up there because she has the highest jump rating.
Get this troll’s mitts off the family jewels at all costs.
Family Jewels
A troll (apparently) swallowed the royal family jewels, and now he’s … er … passing the savings on to you and your team. Technically this isn’t a hero challenge because you have your whole team along for the ride, but it is tricky. You’ve got to smash all of the jewelry cases as you collect the trail of jewelry behind the troll. But you’ve got to stay out of reach—the troll can knock even Shrek out of the game with only one or two swings. Focus on the shiny sparklies, avoid the green and uglies, and you should be fine.
Bonus: That Darn Bean
As you wander around Far, Far Away, you’ll notice there’s a single magic bean floating high over head, with no visible way to reach it. Not even Lil' Red, perky as she is, can reach that pernicious bean. What to do? Easy! Just wait for the carriage to roll by, then jump up onto the back and on to the top. Make sure you jump at just the right moment because the carriage comes to a complete stop when you’re atop it, and the only way to move forward is to get back off the carriage and try again.
By Danny Chihdo
