Shrek Party

Although they look virtually identical, there are many key differences between Wayne Rooney and Shrek. For instance, I can't imagine Wayne spends Valentine's day dancing around a castle, fighting off a cupid-gone-bad for his other half's entertainment. An expensive ring and a trip to Pizza Hut would probably suffice.

Shrek, on the other hand, has his English Heritage card fully paid up, regularly treating Princess Fiona to castle excursions. At least, that's the setting for the outset of Shrek Party, which is laced throughout with a theme of 'fairy tales turned sour'.

Shrek's first adventure in his rather oddly named 'Party' is to confront said evil cupid, taking to the castle halls, fighting off guards and picking up objects (namely, dollar symbols in the shape of Shrek's head) along the way in an unsurprising but entertaining platform adventure.

Though fairly linear, the levels themselves are beautifully designed and serve up marvellously mixed bags of challenges, perfectly complemented by the varied range of abilities Shrek himself has up his sleeves.

Yes, our ugly green friend is a lot more sprightly than his portly frame might suggest: at his disposal is a number of moves perhaps more suited to a certain blue hedgehog, with Shrek able to spin through objects and jump on top of rivals to dispose of them.

There are also items scattered around levels that enable Shrek to reach seemingly locked off areas, miniaturizing him, pushing him up into the sky, and even turning him into Donkey for short periods.

Any potential for the variety of moves at your disposal or the hurdles placed at your feet to bamboozle the player is neatly sidestepped by handy prompts placed at almost every sticking point. The keys that relate to Shrek's abilities are clearly displayed on the screen at the points where they will prove most fruitful, though Shrek Party still has the ability to take a life or two with falling ledges and pot-holed tracks.

This is, perhaps, a fairer way of testing what is likely be a novice audience than simply throwing problems at them. Shrek Party is firmly a platformer for the casuals out there, but one that does a brilliant job of conveying the appeal of the license.

Even better, you don't have to have seen any of the Shrek movies or have an appreciation for the franchise at all to enjoy its charms. While fans will take to Shrek Party like ducks to water, it's perfectly possible to play through the levels without paying heed to Party's context, skipping any dialogue that loses you along the way.

For those who do buy into the world of Shrek, however, there's plenty of material to put you in a festive mood, with witches, evil cackling birds and even a man with a pumpkin on his head all playing their parts.

This is a colourful box of fun, and while it might not be the most taxing plaformer you'll ever pick up, it's well designed and, more importantly, it's fair. Fairer than comparing poor ol' Rooney to Shrek, anyway.