Dreamworks has made something out of Shrek. Based on the box office numbers of Shrek 2, his first movie wasn't a bolt of lightning. A successful movie sequel means the big green ogre with the voice of a Canadian is now a bona-fide star. The game with the same name as the movie is pretty good, too.

Shrek 2 is a solid combination of rock-em sock-em action and platforming. You explore a 3D world in control of any of four main characters: Shrek, Princess Fiona (the ogre version, of course), Donkey or the Gingerbread Man (who seems to have recovered nicely from his torture at the hands of Lord Farquad in the first movie). You'll always have the first three to rely on, but the Gingerbread Man will be replaced by other characters along the way. You can switch between characters at any point by way of a single button press, and they each play very differently.

Shrek is obviously very strong and can pick up and throw opponents once they're dazed (which is noted by the circle of stars spinning around their heads). Fiona retains her martial arts expertise from the movies. The donkey is a world-class charger and headbutter, while the Gingerbread Man wields a mean candy cane that gives him a long reach and some smooth combos. He can also jump highest, and each character will use similar talents to solve puzzles if you want to keep moving along. But the save points are numerous, so any trial and error is usually more challenging than annoying.

There is a lot of fighting, but Shrek 2 stays true to its rating and the violence never rises above what you'd find in classic Saturday morning cartoons. The bad guys get knocked out and vanish from the screen, only to be replaced my even more bad guys. The waves can be a bit overwhelming as you get used to the controls, but after a while you'll have no trouble mastering the characters you enjoy most.

The game isn't all about fighting. It's also about navigating the terrain to collect enough items to finish a level and move the story along. In the beginning, Shrek is hungry so you'll be collecting eyeballs, and there are always coins lying around that need picking up. The elements of collection are fairly familiar and serve as the motivation to get your group from point to point, kicking butt along the way.

There are also periodic mini-games that involve only one character at a time. They're pretty easy - usually just requiring one button and some good timing - but they break up the pace of the action very well.

Shrek 2 is presented in the same way as the movie - through a storybook motif. The music and color palette retain all the identity of the movie, too, so any fan will feel right at home. The art in the game may be a bit brighter than the movie - a touch more cartoony - but it still does an excellent job of immersing you in the world of fairy tales and fart jokes.

The down side of Shrek 2 is its repetitiveness. The fights begin to drag once you've seen everything your characters can do, and the collection of objects is what it is in video games - you either enjoy it and the exploration it encourages or you don't. Unlike most platform games, Shrek 2 allows complete cooperative play for up to four players - and that counts for a lot. It's immeasurably more fun to beat up on the bad guys of the fantasy realm when you're doing it with friends; and for that feature Shrek 2 deserves some credit.

Shrek 2 can be called a platform adventure, but first and foremost it's a family game. The multiplayer option gives the kids and parents a chance to play together and make a video game a social experience. Instead of just buying the newest familiar, licensed game for the kids, plunking them down in front of the TV, then going about your adult business, Shrek 2 offers more. It's fun enough for most adults to enjoy (admittedly in limited doses) and simple enough for most kids to grasp. The opportunity for interaction among family or friends makes Shrek 2 more than the sum of its parts.