Activision's Shrek Forever After Video Game is a Hit in Our House

Right now, my kids are Shrek-obsessed, along with every other kid we know.

We've seen the movie. We've read the storybook. We're collecting the McDonalds toys.

And as you can imagine, I was a complete hero when Activision's Shrek Forever After Xbox game arrived in the mail for us to review.

My six-year-old daughter has played all of the Shrek video games repeatedly, so she was an old pro when this game arrived. She quickly figured out how to play it, even with her limited reading ability. That made it a great game for me! I don't enjoy having to sit by her side and read all of a game's on-screen instructions to her as she plays.

Another huge plus to the game is that more than one player can play. This factor really makes these games a family/social experience- Her three-year-old brother follows her around on-screen, her dad plays with her when he gets home from work, and our neighbors have had a ball playing as well. Having more than one player really keeps it from becoming a scary kid-focused-on-the-screen experience. Instead, she is working together with a family member or friend and they are interacting in real life as well as on the screen.

Punky also enjoys it because there is lots of exploring and puzzles (which she loves,) and not too much fighting (which she doesn't love). Players can choose between characters when they play, each of which have their own unique set of abilities, and she has had a lot of fun learning about the various characters' fighting techniques. Of course, her favorite is the fighting Fiona!

We began playing the Shrek Forever After video game before we saw the movie and it really enhanced the movie experience when we finally got around to seeing it. If you have kids who love Shrek and a Wii, Nintendo DS, Xbox 360 or Playstation 3, I highly recommend this video game. It is a lot of fun! It's available for $47.99 right now on Amazon.com.

Disclosure: I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour campaign by Mom Central on behalf of Activision and received the items necessary to facilitate my review. In addition, Mom Central sent me a gift card to thank me for taking the time to participate.