Shrek: Reekin’ Havoc plays almost purely as a side-scroller, with your character strolling through the six levels and defeating boss characters along the way. As with other side scrollers, you’re able to kick, punch, push and jump your way through obstacles and opposition. On rare occasions, you’ll need to enter small structures, which lack any depth, given that they only serve as hiding places for power ups and clues. There’s nothing really inspired or interesting about the gameplay, and after the first level, you’ll quickly realize it lacks a single redeeming value.

In keeping with the silly feel of the Shrek universe, the character models sport gargantuan heads on teeny-tiny bodies. It’s a cute graphical touch, but it feels like a cop-out so the artists didn’t have to try to emulate the realistic models from the Shrek film. I understand you won’t get anything close to cinema-quality graphics on the GBA, but cheating like this makes the game feel cheap and ridiculous.

The six levels, which are advertised as being "large and unique," really show off the lack of interest the designers had in the game. Far from being truly large, you can finish most levels within 10 minutes, since they consist mostly of one section duplicated dozens of times. Far from being unique, they are variations on the "jump, run, push a block" theme seen so many times before. There’s nothing here that’ll make you stand up and shout, "Now that was clever!" Rather, you’ll cruise around sugar-frosted houses wondering if anyone really believed they’d get away with the artificially expansive level designs.

There are plenty of groovy little tunes making up the score of Shrek: Reekin’ Havoc, which makes the game almost more fun to listen to than to play. There’s a good groove here, and it’s unfortunate that there’s no way to unlock a jukebox for listening to the tunes. As far as game sounds, they’re the stock GBA sound palette, with a distinct lack of flavor hampering their ability to entertain.

Shrek: Reekin’ Havoc is a quick play, and with very few true unlockables, the odds are slim that you’ll ever play through this game again, much less bother to finish it once.

When I first started playing Reekin’ Havoc, I was almost convinced I was playing the classic arcade title Rush ‘n Attack ported to the Shrek universe. The short 2D levels, basic sound and simple gameplay had me thinking I’d stepped back 20 years into a gaming time warp. After two levels, however, I realized that Reekin’ Havoc couldn’t hold a candle to Rush ‘n Attack. This is one game that screams, "Wasted movie license." While the first Shrek GBA title, Hassle at the Castle, was somewhat enjoyable, Reekin’ Havoc is just not at all fun. If it’s on your shopping list, strike it out right now.