Who wouldn’t want to spend more time in the world of Finding Nemo, spending your time
under the sea?
Oh wait, wrong movie.
The world of Finding Nemo was one of the most beautiful, creative and unique worlds ever
created.
It is disappointing to not being able to say the same about the video game counterpart.
But the game does retain the thing that made the movie so special, and that was its style.
The game starts with you playing as Nemo but soon after Nemo is captured, you switch control
to Marvin as he searches everything in the big blue ocean for his son.
The story line follows the same path as the film, with footage from the movie being used
for many of the game’s cutscenes.
The game also does a great job recreating the ocean.
The water looks blue and there are plenty of collectables and fish to find throughout
the levels.
It all builds together to make you feel like you are playing the movie, which is a great
thing.
The downfall of the game is the gameplay itself, and even that is not so bad.
The film pushed what could be done with animation forward, showing new ideas that would become
staples.
The game does not do that, instead offering very familiar gameplay, and while it is not
innovative, it is functional and entertaining.
The majority of the game is played from a side-scrolling perspective.
You will swim all around, looking for shells, battling clams, and of course swimming through
bubble rings.
The game also has some parts that are more 3D, with you swimming either towards or away
from the camera.
These sections are great but do bring back some painful memories of Superman 64, on rails
and having to swim through rings.
Bad, bad memories.
Thankfully, unlike Superman they control wonderfully and there is no time-limit, allowing you to
move at your pace which you will have to to avoid the enemies.
You gain health by finding shrimp, each one being a hit you can take.
But you won’t really need to worry about them and that bring up the game’s biggest
fault and that is its difficulty.
It is obviously geared towards a younger audience, and its difficulty reflects that.
The game just needs to be enjoyed.
It’s like playing an interactive version of one of the most enjoyable movies.
The difficulty may be lacking and the gameplay may feel a little limited but the overall
experience will have you playing with a smile on your face.