Everyone knows the movie Finding Nemo did extremely well at the box office (especially Disney!) I feel that was a strong motivation behind the computer animated film Shark Tale. I’ve heard mixed reactions on the movie, and though I haven’t actually seen it myself, it looks like it is funny. Of course, like many movies, a videogame was made based on Shark Tale, and although it is definitely geared towards the younger children, it still has appeal to those of us who are more mature.
The game seems to be heavily based upon the movie. You play as Oscar, a smooth talking little fish who is trying to work himself up in the food chain, and working at Whale Wash doesn’t help him that much. He always seems to find himself in some kind of trouble, and even though he’s not a troublemaker, trouble always seems to find him. You have to fight, race, dance, and sneak around various levels to make yourself more popular. But watch out, because there have been reports of Sharks around Reef City, and you can’t become famous if you’re Shark Bait. Will you become a well known Shark Slayer? Or will you just stay at the bottom of the food chain, as useful to the world as a fish it out of water?
There are 4 different types of gameplay available, spread out across many missions. The first is Adventure, in which you swim around Reef City, very much like a traditional side scrolling platform game, completing missions and collection clams (the money used in the game). There are also Racing Levels. Usually, in these, you are on the back of a Taxi Fish, and you must control this fish to get to a certain area in a certain amount of time or before the person you are racing against gets there. Third, we have the Fighting levels. In these, you control Oscar to battle an enemy. All you see is Oscar’s back, and he is swimming backwards; while the enemy is swimming towards you., you can punch, kick, and even hit a few combos in the hopes of beating your opponents. And finally, you have dancing. This part of the game can be done by either using the controller, or, if you have a GameCube Dance Pap, you can use one of these. There are so many moves to do while dancing, I find it almost impossible for me to move my feet that fast, so I often resorted to using the controller. You have to attain a certain percentage of correct moves before you are able to proceed to the next level.
The controls are fairly intuitive, though each style of gameplay has a unique control scheme. When in adventure, you just use the control stick to control Oscar, up or down, forward or backward, and press B to speed up your swimming. When in a race, you control the Taxi up or down, and press A continuously to keep moving forward. When fighting, you press B, X, or Y to perform punches and kicks, and you press a direction to move out of the way of your enemies oncoming attack. Finally, in dancing, you just press the direction you are told to on the screen as it goes around and into the circle. When it hits that circle, you press the direction.
The interface is very original and fits the theme of the game well. There is a little Hermit Crab named Crazy Joe who will give you tips from time to time. He can be found in all different parts of levels to help you, and though his screaming can be pretty annoying, he’s usually very helpful.
The graphics in this game are top notch. From I know of the movie, the characters look just as they should be. The different areas of Reef City are very well done, although they do become a little repetitive after time.
The music in this game is very catchy, though it sometimes borders on annoying. For example, in one level, you must find a bunch of crooks who stole some pearls. The music played is the “COPS” theme song (Bad Boys) which is pretty cool….except throughout the whole level, the songs loops. So, that is all you will hear. You will dance to songs like “Can’t Touch This”, “Workin’ at the Car Wash” and some others, but once again, it these start to become irritating after some time.
There are all different kinds of enemies, but after a while, they start to repeat. Once again, one of my pet peeves raises it’s fishy head as seeing the same enemy over and over again can become pretty dull. You will see fish like Piranhas, Eels, and those fish with the little dangly thing that attracts other fish [ed. Anglerfish].
I didn’t find this game to have a large amount of replay potential. It’s one of those games that, once you complete it, you really have no interest in playing again. It is not very immersive either, and I only found myself playing it for about 20 minutes at a time, before becoming tired and stopped playing.
This game is very average. I’m not saying I enjoyed it immensely, but I didn’t hate it either. It is definitely made for younger people, and if you don’t enjoy movie based games, especially those aimed at younger children, then I don’t suggest you buy this one.
I am currently a 22 year old college student at Salem State College in Salem, Mass. I hope to graduate with a degree in history and go on to become a high school teacher. I have the best friends ever (better than yours) and would hate to live without them. I work at Stop & Shop ... and I hate it.
I like videogames FAR too much. I play them too much, spend too much money on them ... and I LOVE IT! There is no single videogame type that I don't like, and I am willing to play anything. Games are a big part of my life (and my wallet). Metal Gear Solid is by far my favorite videogame of all time, and to this day, I don't feel as if any other game can top the story, character design or atmosphere that any of the Metal Gear Solid games show us.
