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.