One computer animated
fish movie is never enough, so DreamWorks went ahead and made Shark Tale, a film
that looks like the urban version of Finding Nemo. It’s got star power (Will
Smith), music from successful artists (Justin Timberlake, Christina Aguilera),
and the catchy tagline, "From the creators of Shrek." That should be more than
enough to sell millions of movie tickets this month.
A movie that makes
millions is a non-interactive blockbuster without a game to go along with it.
Finding Nemo had considerable success with gamers when it was released last
year, paving the way for a Shark Tale video game release.
I haven’t played the
console versions yet, but this Game Boy Advance adaptation is somewhat of an
adventure game. Unlike
Finding Nemo: The
Continuing Adventures, Shark Tale takes gamers on a journey of item
collecting and fish battling. You’ll even get the chance to take on a shark in
a button-mashing boxing match.
This amounts to more of a
"game" than its competitor, but that doesn’t make it a whole lot better. Like
Nemo, Shark Tale suffers from MGD (mini-game disease). Mini-games pop up in
between the adventure stages, and they usually include the boring task of
hitting one or two buttons at key game moments.
Hit the A button. Don’t
stop you fool, keep hitting it! Now press B to hurdle.
The mini-games aren’t
very fun, otherwise my tone of voice would exude a bit of enthusiasm. I brought
the boxing match so I might as well break the news: the shark plays dirty. His
attacks are normally slow (he pulls back his fist to gain strength, waits a few
seconds, then unleashes a quick-and-deadly punch). You can dodge his attacks by
pressing up or down on the D-pad (swim upward to dodge uppercuts; downward to
dodge his left hook). The tricky part is timing it right, which isn’t easy
until you realize that the shark attacks are really slow.
Then you try to time
everything correctly and avoid being attacked. You’re punching the shark and
winning the fight. Suddenly a punch comes out of nowhere and you lose a large
portion of your energy bar. What just happened? His left hook – an attack that
takes him time to wind up while being left alone – is miraculously able to come
out of nowhere when being attacked. Drive the A and B buttons to defeat this
Jaws-wannabe.
I didn’t read the in-game
description (none of the others were helpful – why would this one be any
different?), but I think I can adlib. This shark has a severe case of bad
breath. He ate some foul tuna, and now it’s up to you to cleanse his tongue
before his big date.
Whether or not my version
of the story is true, the gameplay task is the same: sweep his tongue until it’s
clean. How might we do this without getting on our hands and knees for some
old-fashioned scrubbing? Simply by watching for button icons to appear. As the
button reaches the circle in the middle of the screen, press it to sweep.
There, doesn’t that feel better? Maybe for the shark, but I doubt the game
player is too happy.
There are other
mini-games that use this same style of play. Fans of music games like Parappa
the Rapper might be fooled by this. They might think that Shark Tale offers a
comparable experience. However, the aspect of interactive music is not present
in Shark Tale (if it had been these mini-games might have worked).
The adventure portions of
the game are half-decent, but still not worth the thirty-dollar price tag.
Half-decent should be translated to "At least it’s not making me sleepy." I
like the controls and how Oscar (the main character) can punch and kick so
freely. I was also pleased to see that the game included a dash move to
navigate each level more quickly.
What I don’t like is the
levels. They’re all pretty much the same, only differing slightly in the way
they’re laid out. The layout isn’t very good to begin with. Ultimately what
you end up with is several poorly constructed areas, none of which offer more
than a smidgeon of real exploration. The levels are linear (get from point A to
point B), so the only time you get to explore is when you divert from the main
path. Doing so leads you to a dead end (and possibly a few extra items).
Finding Nemo is king in
theaters, but Shark Tale is easily the better game. Before you go out and buy
it, keep in mind that better does not necessarily mean good.
Finding Nemo: The Continuing Adventures is
a collection of mini-games. Shark Tale is a collection of similar mini-games
and a few adventure-type levels. Both are boring, both are over-priced, and
both will leave you completely unsatisfied. In a world where games like
Gungrave: Overdose retail for $14.99, you should expect a lot more from your
thirty-dollar GBA cartridges.
|
|
Gameplay: 5
One part linear
adventure game, one part repetitive mini-game, Shark Tale is a game you’ll hope
Santa doesn’t bring. The adventurous levels are dull, but it’s the mini-games
that drive the experience into the ground. I don’t feel like I’m playing a
video game when my task is to press the A button as an icon lines up with a
circle in the middle of the screen.
Graphics: 4
Bland scenery and
characters with jagged edges. The Game Boy Advance can do much prettier things.
Sound: 5
Hip-hoppin’
techno-ish beats that come out better in the film, which is to be expected
considering the difference in sound systems (GBA’s single speaker can’t compare
to a movie theater’s sound system). Good try though.
Difficulty: Easy
Clearly this was
designed for kids, though I’m not sure how much they’ll enjoy playing it. It
won’t take most kids long to beat it.
Concept: 5
Shark Tale falls
apart when it puts too much emphasis on generic mini-games. The repetitive
adventure stages didn’t help the situation.
Overall: 5
$30 game vs. $8
movie ticket. Which is the better buy? Let’s look at the facts: the theater
has the potential to provide you with anywhere from ninety minutes to three
hours of big-screen entertainment. A video game has the potential to provide
you with anywhere from five to fifty hours of interactive entertainment, plus
replay value. Shark Tale (the game) does not have more than ten minutes of
entertainment to offer. Those ten minutes are mild and are not something you’ll
be rushing to tell your friends about. The film, on the other hand, is about a
couple hours long, gets you out of the house, and is a far superior way to spend
a Friday night, a Sunday brunch, or a Monday afternoon.
