Finding Nemo

Finding Nemo Description

No strangers to Disney/Pixar collaborations - witness past delights such as Toy Story 2 and A Bug's Life - Traveller's Tales is once again called upon for development duties, this time for Finding Nemo, out on Microsoft Xbox. Finding Nemo is all about a young clownfish who unfortunately gets separated from his father, Marlin, while swimming around the Great Barrier Reef. Has the young one been snatched away by some nasty water-dwelling villains? Has he merely taken a wrong turning and lost sight of his father? None of the above? Whatever, the little fella's gone, and so begins the game in earnest. It doesn't take a genius to work out what you, as the player, have to do; Finding Nemo is all about, umm, finding Nemo! Set exclusively underwater - as most fishy things are - Finding Nemo is a cautionary tale, an adventure, and a good old-fashioned mystery, rolled into one Xbox-sized package. Despite Marlin's wariness of the open seas, he sets out on this most hazardous of journeys to rescue his son. Help is at hand (or should that be at fin?) in the shape of Dory. Not the most reliable fish in the pond, so to speak - he has a memory like a sieve - Dory is nevertheless good company and provides a few laughs along the way. Blending elements of the best-loved platformers such as Crash Bandicoot, Finding Nemo incorporates chase sections, item collection and enemy evasion as you would expect. The gameplay is nothing out of the ordinary, yet the target audience will lap it up. The rest of us can gawp at the fabulous visuals. Finding Nemo looks superb on the Xbox; the water effects were always going to have to be better than good, but the trails of bubbles for example, are brilliantly rendered. Admirable stuff, we say. Just don't forget there's a fish to find? With a selection of cut-scenes from the film interweaving with the gameplay, Finding Nemo should reel in a few young gamers. Luckily for Xbox owners, the game is not merely an excuse to milk the film of the same name for all it's worth - as a game experience without the surrounding paraphernalia, it's certainly worth a go.