Shark Tale

"Bust-a-Shark Tale"

Fighting sharks, racing in town, busting moves in front of a camera, and exploring the underwater world in a platform-style game reminiscent of a “Freddy the Fish” type puzzle is what this game's all about. Unless you're a big fan of the movie and a lover of all games dealing with water environments (minus the instant-death spikes from Megaman games), this game is probably not for you… but read on anyways to see if it actually does appeal to your taste in games.

~Story: 5/10~

The game starts off with a HUGE adrenaline rush, almost changing my opinion of the game instantly. You play as Oscar, who, at the moment, is being chased by a HUMONGO shark hoping to make a meal of you. Not bad for a hook and liner for the game, but mostly everything after that part leaves little interest for a sinker. As Oscar, your goal (after escaping the jaws of doom) is to attain fame and fortune by completing goals such as chasing down graffiti-painting fish, dancing in front of crowds and defeating city-threatening sharks. The story is incredibly linear, leaving little room to get to know Oscar or anyone else any more than what you probably know from the movie and what you see from the game. Not much else to learn about your watery world than the crime and piranha-like fishies and sharks to beat up.

~Game Play: 6/10~

Well, if that's all there is to it to the game, it better well be fun, right? You could say that…

The game is divided into 25 chapters, each with 3 types of missions: Basic, Bonus, and Elite. You only have to complete the Basic mission to continue with the story, although the manual promises you extras, which are character bios, stills (whatever the manual meant by that), and special hidden content (again, whatever the manual meant by that). Most of the chapters are relatively short, and few are broken up into segments such as Chapter 3a and Chapter 3b. If you fail a chapter (or its sub-section), then you'll have to start back at the beginning of that chapter (or its sub-section).

Since there are 4 types of modes you're going to see, I've divided this section so you know each part as well as their individual ratings…

-Adventure 6/10-

After the introduction, you'll find yourself in the first adventure portion of the game that sets the mood and environment you'll be facing as you advance. If you've played “Kirby and the Crystal Shards,” the type of side-scrolling with a 3-D-ish blend will be familiar to you. It's like Megaman with 3-D backgrounds but without hidden rooms and optional paths to take. You can, however, swim up and down, but only to a point until the game won't let you go up anymore, so you can't really leave the town and head up to the surface. This layout is the fairly the same for each of the following adventure levels.

So much for the exploring factor of the game… so then comes the fighting part! In the adventure chapters, the only way you get to beat up enemies is by charging up (hold B and you start to glow) and then crashing your way through them. In addition to beating up the bad guys and cleaning the sandy floor with them, you, like many platform games, are supposed to collect money, which in this case would be pearls, littered throughout the city in bubbles. Bursting these bubbles is as simple as swimming a full 360 around them, showing you a yellow meter around the bubble as you do so. What you do with them is a huge mystery, however, since they don't carry over between chapters and the manual makes no note of their value. The semi-helpful, advice-giving hermit crab, however, tells you that you can buy items with them, although my sister and I have yet to find a store…

-Dance 5/10-

Basically it's like playing DDR with a controller… your timing is awarded with stars and level-ups that show up in a counter of which have no purpose in making the game easier or harder. They're just there to see how many times you've done it right consecutively. The music is rather long, and the time you're supposed to press the right button is a little bit off from the beat. If you press the direction while tapping your foot, you're going to find that you should probably wait a really short moment before doing it; otherwise you'll often get zero stars and nothing in the counter.

-Race 5/10-

This part can get quite confusing when you're trying to figure out which way to go. You have to follow the bubbly path, although you have the choice of going under bridges or above certain streets in an attempt to dodge the fishy traffic. There are water tunnels that look similar to the freeway in the movie “Finding Nemo,” although it can get confusing trying to stay in them when they twist in different directions as you're speeding into them. In other words, they're not like the speed pads in most racing games that stay straight; to stay in them, you have to follow their path like a tunnel you'd find in a Discovery Zone or a kids' playground in McDonalds.

-Fight 6/10-

You have 3 basic punches (a left slap, right slap, and upper strike), the ability to taunt and dodge, and one power slap in your arsenal versus a massive great white shark that could eat you up in one bite. Luckily, though, the game made it so you're not dead in one bite. Fighting isn't so bad, although after all the street-fighter games and whatnot out there, it's a bit of a let-down to see so few variations of slaps in the game.

~Graphics 9/10~

Perhaps the largest thing going for this game, other than the music, it's not bad-looking. In fact, it's actually pretty darn good. The buildings, streets, lights, and fishes look awesome, almost as if you playing in the movie.

Between chapters, there are clips that are just magnificently done, almost like it was part of the movie.

So, why give it a 9 instead of a 10? Some parts of the game could really have used the ability to change the direction of the camera more than others. Sometimes you'll find yourself swimming straight into an enemy or a spiky urchin, which is bad.

~Sound 9/10~

The NEXT greatest thing about this game. The music just rocks, period. If I could, I would just leave the game on just to listen to the music all day, with surround sound and speakers on each corner of my room. The music is that good.

The down-side? Some of it is just funkified versions of everyday songs, which is pretty cool, but they could've also allowed for some music change instead of looping it over and over again. Before it loops, it also goes silent for a few seconds before re-starting. You won't even notice it though, so it's all good.

~Replay Value 3/10~

Actually, it should be a big fat ZERO, but there are some actually really enjoyable chapters that would be worth playing over, but not to the point of starting a whole new file at the beginning again. Personally I like the dance parts of the game; the music is most noticeably awesome there.

~Buy vs. Rent~

Unless you're a little kid or a major fan of the movie, definitely go for rent. That way, you can go and buy “the Incredibles” and tell me how that game worked out. We were SO close to buying it, but I thought it was too violent / difficult for my little sister to play. That game is 10 bucks cheaper, by the way… but point is, rent it. And if you like it, buy it…

~Overall: 6/10~

It isn't TOO bad, but it isn't all that exciting either. Not bad for a game based off a movie, though.

Personally, I wish we had known more about how the game plays out before opening it up. Heck, I even forced her not to open it until I checked out the reviews and board for it… but since there aren't any opinions at the moment to see… yeah. Hoped this review gave you a better insight to the game!

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 01/03/05