Finding Nemo Makes a Splash on Your Mac
By Brad Cook
Whether it’s toys, bugs or monsters under the bed, Pixar Animation Studios has a knack for showing us the hidden world behind everyday things. For the company’s film Finding Nemo, they ventured deep into the ocean, and you can join them on your Mac with the THQ games Finding Nemo and Nemo’s Underwater World of Fun.
Finding Nemo features an adventure story that borrows plot points and characters from the film. Nemo is a clownfish who, like many kids, doesn’t always listen to his parents. When he strays too far from his father, Marlin, he finds himself scooped into a net, placed in a cooler full of seawater and taken away.
The diver who grabbed him accidentally loses his mask, however, and Marlin realizes he can use it to help him find his son. With the help of a not-so-bright fish named Dory, he sets off on his journey.
Meanwhile, Nemo winds up in a dentist’s aquarium, where he learns that he will soon be a birthday present for a little girl named Darla. He needs to find a way out of his predicament or his father will never find him. Luckily, there are other fish in the tank who are willing to lend a fin.
You switch back and forth between the two storylines as you guide Marlin and Nemo through 10 adventure-filled levels. Each level features a variety of mini-games and puzzles that test reflexes and analytical skills. such as Marlin and Dory’s escape from a sunken submarine where a shark named Bruce — who’s trying to swear off eating other fish — is in a feeding frenzy.
After you successfully complete a level, you’re rewarded with a scene from the movie.
Beyond the Film
In Nemo’s Underwater World of Fun, Nemo and his father are together again, but Marlin wants his son to become a better swimmer. You must help Nemo navigate the games in the Super Swim Challenge and earn the title of Super Swimmer.
As in Finding Nemo, you get to interact with characters from the movie, and when you earn five prizes in each segment of the challenge, you get to watch a brief film clip that relates to the game. In the final test, Nemo must avoid a series of obstacles and collect all of the singing scallops before time runs out.
Pixar’s films appeal to children and adults, and THQ’s tie-in games follow that rule. Play them with your kids and explore a world that few of us get to see in person.
If you liked this game, check out:
 | Monsters, Inc. Games |
The Quest. Nemo needs the denizens of the dentist’s tank to help him or he won’t escape before Darla’s birthday.
Finding Nemo available from THQ
Friends, Not Food. Bruce and his pals can help Marlin, but will they revert to their old ways?
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System Requirements:
| Mac OS X version 10.2 or higher |
| 266MHz PowerPC G3 processor or faster (iMac, iBook, PowerBook, Power Mac) |
| 128MB of RAM |
| 8MB of video RAM or higher (screen capable of at least thousands of colors) |
| 160MB of free hard disk space |
| 8x speed CD-ROM drive |
From surface dwellers to bottom feeders, the Finding Nemo games feature a wide variety of characters.
Bruce: Not all sharks eat smaller fish: Bruce is a great white who swore off eating fish, at least until the next feeding frenzy urge strikes. His mantra is “Fish are our friends, not food,” and he has a small support group for other sharks who want to follow his lead. His name is probably a sly nod to the film Jaws, whose shark was named Bruce after Steven Spielberg’s attorney.
