Pixar Animation Studios’ latest computer-animated motion picture effort is about to hit theaters — chances are, you’ve seen a TV ad or trailer for “Monsters, Inc.,” which opens on November 2. Just in time for the movie debut,
Disney Interactive
has announced the release of new Mac-compatible games based on the movie.
Monsters, Inc. is a hilarious new tale about the misadventures of two industrious monsters named Sulley and Mike (voiced by John Goodman and Billy Crystal, respectively). Chaos ensues when the two monsters inadvertently let a little girl into their world. Monsters believe that children, who monsters are there to scare with under-the-bed and in-the-closet shenanigans, are toxic and that any direct contact with them would be catastrophic.
Disney/Pixar’s Monsters, Inc. “Wreck” Room Arcade Games
This series of games has been developed for kids ages eight and up. Players join Sulley, Mike and the rest of the gang in the “Wreck” room, where monsters go to relax after a hard day at the “Scream Factory.” The games are:
Eight Ball Chaos:
A billiards-style game where players compete to the be the “Top Scarer” by playing through multiple levels and bumper layouts. Bumpers react to gameplay, too, making it unique.
Bowling for Screams:
Where players tap wildly on the directional keys on their keyboard to guide a bowling ball down an obstacle-ridden lane, grabbing power-ups along the way.
Monster Tag:
Players join the Child Detection Agency (CDA) and attempt to collect all of the human items surrounding them while balanced on a seesaw.
Each title is Mac and Windows compatible and is sold separately for $9.99. System requirements call for Mac OS 8.6 through OS X; G3/233 or faster; 32MB RAM; 110 MB free hard drive space; color display with thousands of colors; 8x CD-ROM. They’re collectable, too — if you get all three, a fourth game is automatically unlocked as a bonus:
Monster Mania:
Players join Roz, a slug-like monster, in scaring up as many screams as possible. Players are required to poke through windows and doors to collect screams while avoiding humans and the objects they’re throwing.
Disney/Pixar’s Monsters, Inc. Scream Team Training
This title is made for kids four and up. Players take the role of one of six monsters. Their goal is to become “Top Scarer” by the end of the game by participating in ten different activities, each hosted by a different monster and featuring 30 different game levels.
Activities include:
Paperwork: Roz keeps a watchful eye over players as they file paperwork. Folder contents are organized by placing colored paper in the order that matches the colored dots listed on the folder. Once the papers are in the proper sequence, they will file into the folder.
The Mail Room: Mike helps players in a sorting-game frenzy to get all the mail into the proper employee mailboxes before the clock hits 9 a.m.
Day Care Center: Sulley guides players through this game of logic and memory. Monsters are either frowning or in full-blown crying mode. Players must bring babies to a content, happy or sleepy state by connecting the correct toy with the right baby.
Lunch Room: Sulley oversees players in a crazy arcade game of feeding hungry monsters in the Monsters, Inc. cafeteria. Players must correctly serve up food items and daily specials for each monster based on the lunch-order ticket presented. Trays will continue to stack up as orders come in, so time is of the essence.
Parking Lot: Mike assists players in the ultimate valet parking experience. As the official company valet, players must park all the cars in the parking lot before the 9 a.m. whistle blows. With some cars already parked, players must maneuver through a grid-like puzzle of obstacles to create an orderly parking lot.
Door Vault: Sulley is in a race against the clock and Randall to catch Boo who is lost in the Door Vault (the area with hanging doors that move across the screen). Players jump from door to door while avoiding falling toxic socks to find Boo and return her to her bedroom.
Try Out Room: Sulley guides players through their first “Scarer” training session in this scare-simulation game. With only a flashlight to guide them, wanna-be Scarers are challenged to move quietly across a completely dark bedroom full of obstacles like roller skates, toys and sleeping cats — all without waking the sleeping Audio-Animatronic child.
Scream Collection: Mike coaches players to collect screams by filling each canister with the correct sound — all without overfilling and exploding the canisters.
Door Transport: Sulley assists players as they match doors to the appropriate country’s flag.
Canister Storage Room: Players try to organize a storage area overfilled with scream canisters to make sense of this messy room. Roz supervises as the evil Randall drops new canisters into the room below. Players clean up the room by matching similar canisters and making them disappear.
Look for Scream Team Training on hybrid CD-ROM with support for both Mac and PC for $29.99. System requirements call for Mac OS 8.6 through OS X; G3/233 or fster; 32 MB RAM; 60MB hard drive space; 8x CD-ROM; 640×480 video display with thousands of colors; QuickTime 5 (included).