SpongeBob SquarePants: Supersponge
Score: 90% ESRB: Everyone Publisher: THQ Developer: THQ Media: Cart/1 Players: 1 Genre: Platformer
Graphics & Sound: Pirate: Are ya ready kids? Kids: Aye, aye captain. Pirate: I can't hear you. Kids: AY, AY CAPTAIN! The usual trend with licensed games is that they are hastily thrown together in order to turn a quick buck, and usually end up looking like crap. Well, the gods of the sea are definitely smiling upon Spongebob Squarepants because that is certainly not the case. While the graphics are not a dead-on look for the cartoon, they are close. It's great to see that everything translated very well, right down to Spongebob's facial animations - they're great. The only thing I could find wrong was the absence of air bubbles (we are under water, after all), but after watching the show a little, I noticed they don't even show up there either - it's all good. Admittedly, the music is so strange that it could get very annoying, very quickly, but once you hear it playing with the game, it sounds perfect. Things are a little light in the sound effects department however.
Gameplay: Pirate: OOOOOOOO. Who lives in a pineapple under the sea? Kids: Spongebob Squarepants! The game's plot could not come at a better time of the year. Spongebob wants to find the perfect gift for his friend Patrick, and he decides autograph pictures of his favorite superheroes, Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy, would be just the thing. However, you know how these celebrities are, so they send Spongebob on a series of errands to make him earn the autographs. Each level is introduced with the superheroes saying what they want, which range from finding lunch to getting them new uniforms. You then play through four straightforward side-scrolling levels in search of the different components of the requests. This is where the game takes that trademark Spongebob twist. I challenge you to name me one other game that requires you to collect a magic loofah or wet toast. Of course, Spongebob is not going into this thing alone. He is armed with only the best aquatic armaments available including the Karate Chop, Jellyfish Launcher, Jellyfishing Net, and the Coral Blower (a giant toilet tank with a vacuum hose). If that's not enough help - you can always grab a few spatulas or a pair of underwear for a few extra lives.
Difficulty: Pirate: Absorbent and yellow and porous is he. Kids: Spongebob Squarepants! I know what you are thinking, Spongebob is a cartoon, therefore it's a kids game, which usually means the game is a cakewalk, right? In a few instances you would be correct, but in the later levels things can get rough, especially in the 'land' missions where you have to keep Spongebob wet (because we all know what happens when sponges dry out).
Game Mechanics: Pirate: If nautical nonsense be something you wish. Kids: Spongebob Squarepants! Spongebob is a cinch to pick up and play. I did however, find it a little hard to use weapons, especially the Coral Blower, since you can only hold one shot at a time and have to hold R until you launch it. Of course, some older gamers will be turned off because Spongebob is essentially a kid's game, but you might be surprised.
-Starscream, GameVortex Communications AKA Ricky Tucker
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