Spongebob Squarepants: Creature from the Krusty Krab
Score: 88% ESRB: Everyone Publisher: THQ Developer: Blitz Games Media: DVD/1 Players: 1 Genre: Platformer/ Racing
Graphics & Sound: Spongebob Squarepants: Creature from the Krusty Krab is the latest in a long line of Spongebob games, and the first one to make it onto the new Nintendo system. Even outside of the control scheme differences that comes from being on the Wii, Creature from the Krusty Krab is noticeably different than pretty much any other Spongebob game that has come out to date. The first major difference is the game's look and feel. Throughout the story, you will control Spongebob, Patrick and Plankton in succession, and each character's levels have a distinct style. For instance, Patrick's first level takes place in a comic book dream where he must navigate around an 3D world comprised of 2D objects (if you ever saw the movie Cool World, you probably have a good idea of what I mean), while Spongebob's first dream is of a very different flavor and comes off a bit harsher than the series typically goes (especially when engaged in a race). Music wise, just as each level has its own visual style, so it goes for the audio as well. That isn't to say the rest of the audio, character voices, main theme and sound effects aren't straight out of the series though, because fans of the show will definitely recognize their favorite vocal talents.
Gameplay: Spongebob Squarepants: Creature from the Krusty Krab takes you through a series of dreams. Each level is a different dream provided by either Spongebob, Patrick or Plankton. Each character's levels will have you doing everything from racing various characters in to get your driver's license, to fighting off evil super villains, to flying planes and rockets high above Bikini Bottom. You will even have to hide from a giant krabby patty or rip up rival fast food restaurant signs as you delve deep into the troubled dreams that inhabit Bikini Bottom. Besides the game's Story Mode, where all of these crazy dreams will play out, Creature from the Krusty Krab also offers three other modes. Free Play lets your return to dreams you have already beaten and try your porous hand at them again. Bonus Games lets you play four different mini-games that are unlocked as you progress through the story and Sponge Band is an odd mode that lets you pick up various instruments like a harmonica, harp and guitar and just have fun making the different characters play some music.
Difficulty: Spongebob Squarepants: Creature from the Krusty Krab's difficulty is a mixed bag. The core game mechanics and the idea behind the game are easy. Had I played a different version of Creature from the Krusty Krab, I feel certain I would have finished it much sooner than I did. What made the game more challenging were the varying ways the Wii-mote was used. Every time the game introduced a new style of control, which is pretty frequent, there was a learning curve that kept me pretty occupied and stuck in certain levels. Once I got the hang of the new control, like flying a rocket or controlling the giant Plankton, I flew through that level. Is this a bad thing? No, I don't think so because it definitely helped me pace myself in a game that I would have otherwise torn through. But more on the controls in the next section.
Game Mechanics: Spongebob Squarepants: Creature from the Krusty Krab has a little bit of everything when it comes to the game's controls. There are levels where you will have to race cars, fly rockets, guide a giant Plankton and many, many more crazy things. Most of these controls took a little getting used to and fine tuning, but by the game's halfway point, you get to sample pretty much most of the different controls you will have to know in order to beat the game. When driving a car, you turn the Wii-mote sideways and treat it like a steering wheel. "A" is the accelerator and "2" is the brake. When guiding a rocket or plane, you turn the Wii-mote vertically and treat it like a joystick. In levels that have a more platformer feel to them (Patrick's comic book dream, or the giant Plankton level for example), the controls go into a much more familiar style that pretty much anyone who has played another platformer on this system (or others for that matter) shouldn't have much trouble picking up. The crazy controls don't end with the Story Mode though. In fact, the most interesting controls come in the Sponge Band mode where you will have do do an even wider variety of actions in order to play music. For instance, the drums can be played by swinging the Wii-mote and Nunchuck in the air as if you were playing ... well, the drums. Pressing different buttons tells Patrick to hit different drums on the set. The harmonica is played by guiding the instrument left and right in front of Spongebob's mouth while you play the trombone by pulling the Wii-mote to and away from the TV. Plankton's synthesizer seems to do something different with each motion of the controllers. There are other instruments of course (Harp, Whistle, Maracas) and each of those has their own semi-intuitive control that just adds value to this off-the-wall mode. Creature from the Krusty Krab was a fun, if not all too short, game that I really enjoyed and would recommend to most gamers. This is a title that, even though it is cross-system and thus could have easily been "just a port", really showcases some of the ways the Wii-mote's functions can be used. If you are a Spongebob fan and you have a Wii, then this is definitely a game to pick up. Heck, even if you aren't all that into the little guy, the use of the Wii's controller might be enough to pull you in anyway.
-J.R. Nip, GameVortex Communications AKA Chris Meyer
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