Nautical Nonsense indeed.SpongeBob SquarePants: Creature from the Krusty Krab is not really a SpongeBob game, at least no more than a generic platformer dressed up with a randomly assigned cartoon license will ever owe that license anything, other than sales. That's not to say that the game doesn't take place in SpongeBob's world of Bikini Bottom, or that his sense of “humor," if you want to call it humor, isn't present. These incidental SpongeBob artifacts are there, surrounding a boring, unimaginative platformer that doesn't recall in any tangible way the TV series on which it is based.
There is one similarity between the show and the game, though, and that is the inane quality of both. Plot-wise, the game seems to take place in and out of dreams belonging to various characters, who sometimes apparently even share dreams. Of course there are no lofty artistic aspirations here, except absurdity, and the game provides plenty of that. One mission takes you inside the belly of an Alaskan bullworm, while another has you rocketing through space chasing a giant hamburger.
The game suffers from a lack of depth mostly due to its simplistic and awkward play mechanic. There are plenty of moves but they are all revealed at the beginning of the game. The developer fails to have any good ideas about how to use these moves to create challenges, instead lengthening each linear level beyond monotony. Furthermore, the Wii control has some occasional level stopping issues, such as when the game requires you to spin the controller in the air to operate a winch or even the simple motion activated attacks while playing as a giant plankton.
There are a variety of missions for you to tackle, from flying and platforming to racing and side-scrolling. The diversity of gameplay types don't make the game less monotonous – in fact the developer completely misuses them and makes the game even more tiring. For instance, to escape the bowels of the Alaskan bullworm SpongeBob is told he must fly out in a nearby airplane. After several long platforming levels this sounded like a treat. However, the plane is broken down and several parts must be retrieved before SpongeBob can fly it out of the worm. What follows is a fetch quest unworthy of Rare, much more boring than anything that British developer would have made. Only after this is over do you get to fly the plane, but instead of a fun diversion or sidegame, the flying portion turns out to be an entire level. To control the plane the Wii Remote must be held vertically like a joystick and titled accordingly. This is unimaginably awkward, especially since the levels require a fair amount of precision when collecting power ups. Even without the control problems, the level just goes on for too long with nearly no changes in gameplay. This much desired variety ends up being a device by which the developer extends the game beyond its limits.
Even though the game is playable and features some interesting looking, if completely static environments, I can't say I could recommend it for any gamer of any age. If the control issues don't stop you, the tired and overdone level design will.
Pros:
Bright graphics, solid music Neat horror movie presentation during one level Captures the show's sense of humor Cons: Long levels that just don't stop Controls that will occasionally impede progress Excessive repetition Captures the show's sense of humor Graphics: 6.5 Although there are colorful environments to explore, they get repeated so often that they all merge together. The polygon count is low but that doesn't stop it from having slowdown during hectic portions. Character animation is fine except during cutscenes where it is idiotically poor.
Sound: 8.0 High points to the lush musical score, which makes the game seem more epic and inspired than it actually is. Low points to the excessive voice acting which doesn't stop, ever.
Control: 5.0 The platforming action is solid enough with some odd button mapping, though the Wii Remote and Nunchuk actions are not always responsive. Sometimes they're actually impossible to perform without multiple tries. Racing isn't impossible but it is much harder than it needs to be, and flying with the Wii Remote is worthless.
Gameplay: 4.0 The linear levels are simply too long and too boring – there are no real objectives other than collect items or defeat enemies. There are plenty of moves, but each is used to interact with the world in a simple way and nothing ever requires too much thought. The flying and racing levels don't redeem the game because they go on just as long as the platforming levels. There are a few bonus games and a funny musical mini-game, but they don't offer anything substantial to the mix.
Lastability: 6.5
Surprisingly long for a kid's game, and with quite a few extras on top – however the desire to collect all the items and replay the levels is hindered by their length and monotony.
Final: 4.5
The levels are too long, linear, and offer nothing of interest other than color and voice. The Wii mechanics are tacked on and ruin the game. If you hate SpongeBob there's nothing worthwhile for you here, and I doubt there's much for those who like SpongeBob either.
Topic: REVIEWS: SpongeBob SquarePants: Creature from the Krusty Krab (Read 4199 times)
