Full Review: Despite the name, it’s still a kid’s game.
Are you a cartoon fan? If you never heard of this Spongebob Squarepants guy before, he is a nerdy looking, talking yellow sponge and he is in one of the biggest cartoon shows currently on TV. It was only a matter of time before this odd but lovable sponge got a game on the Xbox. Sure, it would be easy to dismiss this title as shameless licensed junk on a disc -- but with its colourful environments, real actor voices, and tight 3D action, Battle for the Bikini Bottom may surprise you.
The game begins when a rotten character by the name of Plankton tries to create an army of robots to conquer the land of Bikini Bottom. The renegade robots are now all over the place, and they’re making all kinds of trouble for the generally peaceful residents of the Bikini Bottom. Can Spongebob and his friends Patrick and Sandy come to the rescue before these evil robots take over? Pretty weird story, eh? Some of the silly humour here may appeal to fans of the show, just don’t expect anything too sophisticated going in.
One of the best parts about the game is the responsive control. Even though some characters have different moves that have to be mastered, moving all three is a breeze and it only takes a few minutes-- or even seconds -- to understand the basic techniques. Even trying out the crazy underwear bungee jumps is fairly easy to do. Spongebob Squarepants: BFBB is definitely one of the most accessible 3-dimensional adventures I’ve played throughout the years. The game’s camera can act up once in a while so you don’t always get the view you want, but what 3D adventure doesn’t?
Fortunately you can’t complain about all of the game’s views, because the 3D locations on display here look very bright and well defined. The characters stay true to the show, although it would have been cool if the game had more Cel-shaded effects like in Zelda: The Wind Waker. That would have been perfect for a game like this. THQ even uses most of the real actors to do the voices for the game, so it feels even more like the cartoon. The music is above average as well.
