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SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom (Xbox)

Reviewed by: Doctor_Nick Has Written 14 Reviews
Reviewed on: 4-Sep-2006

Description

From the back of the box:
The evil Plankton has set in motion his most diabolical plot ever! The fate of Bikini Bottom and possibly mankind as we know it has been put in the hands of 3 unsuspecting heroes. Join SpongeBob and his friends in their fearless crusade to end Plankton's evil scheme...

-Encounter your favorite characters from the cartoon, including special cameo appearances.

-Play as SpongeBob, Patrick, and Sandy Cheeks - each with their own special abilities.

-Pull off crazy maneuvers like "tongue boarding," "underwear bungee jumping" and even launch a "guided cruise bubble."

-Ten huge 3D worlds to explore, including special bonus areas and other secret rewards.

Overall Impressions:
I originally bought this game for my wife to play because she is a huge SpongeBob fan. I figured she'd play it for a bit, get bored with it and set it in the closet to gather dust. However, she played the game with great gusto until she reached a part where she could not beat a level and then asked me to help her out. Thus, I started playing for her when she would get stuck on a challenging level or section.

In the past, I have not been impressed with games based off movies or television shows. Normally, developers spend too much money for the rights and not enough on actual graphics, sound and gameplay. However, this is not the case for SpongeBob Squarepants: Battle for Bikini Bottom.

The game is very creative, quite humorous and has hours of gameplay. It takes advantage of the Xbox's sound and graphics, and all of the characters in the game have the same voices as those on the show (SpongeBob-Tom Kenny, Bill Fagerbakke-Patrick, Carolyn Lawrence-Sandy Cheeks, etc). The controls are great and the camera angles allow easy viewing of the beautiful and creative 3D environment. I highly recommend this game to any SpongeBob fan and to anyone looking for a great game for a good price, since it is now a Platinum Family Hit.

Game in a nutshell:
There are more than thirteen unique and different levels in this game, ranging from Bikini Bottom to the Chum Bucket Lab. Each level has numerous tasks that can be completed to gather Socks (traded to Patrick for Golden Spatulas), Shiny Objects (money used to purchase Golden Spatulas and to gain access to some off-limit areas) and Golden Spatulas (allows access to other sections of Bikini Bottom).

Since you can play as three characters, each with different special abilities, the numerous tasks vary greatly and constantly challenge the player. SpongeBob can bowl, launch bubble attacks and bungee jump. Patrick can stomp, throw items and throw foes. Sandy Cheeks can glide, swing and karate-chop. The player must use each of these characters and their abilities to gather the items mentioned above and to defeat foes. SpongeBob can even tongue-board (snow-board) at Sand Mountain's three different slopes.

You only have to collect a certain number of Golden Spatulas to access different areas of Bikini Bottom. Therefore, inexperienced players can defeat and foil Plankton's evil scheme. However, advanced players can challenge themselves by attempting to collect everything and get 100%.