GameCube

SpongeBob SquarePants: The Movie

The SpongeBob Squarepants Movie is an excellent game, and one which makes prime use of its movie tie-in, very successfully. Because of the slight difficulty in some of the jumping sequences, and the long races, this is probably a game better for older kids and/or more experienced gamers. Younger players will be better off with the recently released Spyro: A Hero's Tail, or SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom, which are both easier games.

Instead of settling on oversimplified gameplay, The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie delivers an entertaining (and oftentimes challenging) mix of platform and driving sequences. Controls feel responsive and the camera rarely hinders your view of the action. And the humor of the show practically seeps out of every clamshell and bed of kelp you cross. The game uses a majority of the voice work from the show and makes the most of the visual style making up the SpongeBob universe.

Even though the controls can get you yelling at the screen, the overall gameplay is quite enjoyable. The humor and fun mini-games reel you in, and the added bonuses of unlockable treats such as trailers and costumes keep you playing more. They made a good attempt at making an enjoyable platformer for SpongeBob fans which is always refreshing from the hordes of junk movie-title games.

Of course, there are areas which could have been improved. The twixt-level cutscenes consist of stills from the movie, which is not exactly enthralling, although the amusing French commentator does inject a bit of entertainment into them. The graphics, though usually bright and interesting enough, are occasionally a bit ragged. And the loading times are somewhat questionable. And yes, in the end it's rather standard fare with an amusing license slapped on. But I don't think that there are many people on this Earth who would presume The Spongebob Squarepants Movie to be some great gaming opus. For what it is, though - a game aimed at children who like Spongebob enough to go and see the film - it's worthy of commendation.

On peut reprocher à Bob L'Eponge de ne pas être très inventif et de copier les grandes recettes du jeu de plates-formes, on peut aussi trouver qu'il manque parfois de rythme, mais les fans sauront passer outre. Ils trouveront même un jeu qui peut se montrer agréable avec ses nombreux niveaux et ses différents mini-jeux. Quant aux autres, ils peuvent tranquillement passer leur chemin, il n'y a rien pour eux par ici.