The Spongebob Squarepants Movie (Xbox)

The Spongebob Squarepants Movie is a game based on the movie of the same name, a product of Nickelodeon and published by THQ (as was the first game). The plot is also the same as the movie: Plankton has used a long-forgotten plan to make it look like Mr. Krabs stole the crown of King Neptune and sold it to a vendor in Shell City, which is (for all intents and purposes) an impossible place to reach. Believing that the crown has been lost forever, the cold Neptune plans to execute Mr. Krabs, but reluctantly allows Spongebob (plus Patrick) six days to make it to Shell City, and return with the crown, thereby proving himself mature to Mr. Krabs.

I'd just like to say that I love the Spongebob Squarepants Movie. I think it's clever and just plain hilarious. Plus, I really liked Battle for Bikini Bottom at that age, so I decided I wanted this game for a special occasion. I was stuck on something really simple for a while and so forgot about it, but then I returned and after many attempts, finally finished the game.

After having seen aabsolutely everything the game has to offer, I think it's just about my favorite. I'll give my reasons why.

For one thing, the different types of gameplay this time around are more varied; for example, you can not only do 18 ground missions, spongeball challenges, and floating block challenges, but now you also have combat arenas, sonic wave challenges, and the all-new driving levels (which are crazy and fun). Much of Battle for Bikini Bottom consisted of running through various overworlds to find spatulas and additional bonus items, which was fun, but rather monotonous at times.

One thing that it did better than this game, however, was the exploration factor. You had to go over every angle of a region in that game, while in this one, additional options were, well, optional. All you had to do was finish and move on. It would have been nice if this game had been a bit less linear.

However, a huge improvement is the gameplay, because despite the fact that you can no longer play as Sandy (who was awesome, by the way), the moves of Spongebob and Patrick are much improved over last time. For example, Patrick could do a continuous cartwheel attack, and Spongebob had better-done versions of his classic moves, like the Bubble Bowl. Basically, levels were more enjoyable because the combat was more extravagant and you had more options in play. This allowed better conforming to the advanced enemies who would take certain well-placed attacks to defeat.

One thing I like about this game is that it's true to the movie in most places. It follows the proper locations, and only deviates to make the levels more interesting, which I find to be acceptable. Not only that, but the levels were interesting to a great degree because of the challenge factor, meaning that this isn't one of those games you just breeze right through, it will take you some time (not to mention the replayability factor, which is enormous).

In the end, I highly recommend this game for kids about 15 or younger, especially ones who are a fan of the series and/or the movie, because it hits all the right buttons for that particular crowd. What's more is that the game was just recently made available in the PlayStation store as a PS2 classic, so PS3 owners can buy it. It's absolutely worth it.