lives in a pineapple under the sea, but most importantly, he can absorb water
faster than the leading quilted picker-upper (guaranteed!). SpongeBob
SquarePants is Nick’s king of wisecracking, bringing the silliest of
intelligent humor to gamers with titles like SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for
Bikini Bottom. His humorous friends and villains made for great game
characters, and his environments were as fun to explore on PlayStation 2 as
they were to watch on the show.
It was easy to get excited
for SpongeBob’s exclusive PSP debut: The Yellow Avenger. Everything was in
place:
2.5D Gameplay
Before game developers
understood the art of 3D development, eager programmers took the standard,
side-scrolling gameplay we knew and loved and spruced it up with 3D visuals.
Not just 3D characters, but also dynamic camera angles that changed position
as players navigated each world. This unique style made games like Pandemonium
a cult classic, and made the Namco-developed Klonoa the most underrated side-scroller
released during the PSone era.
Cartoon-Level Graphics
Solid artwork that isn’t
too flashy. The character you play as is always the most important, and The
Yellow Avenger doesn’t neglect that fact. SpongeBob is a fully-rendered,
full-3D model with a cartoon outline that resembles (but is not) a cel-shading
effect. His comrades were treated with similar care. SpongeBob has multiple
attacks that add some flash to the visuals, as do the high-res comic book
stills.
A Potentially
Hilarious Story
Just when Mermaidman and
Barnacleboy think it’s safe to leave the house, in comes a new, unforeseen
threat that’s sure to ruin their year: the spin cycle. It was laundry day, and
while they typically go home with t-shirts emitting that wonderful,
fresh-from-the-dryer scent, today was no ordinary day. The duo’s arch-nemesis,
The Dirty Bubble, is accidentally split into thousands of Little Dirty Bubbles
when a little detergent turns out to be BIG trouble. Only SpongeBob can save
them from these sinister suds – only he can make these dirty bubbles burst!
As promising as these
features were, the result is somewhat less exciting than SpongeBob’s previous
adventures. Whereas his PS2 outings have included fast, attack-heavy gameplay
that stressed item collection (a la Jak & Daxter), his PSP debut is strictly
for kids — kids with patience, kids who aren’t bored by running and jumping
in a bland environment.
When I say "bland," I’m
not talking about the graphics. There are a few dull backgrounds, but that’s
secondary. These worlds feel empty. There are enemies to jump on and bubbles
to collect, but it’s an experience we’ve had a zillion times before (and in
much better forms).
Attacks are more or less
limited to jumping on creatures you encounter under the sea, one of which
looked like a little old lady. I don’t watch the show every week, so maybe
there’s a joke I’m missing. Who knows. It didn’t matter much, because the act
of jumping on enemies is a bore. It’s clunky and felt a little too much like I
was a sponge in water. But if that’s the case, shouldn’t I be able to float?
Shouldn’t I be able to swim in every level?
Super powers are
available almost immediately, giving hope to gamers like myself who thought he
couldn’t attack. If only they had filled that void. Instead the powers let you
shoot water balls, super strength, super speed, and a couple others. The most
interesting of the bunch is the ability to summon sea creatures, who will swim
together to form platforms that SpongeBob can walk on. Not the newest idea,
but a cool one nonetheless.
Water balls would’ve been
cool, but they’re limited. That’s true of all the powers. It’s not that I want
SpongeBob to be omnipotent — I’m not looking for imperviousness without a
cheat code. Give me a choice between strength or weakness, however, and I
choose strength.
Typically I skip the
story portion of a game, but SpongeBob is one of the few series whose story I
actually enjoyed. It just isn’t the same in text form, not when the
voice-overs in the previous games were so high in quality (I suppose I’d be
saying the opposite if they had sucked).
Without voice-overs, and
with bland objectives that aren’t overly fun, mission explanations are told
through text. Lengthy, uninviting paragraphs that will surely turn off the
game’s target audience.
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Gameplay: 5
Unexciting at
best. Levels are broken into sections. Each section is short, and has very
little to offer gamers in terms of excitement. Collect bubbles. Activate super
power circles (which allow you to get water balls or other super powers and
pass through blocked areas). That’s problem #1. Problem #2 enters the minute
you enter a new location: 10 to 15 seconds of loading. The game loads every
chance it gets. Not only does this wear down the battery, it’s also guaranteed
to wear down the player. At least three of my first 15 minutes with this game
were reserved for load times.
That’s potentially 12
minutes of loading for every hour of gameplay.
Graphics: 7
It’s the whole
package that makes this game look good. Individually I’m not sure how well
each element (good-looking characters, high-res stills, decent animations,
etc.) would live up. Some of the environments look awesome, while others lack
anything amusing to look at. Just a plain background, nothing special. That
hurt the overall look of the game, which was generally satisfying to the eyes,
despite lacking satisfaction in every other respect.
Sound: 6
SpongeBob-style
music, some of which sounds original to this game. Good stuff, but where’s the
voice track?
Difficulty: Easy
The word
“cakewalk” was invented for games like this.
Concept: 3
Repetitive,
unexciting 2.5D action. Or lack thereof.
Unlike the other
SpongeBob games, The Yellow Avenger does not feature the voice talent of the
show. It doesn’t feature any voices at all. Therefore the story is told
through high-res stills – they look good, but come ‘on! This is PSP, the new
generation of handheld gaming. It can run full-length movies, music videos,
MP3s, etc. Clearly it’s fully capable of doing voice. Case in point: we didn’t
spend $250 to play games that don’t take advantage of this amazing technology.
Multiplayer: 5
Mini-games based
on the rest of the adventure. Need I say more?
Overall: 5
Kids like to be
entertained with cool characters (which this game has), but not much else will
keep them coming back. The first SpongeBob game was good enough to be enjoyed
by players who had never watched the show before. The Yellow Avenger, however,
doesn’t even have what it takes to appease the series’ most diehard fans. It’s
not a disaster – just a thrill-less adventure that stars one of the world’s
most popular cartoon characters.
