THQ understood that the Wii opened the borders of players by reaching a larger audience. And who says general public, also says (big) children. This is why the publisher, with its many licenses, has decided to offer many of its games on the Nintendo console, while waiting to find an exclusive title for the machine. Cars and SpongeBob SquarePants: The Crisp Crab Creature made a place for themselves in the Wii launch line-up last December, followed very recently by Avatar: The Last Airbender. It must be admitted that THQ is not the only one to be carried away by the joys and the ease of porting, but it is clear that if some publishers burn their wings doing too much, THQ manages to give an additional charm to Spongebob: The Crispy Crab Creature compared to other developed versions.
Employees of the month
As its name suggests, SpongeBob: The Creature of the Crispy Crab will invite you to face a monster that is wreaking havoc in Bikini Bottom. This heinous being is none other than Plankton, the infamous thief of the famous Krusty Krab restaurant's crab cake recipe. By dint of breaking their teeth on the courage of Bob, Captain Krabs and Patrick the Starfish, the biomass of Bikini Bottom will try several experiments in order to unravel the mystery of the crab cake. Alas, his experiments will turn short and one thing leading to another, Plankton will become this terrible creature who terrorizes the population. Like an episode of the Nickelodeon series, nothing reveals this terrible disaster and we have fun dreaming in the company of Bob and Patrick. The first dreams of becoming an outstanding pilot while the second becomes Superstarfish, the superhero who makes the coral red and the molluscs green with envy. Two small appetizers before embodying Plankton himself lost in the entrails of a giant earthworm. No doubt possible, the scenario of SpongeBob SquarePants: The Creature of the Crispy Crab is worthy of the best episodes of the series. Wacky and fun, only "adults" in love with the humor of our sponge will adhere to the software. Children will find their account with a game that strictly respects the graphic charter of the cartoon, from its decorations to its characters. Of course, don't imagine coming face to face with a game that is graphically stunning or as beautiful as The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, but the excessive colorization of the title plays in its favor. Too bad, however, that the voice of our dear hero is slightly different from what we can hear in the series.
Wiisponge
But you know, the particularity of the Wii does not lie in its graphic power but in the interest represented by the combo Wiimote and Nunchuk and SpongeBob: The Crispy Crab Creature uses these two modules to manage to reduce Plankton to the state of… plankton. Generally speaking, you'll move Bob, Patrick, and Plankton by gesturing the Nunchuk's analog stick. Simple but effective, that said, the camera sometimes tends to act up and it will often be necessary to use the B button with a hand gesture to the left or right to rotate it correctly. We would have greatly preferred that by pressing this button, the camera refocuses automatically. Then comes the use of the many particularities of our heroes: jump, sand attack, dazzling blow, super breath attack, turbo twist... Once again, all these maneuvers are managed by pressing the various buttons offered (A, C, Z , 1, 2). But several alternatives exist by wriggling the joysticks down or forward. This little extra adds a playful side to SpongeBob: The Creature of the Crispy Crab, which the other versions of the game do not have. 'one directs his avatar. Other game sequences such as machine control will require more original use, notably by maintaining the Wiimote in a horizontal position. With the cross under the left thumb, you will steer all ground vehicles and notice fairly quickly how overly precise the controls are. If you're not parallel to the sensor, your gear will spin just as sharply before zigzagging as you attempt to recover. On the contrary, the flight sequences require holding the Wiimote vertically like when you activate a crank. It's a pity that we can't separate the Wiimote and the Nunchuk when only one part is used, the wire connecting the two blocks has something to annoy us during our movements.
Time to put on a slip and I'm yours!
All in all, you need to complete 9 chapters before Bikini Bottom regains peace and balance. A total of interesting levels which unfortunately suffers from a disconcerting ease of play. It connects with ease the different events without even flinching when the enemies point the end of their pixels. And even a child new to platform games will find their bearings very quickly. To overcome this lightness, the developers of Blitz Games have nevertheless integrated 4 fun but not essential mini-games which will use the Wiimote in the manner of Wii Play. The other bonus game mode, which will require good progress in the game to be fully unlocked, is called Bikini Music. Guitar, drums, harmonica, trombone, pipe, harp, maracas or even synthesizer, you will have the choice of weapons to stretch your fingers to the rhythm of the music of SpongeBob: The Crisp Crab Creature. Cool ! A Guitar Hero, a Samba de Amigo Wii version… in short, a Wii Music version of SpongeBob SquarePants? Well no ! In reality, this game mode doesn't offer any challenge but simply to make music as we see fit… Yeah, we'll do without it!
