A big fan of Bob in front of the eternal, it is with unrestrained enthusiasm that I welcome the internationally renowned yellow sponge with open arms. It must be said that it is almost impossible to escape the phenomenon Spongebob. After stealing the show from Jimmy Neutron and Arnold with his TV series, the new face of THQ and Nickelodeon is now attacking the big screen with a cleverly titled film Spongebob: The Movie. Video games, too, are invaded from all sides by this little yellow and spongy cube. Spongebob: Battle for Bikini Bottom, SpongeBob Squarepants : Supersponge, SpongeBob and his Friends: Photo Madness, Get moving with SpongeBob and his Friends, I stop there because the list is still long and is not ready to decrease with the imminent arrival of the DS and the PSP on the market. As for this Spongebob: The Movie, THQ has of course released its title at the same time as the film so that everyone can come back to the terrible adventures of Bob and Patrick.
The sponge who wanted to become a man
It must be said that Bob always has a knack for putting himself in rather delicate situations. Instead of being the source of the problems, Bob and his lifelong friend Patrick the starfish, will be the miracle cure for the ills that plague the peaceful town of Bikini Bottom. Mr. Krab, owner of the famous restaurant "Le Krab Croustillant", has decided to open a second establishment, which attracts the greed of Plankton. As his name suggests, he's a little plankton obsessed with Krab's magic recipe: the pâté sandwich. To steal this recipe synonymous with mesh for his fast food, he develops a Machiavellian Plan Z. He steals King Neptune's crown and frames Krab. While Bob and Patrick go in search of the royal crown to save Krab from certain death, Plankton takes the opportunity to steal the recipe. Success finally reaches out to him and takes advantage of the crowds in his restaurant to control the inhabitants of Bikini Bottom… Machiavellian, isn't it? Originally from Bikini Bottom, Bob and Patrick have hardly traveled and this royal mission will take them to the edge of Shell City, "the city from which no one returns". The friends take advantage of this adventure to prove to everyone that they are men and real!
Spongebob: The Movie appears at first glance as a classic platform game as we see dozens of them scroll before our eyes each quarter. It is true that THQ does too often in the platform game and in particular with the license Spongebob. Apart from a compatible game Eyeoy (Get moving with Spongebob and his friends), we had to make do with tasteless titles. But by placing the development of Spongebob: The Movie under the tutelage of Heavy Iron Studios, responsible for the very average Scooby-Doo: Night of 100 Chills, The Incredibles, and execrable Evil Dead : Hail To The King, they managed to produce a fast-paced game that was true to the series. In short, everything has been multiplied by two for this game: two characters, two gameplays for double pleasure. As for the pure platform sequences, here we are on familiar ground since you have to mix attacks and jumps in order to progress throughout the 18 levels of the game. Each character has his own special moves and you will often have to zap of heroes to carry out a mission. Our famous sponge is quite versatile thanks to the Bubble Launcher, Thunder Bubble, Karate Dodge and Sonic Wave Guitar attacks. Patrick, meanwhile, is more aesthetic with his Pirouette and his Wheel, or on the contrary is bold with the Popotinsplash. You will have to master these attacks to put down the various enemies who will block your way. Without being vicious, there are enough of them at times to leave you in the dust. Fortunately, these passages are an opportunity to let off steam but also a good way to win a maximum of dumbbells. Dumbbells are a kind of rewards earned as you fight, explore, and destroy your urges. By snooping the landscapes of Bikini Bottom or Shell City and breaking some crates, you will earn these little bonuses synonymous with virility. Like an RPG, you will be able to evolve after a certain number of dumbbells picked up. Increase your health gauge, discover new attacks or upgrade certain offensive techniques, you are free to customize Bob or Patrick as you wish. It is therefore scrupulously that we will pick up a maximum of dumbbells in order to become a man as quickly as possible.
Gratteuuu, scratchuuu... long!
The other sequence of gameplay aroused concerns the driving phases aboard the car-block. Spongebob: The Movie offers frenzied, breathless, thrilling races... Well, OK! I'm exaggerating a bit. Despite its minimalist handling (accelerate, brake, turbo, honk), the hamburger-shaped car responds quite well to command despite its nasty habit of sliding a little too much. The only downside that we could formulate is the lack of feeling of speed when you run out of turbo. Corn Spongebob: The Movie is neither a clone of Mario Kart : Double Dash !!, nor a true copy of Cocoto Kart Racer (yes, let's give him a chance to Cocoto !). The racing sequences are there to distract us, to change our minds in the same way as the Slide Missions, which are also very simplistic since the goal is to arrive at the bottom safe and sound.
The 18 levels presented Spongebob: The Movie are divided into several challenges that will often have to be revisited in order to unlock the Goofy Goober tokens which will be used to unlock new worlds and new attacks. Even if the progression is quite easy, the difficulty not being too high, it will sometimes be necessary to go back and pass a timed race or an arena to win the precious coins. Without being as long as a How III, Spongebob: The Movie will be able to please everyone as long as you stick to Bob's universe. This is perhaps the sensitive point of Spongebob: The Movie or any other stamped productions of this spongy body. In summary and to use a leitmotif of the Unknowns: "it's ass-ass, it's stupid, it's stupid and it's stupid". It's SpongeBob's trademark! We like it or we don't like it! The ubiquitous humor of the series, and of the film, is present here too through the actions of the characters and the dialogues in-game or in the menus. The fidelity of the game compared to the cartoon does not stop there since even graphically we are swimming in the middle of Bikini Bottom/Shell City. Colorful but clean, Spongebob: The Movie probably does not shine with its graphics (in the same way as a game inspired by Simpsons or South Park) but once again will appeal to fans of the series.
