Reviewed: January 6, 2003
Reviewed by: Mark Smith

Publisher
THQ

Developer
THQ

Released: December 17, 2002
Genre: Platform
Players: 1
ESRB: Everyone

6
6
6
6
6.6

 Supported Features:

  • Analog Control
  • Vibration
  • Memory Card

    		•
    Nickelodeon has grown into one of the hottest channels on cable TV, captivating adults with a large and varied selection of classic shows dating back to the 60’s and 70’s and appealing to kids with a huge library of original programming that has since evolved into feature films and now video games.

    THQ was hot to pick up on the licensing of several of Nick’s most popular franchises and the resulting games have been a mishmash of hits and misses spanning multiple genres. I confess that before I started reviewing this first wave of Nick games I had never watched any of these animated shows. I resolved myself to watching all of the shows that spawned these new games marketed toward a specific generation of kids.

    SpongeBob Squarepants: Revenge of the Flying Dutchman is based on the series of the same name (sans the Dutchman part) and is probably one of the more annoying of the Nick shows I forced myself to endure. The concept of a walking, talking sponge is admittedly a novel concept, but the voice of the main character really frazzled the nerve endings in my inner ear, and don’t get me started on Bob’s super-annoying laugh.

    Annoying laugh aside, SpongeBob has been delighting kids for over a year now, so it makes perfect sense to turn him into a video game star and give him his own platform adventure. Revenge of the Flying Dutchman is an original story created just for this game and follows the adventures of Bob as he accidentally releases the Flying Dutchman who promptly puts a curse on all of his friends. In order to lift the curse you must locate lots of lost treasures scattered about the various undersea levels.

    Revenge of the Flying Dutchman features:

    • SpongeBob's 2-D world is re-created in 3-D for the first ever time ever
    • Based on environments from the hit TV show, this hilarious action adventure game includes 7 worlds, with 8 challenges per level
    • Check out SpongeBob in his many costume changes throughout the game including his Mermaid Man outfit, Karate gear, treasure hunter, reef blower and jellyfish catcher costumes.
    • Interact with the residents of Bikini Bottom including: Patrick Star, Sandy Cheeks, Squidward, Mr. Krabs, Plankton, the infamous Flying Dutchman, and more!
    • Contains voiceovers from the television series including SpongeBob and Patrick Star!
    SpongeBob follows the standard platform rulebook while remaining true to the show. This means that explaining the underlying concepts of this game to anyone who has never seen the show is like trying to describe the thrills of skydiving, or bungee jumping.

    Fortunately, for non-fans, the game still plays like most other platform titles so even Sponge-rookies can immerse themselves in the gameplay if you can embrace the characters and environments. You get to run and jump and collect endless pick-ups on your quest for the ten treasures. It’s platform gaming at its simplest, which makes it just that much more accessible to the younger crowd for which it is targeted.

    The graphics are fairly simple and identical to those found on the PS2 version of the same game. While they certainly don’t push the GameCube to any limits they do hold true to the artistic design of the TV show and that’s all you can really ask for. The colors are bright and cheery and the camera works surprisingly well in the 3D environments.

    Level design is creative and the seven worlds that make up this adventure capture the look of the undersea world depicted on the series. All of the characters look great and are as charming as their TV counterparts, both in the game and in the various cutscenes.

    Again, the designers have chosen to emulate the show rather than push the technology envelope. All of the music and sound effects are perfectly matched to the show and the game features authentic voice talent and all of the favorite characters from the television show including Sandy Cheeks, Squidward, Patrick Star and more. While none of this will dazzle traditional gamers, it certainly does justice to the original series.

    SpongeBob is definitely targeted towards the younger crowd and will easily take them 20-30 hours to complete. More experienced gamers will walk (or swim) all over this title in under ten hours. The bonus mini-games add some extra fun and some additional value to the main adventure.

    SpongeBob is definitely an acquired taste. If you like the show then you will love this game. If you have never seen the show or don’t like the show then you will want to steer clear of this title. While it’s a decent game in its own right, there is just too much “Sponge” present to appeal to the non-fan looking for their next platform game.