SpongeBob SquarePants: Creature from the Krusty Krab

SpongeBob SquarePants: Creature from the Krusty Krab
North American Wii cover art
Developer(s)	Blitz Games (PS2, GC, Wii) WayForward Technologies (GBA, DS) Nick Games
Publisher(s)	THQ
Director(s)	Chris Viggers
Writer(s)	Richard Boon James Parker
Platform(s)	PlayStation 2 Game Boy Advance Nintendo DS Nintendo GameCube Wii PlayStation 3 (cancelled) PlayStation Portable (cancelled) Xbox (cancelled) Xbox 360 (cancelled)
Release date(s)	GC, GBA, & PS2 NA October 16, 2006 AUS November 2, 2006 EU November 10, 2006 JP March 15, 2007 (PS2) Nintendo DS NA October 18, 2006 EU November 24, 2006 AUS November 30, 2006 Wii NA November 19, 2006 AUS December 12, 2006 EU December 15, 2006 JP March 15, 2007
Genre(s)	Platformer, Action-Adventure Game, Racing Game, Rail Shooter
Mode(s)	Single-Player

SpongeBob SquarePants: Creature from the Krusty Krab is a video game for the Nintendo GameCube, PlayStation 2, Game Boy Advance, Nintendo DS, and Wii developed by Blitz Games and published by THQ. It stars SpongeBob SquarePants, his best friend Patrick Star, and their enemy Sheldon J. Plankton as they journey to nine different worlds, supposedly, inside the dreams of the characters. The Wii version was a North American launch title. It is also the first SpongeBob game released in Japan (PlayStation 2 and Wii versions), but was released under the title: "Spongebob" (スポンジ・ボブ Suponjibobu), to mark it as the first video game in the SpongeBob series to have a Japanese release.

Gameplay

Players have access to three playable characters during the game, SpongeBob SquarePants, Patrick Starfishman (Patrick Star in superhero form), and Sheldon J. Plankton, and must guide them through nine levels of play in a dreamworld.^[1] Four different types of gameplay have been incorporated into the game, known as flying, rampaging, racing, and platforming. During flying sections, the game sets obstacles, one in front of another, and the player must maneuver past them. In most cases, the game will tell the player which way to fly (up, down, left, and right). On the Wii, the player uses the controller like an actual plane control stick. The most common cases of this is when SpongeBob uses his plane to attack a giant-sized Plankton.^[2] In rampage levels, the player controls a giant sized Plankton and uses special powers and moves to destroy everything in their path.^[3] The player's laser power is indicated by a bar on the right side of the screen, which refills after use. The Wii version features controller movements that respectively activate moves. Racing gameplay is similar to most racing games; it is featured in both the air and the ground's gameplay, fuel must be collected in order to keep the player's vehicle running.^[4] The platforming gameplay is spread throughout the game, such as when Plankton must escape from a live Krabby Patty or when Patrick Starfishman saves Bikini Bottom from his evil form, Dreaded Patrick.^[5]

Development

Developer Blitz Games had a meeting with staff from THQ during the 2005 E3 trade show, where they were asked to oversee and develop the SpongeBob SquarePants franchise. THQ staff revealed that they had an "intimate" business relationship with Nintendo, and that Nintendo had expressed an interest in having a SpongeBob game published on their new console, the Wii, which at that point was still known by its development name Revolution. Blitz came up with several styles of play during development, some of which did not become part of the finished product. In particular, shooting sections using the Wiimote had been considered, but license holders Nickelodeon were uncomfortable with them due to SpongeBob SquarePants being a cartoon.^[6] Due to Blitz developing their own middleware with a focus on providing cross-platform compatibility, the main sections of the game such as driving and platforming are the same for each console version of the game. The mini game controls work differently on the Wii version of the game, the Nintendo console was the main focus of development. Extra development time was spent configuring the control methods for the Wiimote and the standard controllers used on the other consoles.^[6]

The game was announced prior to the 2006 E3 show, and was first shown to journalists at that event.^[7]

Reception

Reception
Aggregate scores Aggregator Score GameRankings Wii: 58.83%[8] Metacritic GC: 74[9] Wii: 57[10] DS: 56[11] PS2: 56[12] Review scores Publication Score Eurogamer Wii: 5 out of 10[13] IGN Wii: 4.5 out of 10[1] X-Play Wii: [14]

The game was nominated for an Annie Award for best animated video game in 2006.^[15] It also won the award for favorite video game at the 2007 Kids' Choice Awards.^[16] The game received average reviews in addition to some more positive or negative ratings. Nintendo Power referred to the game as the "most ambitious and most successful SpongeBob game to date" in their December 2006 issue.

Several reviewers noted that the fictional world does not resemble Bikini Bottom or the cartoon itself, that the game does not "feel" like a SpongeBob SquarePants title.

Key points brought out in the above reviews include:

• The ease of navigating through each level.
• The play control is both "perfect" and "responsive".

And key flaws brought out in the reviews include:

• Bad graphics.
• A continuous racing and 2D levels.

References

External links

• Official website