SpongeBob SquarePants: Revenge of the Flying Dutchman
Score: 55% ESRB: Everyone Publisher: THQ Developer: Nick Games Media: CD/1 Players: 1 Genre: Platformer
Graphics & Sound: Infused with the kind of humorous antics kids (and adults) have come to love and expect from SpongeBob Squarepants, this game is made to order for fans. Revenge of the Flying Dutchman is just the latest in a series of games that have spanned multiple platforms and taken the appearance of everything from a side-scrolling retro Platformer to a free-roaming adventure game. Revenge of the Flying Dutchman is more in the latter category, but with a strong Platformer sensibility. It comes across with patented Nickelodeon style, bright primary colors and characters only Nick minds could have conceived. The music and voiceover talent is well chosen, and conveys the hilarity of the show perfectly. In fact, the actual voice talent from the show appears in the game, lending miles of credibility for fans. In the Bad News category, the overall graphics' presentation is unsophisticated and looks more like PS1.5 than PS2... Nothing has that 'next-gen' gleam to it, and even the size and scope of the world you explore as SpongeBob is paltry compared to other similar 3D Platformers on the market from last year's bonanza holiday season. Check out Sly Cooper or Ratchet & Clank to see juvenile Platformer done with serious visual style. But, where actual visual panache is lacking, fans of the show will see past the sometimes jagged, grainy exterior into the spongy heart of Revenge of the Flying Dutchman.
Gameplay: My favorite game from this creative team is still the PSone SuperSponge, with its side-scrolling retro feel. Glitches, bumps and all, this pulled together the theme, showed plenty of spunk and represented the character decently. In Revenge of the Flying Dutchman, I fear the SpongeBob team has taken a turn into territory best left to the sides of cereal boxes. That's right, a sacrifice to the God of Generic Platform Titles has befallen SpongeBob. As the story goes, a strange treasure chest gets SpongeBob into trouble, and this Pandora's Box unleashes a ghost of The Flying Dutchman. The bad guy proceeds to scheme against SpongeBob's friends in Bikini Bottom, planning to conscript them for service on his ghostly pirate ship. Your mission is to track down 7 treasure chests and liberate your friends by discovering The Flying Dutchman's location and defeating him. What you can surmise from this plot is a big treasure hunt, and Revenge of the Flying Dutchman doesn't disappoint in this respect. Most of what passes for puzzle solving comes in the way of gathering letters from SpongeBob's name to unlock a picture puzzle that shows the way to some of The Flying Dutchman's loot. The fun part in all this is using the tricks up SpongeBob's sleeve to defeat enemies and explore. Different costumes are generally the way to really break out the smack, and 'Bob has many different outfits suited to solving certain puzzles. Apart from apparel, you'll find common attacks very...common. Butt bounce, jump, jump some more and glide. Really, you need to be in some sort of costume to do much damage, and the worst damage done is mostly to jellyfish, which you can scoop with a net and cash in for special items. Periodically, SpongeBob swings his net the wrong way, gets bonked, and needs to grab another pair of shorts after losing his wee pants. I'm sure I'd have the same reaction in some of the scrapes you'll get SpongeBob into in Revenge of the Flying Dutchman.
Difficulty: Loads of quirky slips and trips associated with the game lead to minor or major headaches depending on one's skill level. As a devotee of 2D and 3D Platformers, I'll say that dedicated gamers will be able to conquer the game easily, since it is aimed at a younger crowd. The question is whether any of the truly devoted, other than people who would buy a dog turd with the SpongeBob brand on it, will see the value is something that absolutely pales in comparison to higher quality Platformer titles in stores now. Why glower through the bad parts when you have access to better stuff? Well, the answer lies in the brand, my friend. If SpongeBob is what you seek, the glitches won't seem as annoying to you.
Game Mechanics: Control, as has been the norm in this franchise, is dodgy. Luckily, the level design favors more of the horizontal than the vertical, so precipitous chasms and mile after mile of wide-open spaces are replaced by lots of contained levels with mostly creature bashing and item collection activities. In short, more of a Junior Platformer. There isn't as much to interact with as you'd think looking at the colorful levels, and there's little of the 'everything destructible' quality more popular in similar titles these days. Revenge of the Flying Dutchman is a pretty package, a decorative cake where most of the stuff on top is waxy and inedible. There are more underlying issues with control, edge detection, glitchy graphics and bad camera than we can usually deal with, but SpongeBob fans won't be put off by the chance to finally see their favorite Bikini Bottom locales represented in 3D. Fans are the expected audience, but apart from the SpongeBob faithful, I'd have to recommend taking a pass on Revenge of the Flying Dutchman. Too many problems and very little to sustain interest over the long haul define the game, and although the pretty looks and sounds would have been the perfect setting for a great Platformer, too much of the ordinary pervades Revenge of the Flying Dutchman. For a character who always surprises and delights kids and adults, SpongeBob is trapped in the gaming equivalent of 'more of the same.'
-Fridtjof, GameVortex Communications AKA Matt Paddock
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