Official Website

Platform: Xbox, PlayStation 2,GameCube, Nintendo DS, PC

Genre: Party

Number of Players: 1 - 4

I know that SpongeBob Squarepants has an enormous following. From kids to adults, everyone seems to love the dude. I have a friend who said that he and his brother don’t just watch SpongeBob- they study him. So the fact there should be a slew of games based on the show is no surprise. What would be a surprise would be if any of those games were any good. Licensed games tend to suck, and while the SpongeBob outings have not been terrible, they certainly have not lit the world on fire. Now, along comes SpongeBob Squarepants: Lights, Camera, Pants! from THQ. While a competent party game, and better than a lot of licensed games out there, it still falls squarely within the realm of the mediocre.

The story in the game has to do with an episode of Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy being filmed in Bikini Bottom. The SpongeBob gang all wants a guest role on the show, so engage in a series of contests trying to win a spot. Here is where you, the player come in, as those contests are the mini games in this party game.
There are basically three game modes to choose from in the game. There is story mode, where 1-4 players will start at the beginning and work their way to the end; single audition mode, a quickie play version where the players choose a single mini game to play; and tournament, where the players choose up to five mini games to play. Functionally, these modes are all the same, the only difference being how long you want to play.

The object of the game is to score the most points to win guest starring roles on the show. This is done, of course, by winning the mini games (auditions, they are called in the game). Points are added up for two categories- the first is to get a role, the second, is to determine if you will be a good guy or bad guy in the role you win. Winning leads to a short cut scene showing your character in his role. Beyond this, the only other unlockables are some art and viewable character figures. Not a lot of reason to play again, but since this is supposed to be a party game, the story mode and unlockables really should take a back seat to the fun factor of taking on your friends in the mini games.

The games controls are fairly straightforward, and before every mini game there is a load screen that shows the control layout and objectives for the game to follow. Often, though, these instructions can be a bit vague, so it is sometimes necessary to figure everything out in game. Still, this is not usually a problem, as simplicity is the key- this is, after all, a party game geared toward younger players.
Unfortunately, that kid friendly design is exactly what older fans may end up disliking about the game- it can be far too easy. The game seems to handicap itself to let the player win more often than not, and while this may be appropriate for small children, it even acts this way on the most difficult setting, effectively shutting out more experienced gamers from really having any fun with less than 4 players.

Graphically, the game really falls short. There is very little in the way of character animation, or any animation at all, save what absolutely must move for the sake of the game. Being that there are four players competing at once (however many humans are playing, then CPU controlled players to fill up any remaining spots) the actual screen area you have to work with is pretty small, and when you add in the HUDs, the action can get pretty gobbed up and hard to follow. Overall, this is a game that looks like it could have been done on PS1 level hardware. Sound wise, the sound effects are appropriate to the source material, and the original actors do voiceover work for the game, but the dialog and simple music is extremely repetitive and gets annoying after a short time.

Bottom line- rabid, die hard SpongeBob fans with a few like minded friends might get a kick out of SpongeBob Squarepants: Lights, Camera, Pants! However, it really is geared toward kids, but they might be frustrated by the overload of information, while adults will probably get bored rather quickly. Still, if you do like the Spongy One, at least give the game a rent and check it out. It will probably amuse you for a while, at least.

-Ed-