SpongeBob's Atlantis SquarePantis

SpongeBob's Atlantis SquarePantis is, as you would expect, one heck of a zany adventure following the ludicrous adventures of SpongeBob SquarePants and his motley crew of sea-dwelling misfits. This is a game based on an episode of the SpongeBob show, and thus the story takes precedence and the gameplay kind of works to accommodate that. If you are looking for a classic, video game made about a tv show based on an anthropomorphic sea sponge, get ready for this nonsense.

Gameplay

There are a few different directions that the gameplay takes in this title. The game opens with plankton taking control of a full-on tank with an ice cream cannon and its your job to drive it around and destroy the environment. I know, that’s a lot to open with but here we are. Following that, there are a whole bunch of other gameplay mechanics that appear to have been thrown in for the sake of diversity. One section acts like a rail shooter where SpongeBob must traverse buildings and shoot everyone inside with Krabby Paddy’s like it’s somehow acceptable. Other sections act like Dance Dance Revolution or Guitar Hero by having characters walk along while button prompts fly into screen. I’m not going to say it makes sense, because it doesn’t but, somehow, it manages to keep you engaged while it does it.

Arguably one of the best bits of the game are the top-down sections where you can play as multiple characters together to solve some puzzle sections. Although they don’t require a significant amount of thought, they can be challenging at times and do add a satisfactory challenge to some of the missions. All in all, you could comfortably complete this game in about 3 hours but its 3 hours that you’ll likely actually enjoy.

Art Style

The art in this game is very reminiscent of the show but definitely has that 3D look you get with video games. That being said, it’s quite high-quality work and is a joy to look at. SpongeBob, Patrick and Mr. Krabs all look clean and well presented. The action is all very easy to follow with bright and colorful environments for players to engage in. It all looks as though it was pulled from the episode the game is based on.

Story

The story is a simple one but is delivered quite well. SpongeBob and the gang are escaping a crumbling Atlantis while Plankton is up to his usual shenanigans of blowing stuff up. SpongeBob looks back on how he made it to this point, and the player must play through those memories. As you can expect, there is a very similar formula at work here, Plankton is the bad guy through and through and there’s no other plot or reason to think too hard about it.

One thing that will become apparent to any players is that this game has that textbook charming SpongeBob humor that genuinely got a few chuckles out of me. A lot of what’s said may just be in passing as the missions go on, but if you keep an ear out, you’ll hear someone make a funny throw away line that makes you laugh.

Pros:

• Diverse gameplay
• Original Voice Actors
• Great story

Cons:

• Shows its age at times