If you aren’t already singing along, then maybe this game isn’t for you. Or, if you have anything against optimistic, cheery characters, making the best of your life, or sticking by your friends at all times, you might want to steer clear. But, if you like to laugh and enjoy a good platformer SpongeBob SquarePants™: Battle for Bikini Bottom is the game for you. Based on the hit Nickelodeon cartoon and developed by THQ, this Xbox game is just what you would expect: a lighthearted, fun Xbox title that might even teach you a few things about enjoying life. Not a bad deal, huh?
And, it does this through the adventures of three simple, yet deeply moving, characters.
Soaking up the local atmosphere.
SpongeBob SquarePants Absorbent and yellow and porous is he.
Yeah, he’s a sponge. No big metaphors here. SpongeBob is the quintessential cartoon character. He is his own reason for being. (Hey, that’s kind of deep.) With his buck-toothed grin, wide eyes, and skinny legs, SpongeBob has something kind of awkward about him that we can all find in ourselves as well. He’s a fry cook at the Krusty Krab—nothing too pretentious. He spends his free time with Patrick, Sandy, and his pet snail Gary. He could be just about anyone.
And, that truly is the beauty of SpongeBob. He is exactly what he seems to be. Sweet and generous. Friendly. A very trusting guy who never intentionally harms anyone. That isn’t to say that he doesn’t make mistakes, but you can bet dollars to dolphins he’ll set it right in the end. His innocent nature appeals to almost everyone and, of course, makes him the hero who will always win out in the end. Nice guys don’t have to finish last; nice guys are winners right from the start. That’s who SpongeBob is, and that’s who THQ brings us.
Even with the evil Plankton plotting to take over the world, SpongeBob is already coming out on top because every step he takes is one he enjoys.
Not even hot water takes the smile off of his face.
Patrick Star If nautical nonsense be something you wish.
Living a few doors down from SpongeBob, under a rock, Patrick Star is SpongeBob’s closest friend. Their adventures together are legendary among children and not a few adults. Plump, pink, and relatively clueless, Patrick is the perfect sidekick. He never gets angry or annoyed, even if SpongeBob goes a bit around the bend with his eternal optimism. In fact, Patrick’s gullible nature is often the reason behind one of the adventures he shares with good old SpongeBob.
But, far from being a cold-water friend, Patrick never once takes advantage of his relationship with SpongeBob SquarePants. He is a true and lasting friend, whose loyalty knows no boundaries. Which is why, when Plankton threatens the world and the fate of Bikini Bottom, Patrick is right there to back up his friend and pull his weight in the adventure.
Now there’s something you don’t see everyday.
Sandy Cheeks Then drop on the deck and flop like a fish.
And, next to a sponge and a starfish, who else would you be more likely to find living under the ocean than a Texas ground squirrel? This is Sandy Cheeks, and she lives under the ocean, not far from SpongeBob, in a Tree Dome complete with Texas-size tree and a good old-fashioned picnic table. To participate in this adventure (and most of them, in fact) Sandy has an air-filled divers suit tastefully decorated with a pretty pink flower on it (just in case you forget she’s a girl).
Sandy is a great friend of SpongeBob, even if she sometimes slips into a bad mood from lack of sleep. She also suffers from homesickness now and then, but it’s hard to let that get her down too much with such friends on the ocean bottom. Sandy is often helpful to SpongeBob in his many adventures, and in this game as well, because she is talented at most everything she does.
