In this game, the main character is a sea sponge, his boss is a crab (literally), and the whole thing takes place at the bottom of the deep blue sea in a charming place called Bikini Bottom. And, if you think the set-up is strange, wait until you see the leading man.
SpongeBob may seem like a baffling choice for a hero at first. He’s a little on the slow side, innocent about nearly everything, and he doesn’t have a mean bone in his body (if he had a body, but that’s beside the point). Don’t think that just because he’s more likely to sing a song than pick a fight that he’s going to sit around when his home and his friends are in trouble. In SpongeBob SquarePants™: Battle for Bikini Bottom, the THQ platform adventure based on the mega-popular cartoon series, SpongeBob proves that you can be an action hero without bulging muscles … or a spine … or a central nervous system. Here are just a few ways SpongeBob can deal with the obstacles and opponents lurking in the depths of Bikini Bottom.
Like he can get any dizzier …
Round and Round SpongeBob has the basic abilities of any good platform explorer: Jump, Double Jump, and Spin. His Bubble Spin is visually distinct, however, as it involves the expert use of a bubble wand. I hear you saying, “So what? A cloud of bubbles isn’t all that effective,” but this isn’t a cloud, my friends. It’s a tornado. Between the speed of SpongeBob’s wand and the strength of the vortex, this is the most effective and reliable offense SpongeBob has.
Up and Down There’s no way to fight a bottomless pit or a seaweed maze, but you can go over or around the obstacle. Deft Jumps and Double Jumps are your main asset in navigating the more dangerous levels, but you’ll need something special to access hidden areas and reach the remotest shiny things. Along with the Bubble Bash attack (see below), for altitude, you can also use SpongeBob’s underpants as a bungee cord to prevent nasty falls or his tongue as a surfboard (if you dare).
Sponge-head missile.
Use Your Head The Bubble Bash attack is far more than just another offensive lunge. By encasing his head in a helmet of bubbles, SpongeBob gets a ballistic lift and rockets straight up, far higher than the best Double Jump. The helmet also protects SpongeBob’s noodle as he smashes dome-first through obstacles and overhead Tiki boxes
Doin’ Da Butt SpongeBob can come down on his target like a ton of sponge bricks using the Bubble Bounce attack. Hitting the B button in mid-jump brings SpongeBob straight down, fanny-first, with enough impact to knock the toughest enemy silly. It’s also useful for those big shiny red buttons that aren’t going to press themselves. Drop ’Bob’s butt on it just once, and that button will stay pressed.
Look out below!
Bubble Time When conditions are right, you’ll be able to enjoy a Matrix-like slow motion blur that puts SpongeBob at center stage for the big fight scenes. Granted, SpongeBob is no Keanu (and likewise, Keanu is no SpongeBob), but you’ll still thrill to the spectacle of a little yellow guy running rings around the bad guys in blurred time, while his foes try to keep up with their puny normal reflexes.
SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom has all of the colorful humor, zany places, and oddball action of the TV series. And, no matter how much action he sees, how many enemies he has to Bubble Bash, or how many pairs of Golden Underwear he burns through, rest assured: SpongeBob will maintain his sunny disposition.
