Bit Players

Hold onto your barnacle-encrusted bottom; Gil Hammerstein's been swimming around town, searching for actors to star in an upcoming episode of "The Adventures of Mermaidman & Barnacleboy." Get out there and show the showbiz industry what you've got!

Vie for a part in the production by competing against up to three adversaries in 30 whimsical mini-game auditions. To those who score the most popularity points go different roles (waiter or lookout, for example), and a chance at fame and fortune. But don't let yourself be blinded by the limelight just yet. Before critical acclaim is yours, you have to triumph at events like these …

Floor It
Here's your chance to participate in four-player, 3-D, split-screen races around Miss Puff's boating school. Grab yourself a boatcar, and then step on the gas, tapping the brakes as needed to skillfully slide around corners or back up when you get into a bind.

The objective: Score a first place finish following a nail-biting, three-race competition. Beware out there, too; as much of a momentum boost as speed pads provide, colliding with a puddle of goo sends you spinning out of control.

Resc-gooing a few lost items ...

Pedal of Honor
This is another four-man split-screen sprint, only here, the goal is to earn as many points as possible by performing jaw-dropping tricks. Riding along on an underwater bike, start by steering clear of obstacles like walls, cones, coral, and lighthouses, and head instead for ramps you can ride off of.

Once airborne (waterborne?), execute short, medium, or long stunts like flips and handstands. The more you chain together, the fancier the performance you turn in, and the more points you earn. Be sure to brace for landing; one false move and you wipe out, adding nothing to your score.

Flippin' Out
Get ready for a two-on-two team challenge. Three grills sit in front of each player. Your task is to flip Krabby patties—which appear randomly on any of the three burners—to your partner, and catch whatever patties they fling your way simply by standing under them.

A couple caveats to be aware of, though: One: Chum Bucket burgers occasionally appear (points are awarded if you reject them, or subtracted if you or your partner catch them). Two: Patties which sit on the grill too long burn to ash which must be swept away. Oh, and some more good news, too— the action speeds up with each passing minute.

Where's the beef? No, seriously ...

The Bouncers
Players are paired into two-man teams and the screen is split into top and bottom halves. Boxes, barrels, and sacks of flour come a-flying in from the left of the screen. Tap the D-pad left and right to race between squares marked with your character's assigned color, thereby safely bouncing the packages to the right side of the screen by standing underneath them with a flexible tray.

Every minute that passes, change positions with your partner, and the pacing increases. Timing's everything, as there are no last-second saves; unless you're in position well in advance of an object's landing, parcels tumble uselessly to the ground.

Goo-Ladiators
As the scene opens, you find yourself sitting on a unicycle alongside up to three opponents on a circular platform. Everyone is armed with a goo gun capable of firing quick shots and charged up bursts. Points are scored by targeting opponents and blasting them, or using shots to send them spinning off of the outcropping's edge.

As many as three bumpers also occupy the landmass depending on how much time has passed, and these will prove your downfall if you collide (or get pushed) into them and don't immediately squeeze the brakes.

Guaranteed to have you running around in circles.

Surf Resc-Goo
Various items—beach balls, picnic baskets, life rafts, umbrellas, surfboards—are floating out to sea. Running around a dock at the bottom of the screen with a fishing rod, hold down the A button to cast your line increasing distances and retrieve the objects for points.

Different colored buoys match the colors on your charge meter … use it to accurately determine how far out you're casting. The greater the distance one of these goodies has drifted towards the horizon, the bigger the reward you get for retrieving it.

Now get out there and start minigaming! May the best sponge win.

Article by Steve Richter