Review: Spongebob Squigglepants for Nintendo 3DS

Spongbob Squarepants is easily the most popular children’s cartoon around. Just about every kid and even many adults watch Spongbob’s antics on Nickelodeon multiple times per week. Spongebob Squarepants video games are very popular and the newest one, Spongebob Squigglepants for the uDraw tablet on Wii and Nintendo 3DS is very different from any other Spongebob game around. Although for the most part, the two versions of the game are the same, the Nintendo 3DS version which I got to review also has an exclusive level aside from the addition of stereoscopic 3D. Is Spongebob Squigglepants a game that will entertain more than just younger gamers? Find out in my review.

Spongebob Squigglepants is basically WarioWare with Spongebob characters put into the mix. You go through microgames which are called nanogames and try your best to keep up as the nanogames as they become quicker and quicker. The nanogames take advantage of the Nintendo 3DS’s touch screen, accelerometer, and circle pad. Patchy the Pirate, the president of the Spongebob fan club acts as your guide as you unlock more microgames and extra minigames. Spongebob Squigglepants also has a drawing application built in which allows players to draw whatever they like and even save their creations to an SD card.



The game’s graphics are pretty much the same as the Wii version. The art style is very unique and different from any Spongebob game out there. You will be able to see your favorite Spongebob characters in ways you have never seen them before. It is all 2D but looks more like sketched drawings rather than like the cartoon. It’s kind of hard to explain unless you see screenshots or play the game. The 3D effect on Nintendo 3DS is incredibly subtle and just adds a little bit of depth to many of the nanogames. I would have liked to see a lot more effort with making the game 3D but it is clear that WayForward, the dev team that made the game did what they can. The 2D art style is meant more to be two dimensional but the layered look of the 3D works nicely with the 2D drawings. The cutscenes featuring Patchy the Pirate are all live action and in 2D but can sometimes look a bit pixelated. This is probably due to compressing the video files to fit on the 3DS game card. Although it probably would have taken some extra time and effort, a 3D conversion of the 2D live action cutscenes and the main menu could have been good for Spongebob Squigglepants. The soundtrack is very much like Warioware with stable tunes that let you know when you win and lose at microgames.

There are a lot of things I really like about Spongebob Squigglepants. I love that it is like Warioware and the game gets frantic and crazy. There are over 100 nanogames, each with their own themes and art style and each taking advantage of the 3DS’s touch screen, accelerometer, and circle pad. I love the 2D look of the game, simply because nobody has seen the Spongbob universe in the way it is portrayed in the game. The drawing studio is also great and kids will really have fun drawing with it since there really is not a way on the 3DS to draw pictures and save them to an SD card.



Spongebob Squigglepants also has plenty of flaws. I really had two major problems when playing it. The first is that the ideas for most of the nanogames were literally taken from Warioware. I’m glad it is in of the same genre but the fact that many of the nanogames are literally microgames from past Warioware titles with Spongebob characters in them really gets me annoyed. Copying something that’s great is not as good as an doing an original take. This in a way should be considered plagiarism. Those who have played Warioware games in the past might get annoyed with this. The next problem is that the game is way too short for most people. I played through the main story mode in an hour. Then, the game forces you to go through all the nanogames again just to unlock some more cut scenes. What’s great is that you can always challenge yourself to beat your high score but most gamers might consider themselves done with the game in just a couple of hours. In no way is Spongebob Squigglepants worth the $40 it’s asking for. It’s worth $15-$20 tops.

If you have not ever played a game like Spongebob Squigglepants and are someone who likes to compete for a high score, I would suggest looking into trying it out if you’re hungry for a new Nintendo 3DS game. I would not suggest picking it up at it’s current $39.99 price point. Finding it for cheap is great. Young kids will love the game. Adult gamers and Spongebob fans may find the game too short. If the game were worth a lot less, I would give it a higher score but I feel as if for being at times unoriginal and short, my final score is fair. This is by no means a bad game, it is just way too overpriced.

Final Score: 6.0

Special thanks to THQ for providing us with a copy of the game for review.

Review: Plants Vs. Zombies for Nintendo DS

PopCap Games is famous for not only creating amazing games that have a very wide appeal but also taking their best games and porting them to as many systems as possible. This gives as many gamers as possible a chance to play. Plants Vs. Zombies, one of PopCap's most popular games has made its way to different platforms such as the PC, Mac, iPhone, iPad, Xbox Live Arcade, and most recently PlayStation Network. Plants Vs. Zombies has taken another leap to handhelds on the Nintendo DS. Is Plants Vs. Zombies on Nintendo DS a worthy port of the backyard defense game?

If you have never heard of or played Plants Vs. Zombies, you might be living under a rock. Millions have already enjoyed planting the scores of plants available to take down many different types of zombies. I have played Plants Vs. Zombies before on iPhone and I absolutely fell in love with the gameplay and the cartoony ary style of the game. The version you will get on Nintendo DS is the same exact experience you will find on other platforms. It looks exactly the same as all previous versions of the game except it runs at much lower resolutions. For a Nintendo DS game, Plants Vs. Zombies looks spectacular and keeps the same fun animations.

Plants Vs. Zombies also plays the same as previous versions. The addition of the touch screen as seen in the iPhone and iPad versions show that Plants Vs. Zombies is one of those games that works much better by touch rather than with buttons. The gameplay is exactly the same as other touch screen versions which is perfect. My only complaint is that I would have liked to see PopCap experiment with the addition of the second screen. All that is on the top screen are fun animations of the Zombies on the play field which is not a bad thing but I would have liked to see something that slightly changed the gameplay.

As for content, the DS version of Plants Vs. Zombies packs a lot into its tiny game card. Aside from the same great adventure mode and minigames you'll find on other versions, you'll find that Plants Vs. Zombies DS has some modes and minigames that the other versions do not have. There are DS exclusive minigames which take advantage of some of the DS' features such as the microphone. The Zen Garden allows you to plant plants and earn in game money for it. It also contains the Zombitar, originally exclusive to the PC version. This mode allows you to dress up your own zombie in various hats and shirts. Unfortunately, unlike the PC version, you cannot export you zombie into the game so there is nothing you can do with the zombie after you have customized it.

Plants Vs. Zombies is just an amazing game with a great concept and memorable characters behind it. I had an absolute blast playing through it once again on Nintendo DS. I highly recommend that if you have never played Plants Vs. Zombies, you are seriously missing out. It is a game you absolutely need to experience. But is the Nintendo DS version the best? I would say its on par with the other versions of the game. At $20 I would say this is a must buy but the same exact game is available on other platforms for much cheaper. I would say if you have never played Plants Vs. Zombies and only have a Nintendo DS or you want to replay the game on a different platform, you absolutely must buy it. I just really hope to see a sequel to Plants Vs. Zombies soon and not too many more ports.

Final Score: 9.0/10

Special thanks to PopCap Games for providing a copy of the game.

Sonic Free Riders Review

Kinect’s launch lineup is filled with a fairly small variety of games. There are sports games, fitness games, dancing games, and racing games. Sonic Free Riders from Sega is one of the few racing games that launched with Kinect. Is Sonic the Hedgehog’s first Kinect title worth playing or should Sonic just stop trying?

Sonic Free Riders is the third game in the Sonic Riders series. The racing game has Sonic and his pals riding hoverboards and motorcycles known as Extreme Gear as they collect rings and various items to attack opponents as they speed towards the finish line. Surprisingly, there is a lot of depth to this title that is rare to see in launch titles. Free Riders is heavy in content from four Gran Prix story lines, sixteen different track variations, multiple game modes and offline as well as online multiplayer. There is definitely more to chew on in Sonic Free Riders than most Kinect games available. Getting into just about everything this game has to offer can take a lot of time.

The gran prix modes feature your favorite Sonic characters competing to be better than the rest. Team Sonic, Team Babylon, Team Rose, and Team Dark are in deep competition. The storylines are all connected but always makes the team you are playing as the winners. The cutscenes look like they were added at the last minute with just pictures of characters with very few animations. At least the voice acting is slightly better than what has been seen in past Sonic titles. There are 10 missions in each team which involve grabbing rings, grinding on rails, and racing. The first nine missions for each team are relatively easy but the difficulty spike goes up way too much for the tenth mission which at times can feel impossible compared to the previous missions.



Racing in the game is very fun. Learning each map and learning to use each gear part which can be equipped to your Extreme Gear can take some time which makes you want to keep playing. Gameplay can also change within each map so you can be swimming or operating a mine cart which changes the way you can play and the way you move your body. There are so many different controls to be learned but most of them are self explanatory, especially with items. It is pretty amazing how many different gestures and control Sonic Team implemented so early in Kinect’s lifetime. As cool as they are, the controls were also one of the biggest problems I had with the game. Turning is sometimes not as easy as it seems. It can be difficult plenty of times. The game also had trouble registering whether or not I was leaning forward to make a large jump when on the hoverboard. Calibrating before each and every race is also a pain. These setbacks can be easily overlooked as you get better acquainted with Free Riders.

Sonic Free Riders is a nice looking game. It’s great use of lighting and animation definitely makes it one of the best looking Kinect games around. The voice acting as I said is definitely better than what has been seen in most Sonic games. Tails actually does not sound like a girl! The only complaint about voices is that characters will sometimes say things out of context. When you win, your character may be saying something that was meant to be said when you would lose. The main menus can also take a while to navigate and the flicking gesture that you must use sometimes does not do what you want it to do. Voice commands help but they don’t always work.

Multiplayer is also another whole mode. There are offline modes as well as online. Both are very fun and bring even more value to the game. Free Riders is definitely a fun game to play with friends and family.

Overall, Sonic Free Riders is a great racing game and a fun Kinect launch title. Its controls are easily the biggest letdown due to turning and jumping being unresponsive but this is definitely a full featured game. If you are looking for a fun Kinect title with a lot of value, this may be the one you are looking for.

Final Score: 7.8/10

Thanks to Sega for providing us with a copy for review!

Also watch out for the audio review coming soon the GamersCast Podacast feed

If you would like to contact the author of this post, feel free to email him at adam@gamerscastpodcast.com.