SpongeBob
SquarePants: Lights, camera, pants!
Yep,
a SpongeBob game, but don't run away just yet, hear me out!
I
know what your thinking, it's a SpongeBob game, it's going to suck
but you would be surprised at just how much fun you can have playing
this game!
It
was made in 2005 and at the time the people down at Nickelodeon were
making game after game after game, and some of them were not that bad
but most of them, if not all of them, were out just to make some
quick cash and bring the fans of the shows we were all fond of at the
time, one of those games.
Now
at the time you could get this game for anything. It had it all:
Xbox, Playstation 2, Gamecube, Game Boy Advance, and even PC. Now we
have to remember that the hand held and PC games are nothing like the
console versions and I will not be going over them, they’re crap,
trust me.
Now,
this game is a party game, which means it's just a bunch of mini
games but they do this in a pretty sly way. Even though it's just
mini games, it has a story which helps it feel more connected than if
you were to just play them like in Mario Party or wii play.
The
story goes that there’s a movie company in Bikini Bottom and they
are filming the new Mermaid Man and Barancle Boy episode and they
need to cast people (sea life) for the parts.
The
way they do this is by using mini games. I know it's not the best
story, it's not even good, but hey, it's a story and it has a lot of
characters form the show in it like Larry the Lobster, Squilliam and
Mrs. Puff yes they only have one or two lings but still.
So
there are 9 levels and in each level you play three mini games and
who ever has the most points at the end wins, and that's were the
game false you see if you play this game you either have to play on
“easy” and win every mini game with no challenge or play on
“hard” and lose every time. There is no medium, the game has you
play three mini games, then who ever has the most points wins but
there’s a point limit. Yes a point limit that you MUST get over
12,000 points to win. Actually, 12,000 points isn't hard if the npc's
are on “easy” and if it's on “hard” the npc's will all ways
get enough points, but on “normal” you’ll never get enough
points unless you master every mini game, and chances are you are
going to miss a game, which means no one gets a enough points and you
have to play again.
Yes,
the game makes you play all the games again to get a higher score
than you did last time. At least you get to pick the mini game.
You
even get a cut screen of the director yelling at you to try hard!
Yep, the game is yelling at you to “TRY HARDER!”
Really,
do we need that? This is a game for kids that watch SPONGEBOB!
It
shouldn't be this hard to play the game. I remember replaying mini
games over and over and over again just to get to the next level it
really kills the game.
They
could have easily fixed this by making it so when you replay the mini
game it adds to your score, rather than erase it and make you get a
better one. Not every one is good at party games.
But
if there’s one thing I love about this game, it is the theme song,
you would think that they would just use the theme song from the
show, but they not only did not use any of the music from the
show, they made a new soundtrack just for the game and it fits the
game PERFECTLY! And not just the main theme, all the mini game music
fits too which really helps you get in to the game.
That
aside, the game is fun to play with friends and very funny! It's just
as funny as the SpongeBob show (the old ones) and if you haven’t
played the game all I'm going to say is “evil bares?”
The
game, for all the things that are wrong, has one of the best reward
systems ever (or at least for a kid at the time).
In
other party games when you beat a mini game what do you get, usually
a star some cones, or a big “CONGRADULATIONS” with music and
confetti. In SpongeBob SquarePants: Lights, Camera, Pants, you win a
cut scene.
Now,
I know what you thinking.“So what? They do this in games all the
time,” yes but not like this.
Going
back to the story. You are playing to be in the new Mermaid Man and
Barnacle Boy episode. The way they do this is scene by scene so you
first play to win the part for the chef, then you play to win the
part of the look out, and so on and at the end you get to see the
episode with all the caricatures playing their parts.
Every
character plays the roll different so with 6 characters and 9 scenes,
you'll find your self replaying this game a lot just to see these cut
scenes with new characters.
All
and all, this is not that bad of a game. It could have been a lot
better, but for a SpongeBob game it's really good. So, if
you’re a fan of SpongeBob and if you find this game in a discount
bin or a garage sale be sure to pick it up and give it a try!
Just
make sure you play on “easy” or with friends
