Sponge Bob's Truth Or Square

By Toby Hillard

Who lives in a Pineapple under the sea? Spongbob Square Pants, Spongbob Square Pants, Spong - Bob, (insert pirate voice here) Square Paaaaaaaaaaaants!

Now, I'm the first to admit that, even as a fully grown man, I still enjoy the guilty pleasures of watching episodes of Spongbob Squarepants from time to time. It is stupid, it is silly and it's actually quite rude too. It takes the best quirky elements of Nickelodeon's Golden Era of Ren & Stimpy, Rocko's Modern Life and Arrrgh Real Monsters and merges it into something truly out-there and unique.

So it is hardly surprising to see that even after ten years on the air, it is still going strong (hell, even Johnny Depp provided a voice over for it), and is now making the transition to the video game world. And - thankfully - Sponge Bob's Truth Or Square (a spin-off from Spongebob's third "official" movie) somehow manages to maintain that inescapable sense of fun of the TV show.

In this latest Spongebob digital adventure, Spongebob Squarepants has gotten himself into yet another predicament (and, as usual, he is totally oblivious to the dangers). After being entrusted by Mr. Krabs to keep the Krabby Patty formula safe, Spongebob is soon overcome with grief when realising he has lost the recipe.

In order to regain the formula, he must team up with his arch nemesis (Plankton) in order to use a machine which can read people's memories.

With the help of his friends (including everyones favourite Starfish, Patrick), Spongebob must revisit some of his happiest memories hiddin within the furthest recess' of his mind in order to recover the one-in-a-million formula.

To be honest, I've never been one for story based games. I've never been able to get a grasp of all the button mashing - which is why the Wii was a godsend to those of us out there that lacked any ability whatsoever. So, even though this is only a kids game... I was hesitant.

To my great surprise - Sponge Bob's Truth Or Square is not only simple enough for amatuers to play, it is also challenging enough and fun enough to keep the more experienced gamers on board as well.

There is a bounty of cut scenes to entertain the kiddies, which even I found amazingly easy to get lost in, while the 12 levels traverse some pretty wonderful landscapes - especially for fans of the show.

Are the graphics as sharp as your Assassin II's and Call Of Duties? Well, of course not - but that not what Spongebob is all about. It's about fun, it's about escaping reality and becoming a part of the world which has been with kids and adults alike for over ten years.

Wii Controls are also the way to go here - especially for the young'uns - because the game is all about whacking and smashing and you simply can't get closer to the action than when you are literally swinging and smashing around the loungeroom with your Nunchuck and Wii Controller.

Keep an eye out for Spongebob's morphing abilities (fly dwatters, hammers, etc) which are great fun... but nowhere near as fun as when Patrick turns up to go BALISTIC on those robots metal butts!

Game: Sponge Bob's Truth Or Square
System: Wii
Players: 1-2
Online: No
Developer: Heavy Iron Studios
Distributor: THQ

Rating: 70%

(Ratings Key/Explanation)