SpongeBob SquarePants: Creature from the Krusty Krab

SpongeBob Squarepants: Creature from the Krusty Krab is the latest mobile game from THQ Wireless to star the popular poriferan. The game is obviously geared towards the youngest gaming set, but unfortunately the gameplay is overly simplistic - to the point that they most likely won’t even like it. The game’s simple and uninspired construction make it one title that you’ll want to avoid, even if you or your progeny are fans of the show.

Creature from the Krusty Krab allows you to play through five different mini-games. The first mini-game (which on its own sets a bad omen for what’s to remain in the game) has you hitting the 5 key on your phone to make SpongeBob jump in whatever direction he’s pointing. Bear in mind that you aren’t actually controlling his direction, only jumping once the slowly spinning sponge is facing a particular direction.

The next game doesn’t fare much better, having you switch between yourself and your starfish buddy Patrick as you spin each other to gather pieces of a Krabby Patty. The third game involves you and Patrick again teaming up to gather burger elements one the backs of airplanes (waterplanes?) as you pass a plate back and forth to each other and avoid hitting objects in your path. The fourth game has you compiling the bits of burgers that you’ve gathered and turning them into Krabby Patties via recipes, which turns into a light number memorization game.

The final mini-game is only unlocked through the arcade mode once you’ve completed the story mode. In this fifth game, you control Plankton, the bad guy of the series, as he drives through houses in a huge machine. This mode actually manages to switch things up a smidge by allowing you to move with the 4 and 6 keys, as well as the 5 key.

Graphically, Creature from the Krusty Krab gets the job done, but certainly won’t dazzle you. The characters look as they should and are good representations of the cartoon characters. The environments could use a little more work, as they are pretty plain and repetitive. The sound is also fairly workhorse, with the theme song for the show coming into prominence at the title screen.

SpongeBob Squarepants: Creature from the Krusty Krab is a very simple game that wears quite thin before too long. While it’s understandable that the game is geared towards the very young, chances are that they’d get pretty bored with it quickly.

Gameplay: 4.0
Hit the 5 key to make SpongeBob jump, swing or throw a plate. Avoid holes, objects and bad guys. And a rudimentary memorization game. And, that about does it.

Graphics: 7.5
The graphics are passable, as the characters look like their onscreen counterparts. The environments are pretty slim, however.

Sound: 7.0
The sound effects are decent, and the crazy SpongeBob theme song works with the mood of the game.

Difficulty: Very Easy

Concept: 4.0
While the game makes a few attempts at variety with different stages, but it all falls into the same simplistic one-button gameplay rut.

Overall: 4.5
SpongeBob Squarepants is an extremely easy game with paper-thin gameplay that likely won’t appeal to anyone for any extended period of time.