SpongeBob SquarePants: Lights, Camera, Pants!

SpongeBob SquarePants: Lights, Camera, Pants!
Developer(s)	THQ Studio Australia (PS2, Xbox, Nintendo Gamecube) AWE Games (PC) WayForward Technologies (Nintendo DS, Game Boy Advance)
Publisher(s)	THQ
Series	SpongeBob SquarePants
Platform(s)	Xbox, PlayStation 2, GameCube, Game Boy Advance, Microsoft Windows, Nintendo DS
Release date(s)	October 19, 2005[1] Xbox, PlayStation 2 NA: October 21, 2005 EU: October 21, 2005 PC, GameCube, Game Boy Advance NA: October 19, 2005 EU: November 18, 2005 Nintendo DS NA: Cancelled
Genre(s)	Party
Mode(s)	Single-Player, Multiplayer

SpongeBob SquarePants: Lights, Camera, Pants! is a 2005 party video game based on the TV series SpongeBob SquarePants. It was released in October 2005 for the Xbox, PlayStation 2, GameCube, Game Boy Advance, and the PC. It was released for the Nintendo DS in Korea in 2007, but its North American release was cancelled. It is the first SpongeBob SquarePants title to feature multiplayer mini-games, similar to the Mario Party video game series.^[2] It is also the last SpongeBob game for the Xbox. It is also the last time Charles Nelson Reilly would voice the Dirty Bubble before his death in 2007.

Gameplay

The game includes 30 unique minigames that have different play style and objectives, though the common goal is to get the highest points. Each minigame is based off an area or location in Bikini Bottom. Every location has three minigames with it. There are a total of 8 locations for a total of 24 minigames that are played through story mode. The other six are optional unlockables. Examples of the minigames include a driving test, whose goal is to finish the first through three driving courses; a jailbreak, whose goal is to free as many prison inmates as possible without getting caught; and a rhythm minigame, whose goal is to match the short and long musical notes that travel toward a marker. There are two types of minigames: the individual type, where the player compete against the three other characters, and the 2 vs 2 type, where the player teams up with the first CPU that the player choose (or the second player) against the other two CPU.

Story Mode

In this mode, the player are required to obtain a certain amount of popularity points to move through the 8 locations in the game. If there are not enough points, the player will have to replay the minigames until they can pass the mark. Additionally, each location also ranks the number of points all four characters obtain; having the highest means that that particular character becomes the main star of the location's film segment. If two characters are tied, the winner is decided by a rock-paper-scissors. In the very rare case that all four obtain the same points, the rock-paper-scissors is played thrice. Once all 8 locations are passed, the movie clips are combined to form a full-length cinematic.

There are three phases of the mode: Bronze, Silver, and Gold. The movies produced are the same; the difference lies in the number of points required to pass a location. Each phase also has their own action figures and artworks unlocked by fulfilling a certain objective and attaining a certain score, respectively, in a specific minigame. It should be noted that the phase is also applied to other modes, giving the player the chance to get the collectibles outside story mode. The game will warn the player when they are about to proceed to the next phase since they cannot go back to an earlier phase; once the player choose to enter a new phase, all figures and artworks from earlier phases not yet collected will be lost forever.

Tournament

In this mode, up to four players can compete in a tournament, to see who is the best at playing the minigames. The players can choose anywhere between one and five minigames for the tournament. Any minigame that has been unlocked can be played.

Single Audition

In this mode, four players can compete in a single audition/minigame to see which is the best at the minigame. Any minigame, that has been unlocked, can be chosen.

Characters

The game features six playable characters: SpongeBob SquarePants, Squidward Tentacles, Sandy Cheeks, Plankton, Patrick Star, and Mr. Krabs. Before the player can play a minigame, a character must be chosen, as well as three (or two in 2-player mode) CPU characters. All characters are available from the start and have equal abilities; they have no advantage over each other. However, the player can adjust the difficulty to control the character in three different options (Easy, Med, Hard) as well as setting the CPU AI, also in three options (Silly, Med, Smart).

Plot

The city of Bikini Bottom is producing an anniversary show of "The Adventures of Mermaid Man & Barnacle Boy" in which the titular SpongeBob wishes to play as the starring role.^[2] SpongeBob must compete with the other characters in the series – including Patrick Star, Sandy Cheeks, Squidward Tentacles, Mr. Krabs and Sheldon J. Plankton – in order to impress the talent scouts and land the lead role of the villain.^[3]

Voice cast

Reception

IGN gave the game a generally good review. They gave it 8.5 points on its presentation, saying, "Makes excellent use of the license. Great, humorous cinemas and a fun storyline. A decent selection of mini-games. Slick menus. Some minor load times." They gave 7+ points to the graphics of the game, the sound, and the gameplay. Criticism from IGN was focused on the dialogue being repetitive and the game lacking depth. IGN gave it a 7 overall rating.^[4]

References

External links

• Official Website (2005-2006)
• Review at Eurogamer