Spongebob is one of my favorite “of the times” cartoons. He is just goofy and funny, kinda like myself at times. So a Kinect game centered around the loveable character was definitely a must when it came to choosing games to review. Spongebob was watched by all three of my kids as they grew up so he is well known and loved in the Shibley household.
SpongeBob’s Surf & Skate Roadtrip is non-stop action! SpongeBob and his bodacious Bikini Bottombuddy jump on surfboards and skateboards to explore a brand new, never-before-seen world!
Key Xbox 360 Kinect Features:
- For the first time ever, you can BE SpongeBob
- Augmented reality—move your hand through the water and watch it splash!
- Compete and play with friends – show off your awesome tricks and mind-blowing stunts in head-to-head play (2-player split-screen)
- 12 awe-inspiring environments – 6 for each sport—and unlimited ways to perfect your board skills
- 7 different challenges including Gate, Timed and Score runs
- Express yourself with a variety of righteous boards – earn even more awesome boards, the better you ride
- Strike a pose: use your camera to show off gnarly moves and tricks
Sounds like the perfect game, a little bit of sand, sun, and some surfin’ dude!
The kids and I got the game out one weekend night to give it a try. Honey and Buddy said they wanted to be the “official” reviewers this game and popped it in. The setup procedure and moving through the menus did not seem to pose any problems. There are three options Quick Play, Story Mode, and Tutorial. They decided to give the tutorial a chance and went through the moves to make sure they both knew how to play before they began. Then switched to Quick Play to try out the game.
This is where things got a little hairy. Buddy knew what he was doing and was able to maneuver Patrick (his character) all over the board. Honey however was not having the same luck. Spongebob (her character) seemed to ride the water to either side. She was having a hard time getting him to move to the middle or to either side.
Buddy left us to play the game and I jumped up to take my turn, having not done the tutorial I have to say I was not the best opponent, or maybe I was. We gave Story Mode a try which consist of several challenges that it is your job to unlock and level up.
SuperScore
Score as many points as you can. You score points by collecting coins and doing tricks/getting air time.
Against The Clock
Score as much as you can in two minutes, there are blue coins you can pick up to freeze the clock.
Danger Dash
Avoid the explosive devices as you navigate through the game.
Red Gate Challenge
Navigate through gates as you whiz through this game, try for the red ones that include some interesting tricks.
Green Gate Tour
Navigate through the required number of green gates.
Accelerator
Avoid the obstacles and finish the game.
Maximum Awesome
Keep your awesome meter full as you travel through the game.
Once Buddy was done playing I decided to give it a try with Honey, honestly I had as much luck as she had. To be fair I did not do the tutorial. It turns out my problem was I was leaning like I thought you would do on a surf board to get it to move. However the proper movement was to use your feet from right to left to move the board. We did not move on to the skating, Honey was fed up with the game after not being able to get her surf board to move in the direction she wanted.
I think the controlling of your character may be the biggest issue with this game. Spongebob is a character aimed at the younger generation, even though us older folks think he is cool. If the younger children are having trouble controlling the surf and skate board I think the game is missing its target audience. The graphics are ok, but for young children I don’t think they care so much. I think if we take a little more time to possibly learn to control the game a little better this may be a little more enjoyable then our first time at it.
However I do have to say that I think a game has to grab your attention and interest right out of the gate, for us this game did not do that. I will probably have to talk my daughter in to giving it a try once again.
Shibley Smiles Review Opinions:
Price: The price of Spongebob Surf & Skate Roadtrip at Amazon.com is currently $48.99. We find for the level of enjoyment we received this is a little above average. We would expect to see this at $29.99 and would be more interested in purchasing it at $19.99
Recommendation: We are going to recommend this for 8-14. Please note that we do feel there needs to be some trial and error in learning how to use the controls throughout the game.
Disclaimer: I received the above product(s) at no cost to me by the company or representing PR agency. Opinions are my own and NOT influenced by monetary compensation. You may read more of my disclosure here.
