Never mind that
SpongeBob SquarePants is Employee of the Month
for the 27th consecutive time, the honor is still cause to
celebrate. In fact, he has won tickets to Neptune's Paradise, an
underwater amusement park. The problem is getting there, and that
sets up the goal of the game.
SpongeBob is unflappable in his optimism--and his naiveté! He
is very much a "nerd", ŕ la Zerkel (remember that
show?). This sponge protagonist works for a very greedy restaurant owner, Mr. Krab. This
CD-ROM possesses the same kind of humor as the cartoon show--in fact, the
box reads: E for Everyone with "Comic Mischief"
noted.
Kids lead Spongebob on his journey to Neptune's Paradise, and
the game is broken up into chapters. In
order to get to the amusement park, players have to collect items in their
inventory and use them at appropriate times. For example, a
customer at the Krusty Krab has a clue as to where Spongebob
should go next, but he will only dish out his tip if Spongebob
dishes him out a Krabby Patty. This involves collecting both the
patty and a plate, and the latter item is in need of some
cleaning. Likewise, getting one's hands on a pie is a bit of
work--SpongeBob needs to clean Eugene's car in order to earn
urchin chips for Granny.
There are subtitles for all of the speech, which is great for
beginning readers. Pointing the cursor at different areas also
pulls up some text, such as "open cabinet" and
"look at barrels". We love this feature! Furthermore,
kids actually get to choose some of the
dialogue by clicking on one of a set of sentences as responses for
SpongeBob.
Some examples of the humor in the game: at Mussel Ranch, Larry
(a muscled mussel) is on an eternal quest for more muscle mass; Mr.
Krab gets himself into quite a pickle--he is so greedy, he sold
his clothes at the bargain store, and some "strategically
placed" cans block his private parts; and SpongeBob interacts
with a paranoid character on the beach.
The game is not easy-easy or hard-hard. It's just right in
terms of challenge for kids ages 5-8. We had a blast with this
game.
For more information, user reviews, or to
buy: SpongeBob
SquarePants: Employee of the...
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UPDATE 2005 - Best
Value: This CD-ROM is now bundled along with another
SpongeBob game in SpongeBob SquarePants: Krusty Kollection.
This bundle
includes Spongebob Squarepants: Employee of the Month and
Operation Krabby Patty — two full CD-ROMs.
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