SpongeBob's Surf & Skate Roadtrip
© 2011 THQ, Inc.
Skating/surfing and SpongeBob come together in this potentially fun but rather tedious game for the Kinect (we did not test the DS version). The SpongeBob humor is certainly noteworthy. However, there are many skiing, sledding and surfing games like this one for Kinect, and our testers found the format tiring after just a few runs. In the game, you must move down a hill (or a river ) and steer to avoid obstacles. The steering is strange. A tutorial teaches you how to keep one foot in place and slide the other to direct your board. This is the first time we've seen this type of control mechanism. Why not just lean? In the story, the friends have strayed from Bikini Bottom and landed on a beach. The game features a two player mode that lets you surf or skate side-by-side. The DS version contains a wireless multiplayer function that we did not test (ratings apply to the Xbox version), and a single player mode lets you set off on a road trip with SpongeBob and friends. Content includes 12 courses (six waterways and six seaside streets). The DS version contains 24 boarding maps and 10 unlockable snowboarding stages. Developed by Blitz for Xbox ($50) and by Sabarasa for the Nintendo DS ($30). The bottom line? This game could be fun, but the testers agreed that "the graphics and the narration are better than the controls."
$50, Xbox 360, Nintendo DS
Teaches: Lower body coordination, kinesthetic movement
CTR Rating: 72%