Nicktoons Unite!

There is trouble a’brewing in the Nicktoons Universe and Jimmy Neutron has called together four of the greatest … well … err … Ok, four Nicktoons have joined forces to combat the energy-stealing plans of the villains they are already familiar with.

It seems that Professor Calamitous has stolen Jimmy Neutron’s plans for the Universe Portal Machine and has pulled together other similarly evil individuals – Vlad Plasmius, Plankton and Denzel Crocker – under the banner of the Evil Syndicate. They have created a doomsday device and unleashed evil minions on the worlds of Dimmsdale, Amity Park, Retroville and Bikini Bottom.

To counter this malady, Jimmy has enlisted the aid of Danny Phantom, Timmy Turner and Spongebob Squarepants (no Timmy, he is not a block of cheese, and yes, Danny, he does talk).

Ok, caught up to speed? Good. While all these characters are doubtless familiar to Nickelodeon fans, they may not be so familiar to others who do not frequent the channel. The challenge facing THQ and Blue Tongue Entertainment was to create a PlayStation 2 game, Nicktoons Unite!, that would appeal to fans of the TV shows as well as to those gamers craving some stylish adventure with four distinct personalities. For the most part they succeeded, though this game is rather linear in design, and the personalities bleed into each other, the game tends to tread the same turf as recent team-oriented games such as the X-Men titles from Activision.

Each of the four heroes is assigned to a D-pad direction, and you can change them out on the fly. The AI for the non-controlled characters is rather good and they will attack the various monsters on their own, but the game is littered with power-ups that include health-regenerating icons. Before blindly running over and collecting them, players will have to pay attention to which character needs it the most, control that character to pick it up.

Each of the characters has four attacks – one you start with and three you can unlock when you find the right machine within the level that is designed for a certain character. For example, the first level is a prison filled with ghostly incarnations – right up Danny Phantom’s alley. Danny starts off with the Ghost Punch ability, but two-thirds of the way through the level, he finds the machine that boosts his abilities and he acquires his second power – Over Shadow (he can take over the form of an enemy that he has stunned). Only Danny can use the device and the others will have to wait for levels designed around their character’s home areas for their chance to gain new powers. Additionally, there are coins to collect that act as a guide to the zone – just follow the path of the coins. These coins are used to level up abilities the characters already have. Find the Great Goddard within the level and you can upgrade skills.

The characters all work in tandem to defeat the levels, which usually end with a boss battle and the all-too-familiar oversized bar of hit points for the boss that you will need to whittle down before he falls.

The control scheme is easy to understand and use, and three other players can jump into the game at any time by plugging in a controller and hitting the start button for a cooperative adventure. While this is a fun idea, the whole game is essentially geared for younger players. Older and more veteran adventurers may find the experience too easy and the humor – while nicely in character – is pointedly younger in tone.

Graphically the game has a nice three-dimensional feel to it, but the camera is somewhat locked in place, and will only swing to one side of the characters – while exploring a zone – move behind a wall and the camera loses sight of them. Otherwise, it does not move at all. This is not bad, as it does give a fairly decent view of the level the characters are in; players just cannot swing the camera to see what may lie in front of them on the path they are pursuing.

The sound is also solid. You may recognize some familiar voices in this and the dialogue is well done. The music and sound effects are Ok, but nothing to get too excited about.

Nicktoons Unite! is a game that has been done at the older level with X-Men Legends, but this is pointedly a younger game that, while not bad, fails to offer anything new. Still the look of the game is nice and younger players may get a kick out of the antics and heroics of their favorite cartoon series’ characters as they battle through a host of levels to save their respective Nicktoons worlds from the dastardly machinations of the Evil Syndicate.

Gameplay: 7.0
Some load times, but a simple control scheme and linear play will likely make this game very accessible to younger players.

Graphics: 7.2
The levels look very good and the special effects are in line with the cartoon series.

Sound: 7.0
The dialogue sounds as though it could have been lifted straight from the television shows. The music and sound effects are decent, but nothing to get overly excited about.

Difficulty: Easy
The gameplay is very directed. Though the levels are a decent size, much of what you do is repetitious.

Concept: 6.0
There is nothing really new here.

Multiplayer: 6.5
Again, nothing that has not been done, but this is strictly co-op play that is simple to set up.

Overall: 6.8
The game is geared toward younger gamers and succeeds in bringing four diverse characters into one game. While somewhat repetitious, the linear design and simple control schemes will draw players along and it is not hard to work through the levels. The puzzles are easily managed and the graphics and sound work in concert to bring the game to life in a nice, if unexceptional, manner.