Nicktoons: Attack of the Toybots is the latest in THQ's all star cartoon game cross-over. If you've ever seen the Jimmy Neutron - Fairly Odd Parents cross-over cartoons that occasionally air on Nickelodeon then you get the basic premise: a storyline that includes all the various cartoons from the Nicktoon universe with some light platforming and some heavy presentation. On the DS and Game Boy Advance is more about gameplay and less about overall presentation due to the limited capabilities of these hand-held platforms. The gameplay is very simple and very forgiving, making it good enough for the youngsters, but not so easy that they will get too frustrated. THQ does deserve some extra credit for bringing this game to the aging Game Boy Advance. Given the system's massive installed userbase around the world it is hard to understand why companies are abandoning it in favor of other hand-held platforms. But their inaction is THQ's gain, i guess.
Dr. Calamitous (who you may know better as the evil scientist from Jimmy Neutron) has cooked up a plot to create an army of robot toys -- including replicas of all the Nicktoons stars -- to take over various key areas in the Nicktoons multiverse. It's up to the player to take on the role of the Nicktoon stars (SpongeBob SquarePants, Danny Phantom, Timmy Turner, Jimmy Neutron, and Tak) and beat the stuffing out of the toys to save the day. Players plod through levels, beating on bad guys and solving platformer style puzzles to complete each area. When a level is complete a new character is unlocked and added to the line-up of playable characters -- 10 in all. Besides the playable characters there are a lot of cameos from past shows like Invader Zim and Rocko which add a bit of nostalgia into the mix while driving the story forward.
The game does the best that it can with the power of each hand-held system; the DS version features 3D and 2D art and some limited one-liners for each character tat spice things up a bit. The writing is also very well done and does a good job of putting each character over as authentic. You can't expect to much in terms of presentation for a game on the GBA or the DS but the developers of each respective title do their best to sell the experience to youngsters.
The gameplay on the other hand, is very simple. The game mixes light beat ‘em up style combat with platforming and even throws in a bit of vehicular combat for fun. As you advance through each level, you'll take on Calamitous' underlings, find an access point to advance and eventually take on a mid boss. This ultimately leads to more platforming, fighting and then some racing followed by some interesting mech battles with the end boss.
Unfortunately these different gameplay mechanics get repetitive after awhile, but the game does a good job of meshing them together in a way that the player never feels like they don't belong together. While the driving is short it is probably the worst part of the game. There are important things to do while driving, like collect items that unlock the picture gallery and collect more bolts (you'll use these as health for the big boss battles at the end so you'll want to collect as many as you can while you can), but it isn't all that exciting or fun.
The biggest challenge players will face is the robot shoot-out boss battles. If you can collect enough bolts in the early part of each level you'll have plenty of health and things will be less of a hassle but there are other factors at play for each battle you take on. Battles require you to do something specific to win like disabling a turret or turning something off. It is platformer boss battling at its finest, and if you're comfortable with that then you shouldn't have too many problems getting through them.
Finally Attack of the Toybots for the DS also features multiplayer, but each player will have to own a copy of the game to play if they want to see all the cutscenes and the extras. Shared game multiplayer is also available for those that don't care about the missing presentation and a limited player roster.
At the end of the day, the hand-held versions of Nicktoons: Attack of the Toybots serve their purpose - provide youngsters with a dose of heavily licensed characters doing crazy things. In a lot of ways the hand-held games do a better job of representing the action than on the beefier PS2 and Wii platforms. when you don't have the ability to use slick graphics and full blown voice acting you have to focus on the gameplay. My only complaint with these games is that - like their counterparts on the Wii and PS2, these games aren't all that long. If you're looking for something to tuck into something into you youngster's stocking this holiday season, Nicktoons: Attack of the Toybots is a good bet.
