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 Wii and PS2 Nicktoons: Attack of the Toybots goes heavy on the presentation, which manages to pull the relatively short gameplay and simple platforming game out of the eventual abyss that is the bargain bin. The best part of the game is those in-between moments when such characters as Timmy Turner, SpongeBob, Tak, Patrick, Jimmy Neutron, etc. get the chance to talk and forward the story. The gameplay itself is very simple and very forgiving making it good enough for the youngsters, but not so easy that they will get too frustrated. For the very youngest of the target audience you can expect to do a little hand-holding (I.E. playing for them) when things get too difficult.

The backstory for Nicktoons: Attack of the Toybots is pretty straightforward: 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. Besides the playable characters there are a lot of cameos from past shows that long-time Nick fans will appreciate.

Nicktoons: Attack of the Toybots is part platformer and part beat 'em up. You have only a couple of basic moves that you'll button mash through most of the levels and though it's nice to be able to play other characters, you won't notice too many differences in the grand scheme of things. The game pairs you up with two Nick stars as you go through each level, which you can switch between on the fly. As you make it through each level you'll hit check points which will be important later if you should die (and you probably will quite a few times) in one of the many platforming puzzles you'll face. There's a variety of different types of Toybots to battle including bosses that are exact replicas of your Nick pals, but most of it will become a blur and it will be over before you know it because there are only five worlds to play through.

The game also supports co-op play which is nice and there's even a two-player mini-game for some extra added fun. The best thing about the PS2 and Wii versions of Nicktoons: Attack of the Toybots is the overall presentation. There’s an ample amount of excellent voice acting and good dialogue that you'd expect from each respective star. All of the characters are rendered in 3D and most look pretty cool despite the fact that many of the Nicktoons shows on which these characters are based are not CGI animated like SpongeBob and Fairly Odd Parents. SpongeBob, Patrick and even Timmy Turner all look and sound authentic. Given that this game is really geared towards kids, the presentation does a good job of giving them an experience that they will consider "epic."

Beyond presentation, both games make good use of the controls, with the Wii version easy to pick up and master very quickly. Playing this game isn't rocket science so you can bet that youngsters will have no problems jumping. For the youngest of youngsters who will no doubt want to play this game, it is important to note that certain platforming puzzzles might be a little too complex for them to master so some hand holding might be in order.

If there's anything to complain about in this game it is the brain-dead AI that tags along with you as you traverse each level. The AI controlled character attempts to shows what you do, most times unsuccessfully. While this doesn't really impact gameplay it is nonetheless a big distraction watching your partner constantly committing toonicide. The other irritating thing about the game is that it features a fixed camera. It doesn't make a lot of sense to create a cool level and then restrict the player to a certain perspective. While the camera doesn't hinder the game flow too much, it does make it slightly harder to perform certain actions in the game.