It's time for Squidward's revenge

Mods are some of the most fun ways for fans to put a new spin on their favorite games, and Doom has one of the most robust modding communities out there. Fans just put out one of my absolute favorites that I've ever seen, though, because user Contrast Saturation just released a SpongeBob-themed mod on a Doom fan site, and it looks insanely fun.

In the mod, known as The Bikini Bottom Massacre, you can play as Squidward, who was just fired from his job at the Krusty Krab and is hell-bent on revenge. "After y??ears of torment from his buffoon neighbors SpongeBob and Patrick, Squidward decides to take his life into his own hands," the website reads.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=6rod37XUu_I

The mod has thirteen different maps ?set at different locales that we know and love arou?nd Bikini Bottom, like Barg'n-Mart, Jellyfish Fields, and Glove World.

Everything has been reskinned to look like it's straight out of the cartoon, and of course Squidward shoo?ts bubbles rather than bullets. The sprites are super detailed, and the mod's creator divulged in the comments that they would actually trace images straight out of the show, and then create rotated versions, damaged versions, and so on. It was painstaking work, but the final result makes it all worth it, I think.

This isn't the first time we've seen the yellow sponge inspire a video game �in fact, there have been dozens of officially licensed SpongeBob titles since the early 2000s. The most notable of these is the beloved 2003 platformer Battle for Bikini Bottom, which was remade in 2020. The SpongeBob brand has been going strong ever since it was introduced all ?the way back in 199?9, as the show is currently in its thirteenth season, and there are four more movies in the pipeline.

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That looks like Squidward, in angry mob form

It's an interesting choice for THQ Nordic to pick the remastered treatment for SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom rather than a full remake. A rema??ke would give the developers the chance to smooth out the experience.

Most licensed 3D platfo??rmers of the era were rough around the edges with poor puzzle concepts, boring levels, and other design issues the genre has more or less corrected over time. But with a remaster, or at least with this remaster, there isn't the opportunity to fix what didn't work or rethink ??the concept. With this remaster, it's simply the old game freshened up with a new coat of paint.

But oh, what a coat of paint it is.

SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom Rehydrated (PC, PS4, Switch [reviewed], Xbox One)
Developer: Purple Lamp Studios
Publisher: THQ Nordic
Released: June 23, 2020
MSRP: $29.99

Spongebob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom Rehydrated is an astoundingly pretty game, one that's able to capture the look of the cartoon series even while being tied to the layout and structure of th?e original title. Colors pop and the character models are a m??assive step up with animations that accurately match the dialog as it's delivered. Like the comedy from the show itself, the script holds up and the jokes land with outstanding delivery from most of the cartoon's voice cast.

Despite its thoroughly modern look, this very much feels like a 17-year-old game. Whereas some styles of game design are timeless, I don't think many licensed products from the early oughts would qualify as such. If anything, Battle for Bikini Bottom Rehydrated plays like a relic of a bygone era. It's not necessarily a bad game, in fact, I know this is one of the more popular third-party titles from the console generation, but it's certainly a title that made me say, "Oh right, this is how we used to design levels," on more than one occasion. Something like the Rolling Ball Area of the Mermailair probably wouldn't exist in a modern game, or it would at least be a less aggravating version of it. Throughout SpongeBob's quest to collect the golden spatulas and defeat Plankton's robot army, there is also an a?bundance of sliding levels, a d??esign crutch favorited by platformer developers from the era.

Rehydrated will probably find a fanbase within the speedrunning community, just as the original did. It may also end up as a fun game to play with friends in the new multiplayer mode. This two-player horde mode gives you access to seven different characters as you jump from island to island, defeating increasing numbers of robots sent to destroy you by Robo-Squidward, a cut boss from the original game. While you can't play this mode with an A.I. partner, you can team up with a person locally, online, or with a LAN connection. It really is worth at least one trip through, at lea??st to get a feel of the different playstyles for each character. Squidward's clarinet attack makes him ideal for long-distance opponents, and he ended up as my favorite of the bunch.

Even if it is just melee combat, going through the multiplayer mode provided a more problem-free experience than the single-player campaign. The hit detection for SpongeBob's bubble wand is iffy and his ledge grabbing is too sporadic to be reliable. Sandy's post-swing jump is anemic, and the erratic auto-aiming system for Patrick's stone heads and watermelons can lead to throws you didn't want to make. I also experienced multiple instances where a function would work once but wouldn't work one the next try. Or the next three tries. Nothing crucial like the jump or attack button, those are solid, but Patrick could be awfully unreliable with his throws if, for whatever reason, the game didn't appreciate when I was pressing ??the button.

With? that said, several parts of what Purple Lamp Studios has put together here are absolute bliss and put a big smile on my face. As a SpongeBob fan, it is nice to venture through a detailed version of Goo Lagoon or the ??Kelp Forest, and the variety of activities in each level kept things fresh and pushed me to explore the entirety of every biome. It's a shame Pearl or Karen didn't make the cut, but that's a minor quibble. I have far more substantial complaints with the actual build of this remaster.

Battle for Bikini Bottom Rehydrated crashed w?ithin the first 15 minutes of play. About an hour after that, the screen went nearly completely black though I could still hear everything happening through my speakers. Anytime I'm in an open area like the hub, the frame rate takes a tumble. Pop-in is frequent throughout, and when combined with the frame rate issue, it makes some levels a real nuisance to play. Load screens can be pretty long and they're frequent, whether when entering a new area or when you have to restart after dyi?ng. Audio is an issue as well. There are some sound effects, such as when you take a bus to a specific level, that are loud and grating. I also witnessed cut scenes with muted dialogue or with a delay in the voice track.

The rules of the game also feel very in flux. Goo, which is the SpongeBob equivalent of water, is a hazard you need to avoid. Some puddles of it are placed casually throughout each level, and touching it will either bounce you back to ??the grou?nd you started on or kill you instantly. Goo doesn't take away from your health, so it's an all-or-nothing thing.

And that's what I mean when I say Battle For Bikini Bottom is probably a better candidate for a remake than a remaster. Because that's a bad design choice, something that should have been ironed out for this release. There is no reason why touching goo shouldn't produce the same result every single time. The auto-aim on Patrick's throws and Sandy's rope attack shouldn't be so ??much of a crapshoot. Characters shouldn't fly back five feet when hit, possibly sending them off a ??cliff and into a loading screen.

With a remake, all of this, along with the often questionable level design, could have been corrected. But with SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom Rehydrated aiming to be as faithful to the original as possible, these issues only serve as a reminder of how much better the industry has become at ??making 3D platformers.

_{[This review is based on a retail build of the game provided by the publisher.]}

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Absorb blows like you're made of some sort of spongy material

Contrary to popular belief, it's not all fun and memes in Bikini Bottom. There's more to life than flippin' Krabby Patties and hanging out wit??h Nosferatu. ThErE's A sErIoUs ThReAt ThAt NeEdS tO bE dEaLt WiTh!

The remake of SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom has a new cooperative multiplayer mode. It's a wave-based horde-type thing where Robo-Squidward throws you through the gauntlet of a billion enemies. There are 26 islands and 7 characters to play a?s. Horde mode is available for local or online co-op.

This isn't the main draw. It's just a possibly-intriguing addition to the remake of a beloved game -- something? to stretch your sand dollar a little further.

The post Who ha??s a multiplayer horde mode under the sea? SpongeBob SquarePants! appeared first on Destructoid.

Pier Pressure

THQ Nordic has released another new trailer for its upcoming remake SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom - Rehydrated, which is heading to PC and conso??les in just over a month from now.

Following on from last week's "Boss Battle" trailer, the new preview gives us a short tour around Goo Lagoon, one of the m?any Bikini Bottom locatio??ns that will be visited by SpongeBob, Patrick, and Sandy as the trio continue their deep-sea quest to foil the dastardly deeds of that troublesome Plankton.

With a fresh new look courtesy of developer Purple Lamp Studios, SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom - Rehydrated, will feature all of the characters, stages, and content from the 2003 PS3/Xbox classic, along with new features that didn't make the cut for the original release.

SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom - Rehydrated launches June 23. You can read about the game's premium special editions right here.

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BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

THQ Nordic has released another trailer for its upcoming remake SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom - Rehydrated. The short previe??w? sees SpongeBOOB and his pals go up against several of the classic platformer's boss characters, including patchwork mechs of themselves!

Developed by Purple Lamp Studios from the ground up, Battle for Bikini Bottom - Rehydrated will feature all of the stages, characters, and content for the original PS2/Xbox title, along with a glut of new content that was unfortunately cut from the original release due to time and/or budgetary constraints.,?? making this the definitive ed??ition of the 2003 fan-favourite.

SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom - Rehydrated launches June 23. Pre-orders are open now on PC and Xbox One, with PS4 and Switch to follow at a later date. You can check out the game's (pricey) special editions right here.

SpongeBob SquarePants: Batt?le for Bikini Bottom 'Boss Fight' tra??iler [Gematsu]

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Are ya ready, kids?

THQ Nordic has released a new trailer for its upcoming remake SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom - Rehydrated, giving fans of the Nickelodeon show a chance to check out the newly revamped version of SpongeBob's deep-sea habitat, Bikini Bottom.

In SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom - Rehydrated, players will alternate control between three popular characters, the dim-witted Patrick Star, the rootin' tootin' Sandy Cheeks and, of course, SpongeBob himself as the trio go on an epic adventure to save the underwater 'berg from the devious Plankton and his latest nefarious schemes.

While it doesn't look like Rehydrated is doing much to reinvent the wheel... erm... sea?shell, these trailers confirm that the classic PS2/Xbox adventure has received a delightful visual makeover from developer Purple Lamp Studios, offering up a bright and col?ourful world to accompany its classic platforming action.

SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom - Rehydrated launches June 23. Pre-orders are open now on PC and Xbox One, with PS4 and Switch to follow at a later date. You can read about the game's (pricey) special editions right here.

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Bring it Around Town

THQ Nordic has announced that upcoming remaster SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom - Rehydrated?? will launch on PC and consoles June 23. The confirmation comes after the Microsoft store announced the date a little ahead of schedule earlier today.

SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom - Rehydrated is an overhauled edition of the beloved 2003 PS2/Xbox adventure, and sees S??pongeBob, Patrick?? and Sandy on a mission to save Bikini Bottom from the evil Plankton's latest dastardly scheme. Developer Purple Lamp Studios has rebuilt the game from the ground up, giving it an audio/visual overhaul and reinstating previously cut content.

You can check out a brand new trailer below. Pre-orders are open now on PC and Xbox One, with PS4 and Switch to follow at a later date. You can read about the game's (pricey) special editions right here.

SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom - Rehydrated launches June 23.

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BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

[UPDATE: The Steam page for the game is now live and includes screens featuring SpongeBob, Patrick and Sandy, which you can check out in the gallery below. Also noted is that Rehydrated will feature refined gam?eplay, a "Horde" multiplayer mode, and will include content cut from the or?iginal release.]

THQ Nordic has revealed that it will be releasing a remastered (or "Rehydrated") edition of its 2003 adventure game SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom. This ??updated edition of the PS2/Xbox/GameCube title is in development for PS4, PC, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch.

The original BfBB?? saw players take co?ntrol of SpongeBob, Patrick and other Bikini Bottom residents in a mission to defend their homeland from an army of robots headed up by the evil Plankton, in the latter's latest effort to steal the Krabby Patty formula from the penny-pinching Mr. Krabs.

While critical praise was mostly above-average on release, fans praised the game for capturing the spirit of the series. In fact, many of the SpongeBob faithful have been asking for a sequel (or a remaster) for some time. So I guess those prayers have finally been answered. BFBB: Rehydrated will also include an all new multiplayer mode.

This is the first of a trilogy of reveals THQ Nordic has planned for this week. The second title will be revealed tomorrow, June 6 at 11:00 ?PT /  14:00 ET, with the third and final game announced Friday, June 7, also at 11:00 PT / 14:00 ET.

SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom Rehydrated i??s currently in development for PS4, PC, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch, and it will launch at a $29.99 price point on all four platforms.

The post (Update) SpongeBob SquarePants: Bat??tle for Bikini Bottom getting remastered for PC and consoles appeared first on Destructoid.