Nickelodeon fans will be thrilled with this title, although the game itself doesn`t bring anything amazing or new to the gaming world...
The game opens with the notorious Professor Calamitous who has stolen the plans for Jimmy Neutron`s "Universe Portal Machine". Calamitous has assembled like-minded villains - Plankton, Vlad Plasmius, and Denzel Crocker - under the alliance of "the Evil Syndicate".
Together, they have created a doomsday device and a wave of evil has washed over the worlds of Bikini Bottom, Amity Park, Dimmsdale and Retroville.
Jimmy has decided to fight fire with fire and called on courageous heroes: Timmy Turner, Danny Phantom and the fearless Spongebob Squarepants.
While I`m sure this game looks good on paper, it hardly made any impression with me. Then again, I guess it was designed for the younger generation (yes, I`m talking about the under 14s).
While the game looks and feels like the cartoons it was spawned from - which should make hardcore Nickelodeon fans happy - there are far too many little bugs that kept me from loving the game.
The player will control one of the four characters, using the character`s special abilities to solve puzzles while the AI awkwardly controls the other three.
Actually awkwardly is too kind a word, the word I was looking for is pathetically.
The gamer will be forced to use a melee attack to clear the area as the AI has a tendency to stand in the same spot and not help at all.
This doesn`t help when characters are getting pummelled and taking huge amounts of damage - AI doesn`t even react by putting up shields or moving the Allies to safety.
Throughout the game, coins can be found in various areas, and are also left behind by enemies just defeated. At the end of each level, Jimmy Neutron`s robotic dog will take these coins and allow each character to "level up" - at least this gives the gamer a sense of accomplishment, as the more the character is upgraded the better their special powers.
Another issue I have is the recycled enemies used throughout the game. Gamers will battle hordes of identical enemies over and over again, and trust me, this gets boring quickly!
One of the most annoying features in the game has to be its useless automatically-adjusting camera. This results in fighting behind walls and in areas that aren`t visible - leaving gamers fighting blind. The camera also zoomed out so far at times, that I had no clue of what I was doing on screen - I guess using the right analogue stick for camera angles would be asking just a tad too much, wouldn`t it?
Now, onto the puzzles.
Sure some of the puzzles are interesting, as each character will be needed for a specific puzzle, but what`s the point in trying to figure it out when the game TELLS the player which character is needed for that specific puzzle?
The object will either glow a certain colour or have a large icon over it representing which character is needed.
For larger puzzles requiring a process of steps, the game actually points out where a lever is to be flipped, or something is needed to be knocked over even before the player has entered the area - taking away the challenge and the fun.
Nicktoons unite also has the slowest loading and saving times I`ve seen in quite a while. I could understand if it was a complicated game like Prince of Persia or God of War, but I don`t understand why it takes so long to load something so simple.
Also, if the game is saved mid-point in an area, play is resumed from the beginning of the level.
The game does, however, have a good multiplayer feature allowing three other gamers to join the action at any time, which might be this game`s saving grace.
The voice acting - which is done by the characters` voice actors, gives the game a more authentic feel.
The graphics are also close to the cartoons, and will make any Nick fan feel right at home.
But with so many flaws I would hardly recommend this game, at least not for the price they are asking.
I give it a 4/10.
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