Nicktoons Freeze Frame Frenzy

Fellow gamers, the Nicktoons are in dire straits! For reasons unknown, they are appearing in places they never visited before. In most cases this would cause an enormous panic among the Nicktoonians, but never fear – Jimmy Neutron Boy Genius is here! He's come up with a plan to infiltrate these never before visited places and bring the Nicktoons back to where they belong. His plan, although said to be ingenious, is not at all unlike the plan a certain Pokemon Master came up with when he ran into trouble. You might shutter at the thought of taking on the Nicktoons' enemies, but that's the point: to point and shoot (hit the shutter).

Eight of your favorite Nicktoons characters star in Nicktoons Freeze Frame Frenzy, a side-scrolling (action?) game. The goal is simple: shoot your friends before the enemy does! The difference is, you are holding a camera, while they may be holding intergalactic high-tech weaponry (or they might not be – I didn't fail any of the missions, so I never got to find out what the enemies had planned if they succeeded). Equipped with special character-saving powers, the camera is the ideal device for saving characters who end up in places where they don't belong. It's not unusual to see SpongeBob soaking up suds in a bathtub. However, you might raise an eyebrow or two if a fairly odd parent was in the tub instead.

Taken from a 2D perspective, Freeze Frame Frenzy has little dimension when it comes to level design. Gameplay is structured so that you're always moving forward; the screen moves right whether you do or not. Platforms are nowhere in sight, nor are there any obstacles to move around while passing through each level. There are obstacles that you will have to shoot out of the way, however. Taking pictures of these obstacles will make them disappear.

Given the content and target market for this game, the majority of the players will have never experienced this type of gameplay before. The character that you're playing as can be moved anywhere on the screen and can even jump over tires and other obstacles that cause damage. That's pretty standard. To take a picture, however, you'll notice that a square cursor moves every time you move your character. The cursor moves faster than the character and is what you'll want to focus on most of the time.

Drag the cursor over a Nicktoons star and it'll blink, indicating that you can take a shot. Do so quickly enough and the target might disappear! If that happens, you're on your way to completing the goal of saving the Nicktoons.

It isn't hard to beat the game as long as you look closely at your surroundings. Why would the cursor start blinking when it scrolls over a window? Think about it. The window reflects light, preventing what's inside from being seen. Photograph the window and it'll disappear like magic, revealing what's inside (assuming something is in there – you won't always be rewarded for taking pictures of everything the game asks you to).

Conceptually Nicktoons Freeze Frame Frenzy is unique and intriguing. The idea of a shooter where a camera is the focus (as opposed to a gun) is entirely new.

Kids aren't likely to appreciate the concept for too long though. Once the game is over, that's it. Prior to reaching the credits, Freeze Frame Frenzy's entertainment value drops due to its repetitive nature. I liked it, but I wouldn't buy it, and knowing how kids are (and how I was when I was young), this game can't be recommended.

Gameplay: 6.7
Take your picture, just say cheese,

If you can’t smile, you’ll probably freeze!

Okay, enough with the cheesy rhymes. Nicktoons Freeze Frame Frenzy takes the shoot-the-screen game concept that sent the media into a frenzy and turns it into something friendly. The only downside is that it’s not fun for very long. A good concept goes bad quickly when the gameplay is either (A) crappy or (B) too easy. Nicktoons Freeze Frame Frenzy falls in the latter category. I wish the target audience wasn’t presumed to have weak-gaming skills. Otherwise we’d be playing a game that’s much more rewarding.

Graphics: 7.0
Typically cartoony, but well animated and appropriate. Freeze Frame Frenzy has the same spongy effects demonstrated on the Square Pants show, along with the static animations of other Nicktoons favorites.

Sound: 5.0
Jumpy music and cartoony sound effects mean the sound is more trouble than it’s worth.

Difficulty: Easy
Pokemon Snap’s easiest level is more challenging than the hardest level this game has to offer.

Concept: 7.0
Neat idea. The lens is a cursor; move the directional pad up and down the screen to scan the area for targets. It’s like a 2D lightgun shooter without bullets, the gun, or any type of peripheral action. Could work well in an expansive console game with a camera controller – doesn’t work so well in a repetitive, two-dimensional Game Boy Advance game.

Overall: 6.7
Moderately entertaining for a less-than-moderate amount of time. Nicktoons Freeze Frame Frenzy is a good idea gone bad by repetition. It’s not hard to beat the game whether you’re a kid who’s just starting out or an adult who can’t get enough of SpongeBob’s crazy antics. Once it’s finished there’s not much left to do except repeat the experience, which was already repetitive enough.