SpongeBob's Truth or Square

 Xbox 360
  • Publisher: THQ
  • Release Date: Oct 26, 2009
User Score
6.9

Mixed or average reviews- based on 25 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 14 out of 25
  2. Mixed: 6 out of 25
  3. Negative: 5 out of 25
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  1. yoshistar456
    Apr 7, 2016
    7
    Globs of doom was just... bad, and this game... meh. It's okay. It was made by the same people who made Battle for Bikini Bottom, and I was a little disappointed. The level design is just... fine at best, but nothing special, the graphics are just okay, and the story has nothing to do with the episode: "Truth or Square" Literally everything about this game is... OKAY.
  2. TheHumbleGamer
    Apr 27, 2017
    7
    By far one of the most disappointing games in its relative franchise, Truth or Square is a very short and simplified game that's far too easy to beat 100%.

    I went into this game in 2010, having just replayed through battle for bikini bottom to get myself in the mood. At first I was amazed by the visuals, controls and play style but I soon realised that this much polish didn't come    By far one of the most disappointing games in its relative franchise, Truth or Square is a very short and simplified game that's far too easy to beat 100%.

    I went into this game in 2010, having just replayed through battle for bikini bottom to get myself in the mood. At first I was amazed by the visuals, controls and play style but I soon realised that this much polish didn't come without a price. The game is for too short and simple, with even the most basic gamers being able to beat this game within 6 to 7 hours. Of course, this wouldn't be so bad if the game actually had some challenge to it, but it honestly has very little.

    For what it's worth, Truth or Square does mange to capture the Spongebob charm just as well as older Spongebob games did. The music is great, the story is cheesy and the gameplay is somewhat fun. Once you complete a level challenges are unlocked that (while mostly easy) were still fun to go and complete. Also hunting a sleeping Patrick in and some various other collectibles in every level was pretty fun to as finding hidden collectibles goes. Like the movie game with its upgrade points system, this game also has a collectible system. You collect coins in levels via picking them up or killing enemies and these coins can be used in the hub (Spongebobs house) to upgrade various furniture, buy costumes that the characters will be wearing when you see them or upgrade your health.

    The game can be fun for traditional Spongebob fans who enjoyed the older games but this game unfortunately suffers from it's much more simple style and shorter overall game time.
    All in all not a terrible addition to the Spongebob series of games, but a definite downgrade from it's previous titles.    … Expand
  3. when_unique
    Apr 16, 2023
    6
    SpongeBob's Truth Or Square is a short game that was rushed and released a year early thanks to Nickelodeon, however, THQ made do with what they had and created a decently charming platformer. The story is very simple, diverging from the special it was a tie-in for.
    Now, although the levels are short, they are packed with goodies and references to the show, giving the game a better status    SpongeBob's Truth Or Square is a short game that was rushed and released a year early thanks to Nickelodeon, however, THQ made do with what they had and created a decently charming platformer. The story is very simple, diverging from the special it was a tie-in for.
    Now, although the levels are short, they are packed with goodies and references to the show, giving the game a better status as an anniversary special than the anniversary episode itself. The graphics are surprisingly good, with great lighting and particle effects, easily making it the best looking SpongeBob game on 360. The gameplay is the biggest flaw, however, as there are constant swarms of enemies purely meant to take up more time in the levels. Difficulty is also another thing to look at. The game is excruciatingly easy, leaving you with upwards of 50 lives by the end of the first boss. Why there wasn't a no-lives system like Battle for Bikini Bottom is beyond me. And, as mentioned before, the game is short. I can easily 100% the game in about 4-5 hours. A lot of these problems come from the game being rushed. But, with the game's cute story, collectibles, and goodies for SpongeBob fans, the game can still be a fun adventure, even if its small.    … Expand
  4. CriticNamedZack
    May 28, 2019
    5
    Story: Spongebob has been ordered by Mr. Krabs to keep the Krabby Patty formula safe. Unfortunately, Spongebob forgets where he put the formula. He then relies on the help of Plankton. With the help of his friends, Spongebob must use Plankton's memory machine to retrace the happiest moments of his life to find the Krabby Patty formula in time for the Krusty Krab's "eleventy-seventh"Story: Spongebob has been ordered by Mr. Krabs to keep the Krabby Patty formula safe. Unfortunately, Spongebob forgets where he put the formula. He then relies on the help of Plankton. With the help of his friends, Spongebob must use Plankton's memory machine to retrace the happiest moments of his life to find the Krabby Patty formula in time for the Krusty Krab's "eleventy-seventh" anniversary...

    Pros:
    • I love how this story involves going through many different moments from the actual show (very exaggerated of course) and mainly from seasons 1-3 which is excellent.
    • Doesn't really follow the special it's named after at all. But honestly that's a little bonus for me since the special was terrible.

    Cons:
    • Very meh story that is very basic and quite weak even for a show like Spongebob.
    • The ending was really, really bad.

    Gameplay: Truth or Square is developed by Heavy-Iron studios (also made Battle for Bikini Bottom and The Movie Game), it's a linear-style platform adventure game that has you play as Spongebob going back to memories throughout his life. You can also have a second player play as Plankton in co-op. You can also collect furniture and happiness nuggets to upgrade Spongebob's furniture, costumes for different characters and upgrade Spongebob's health.

    Pros:
    • Spongebob controls quite well, his ablilites are quite fun to use. The power-up pick ups he can also use are a nice edition to this game that was not in previous Heavy-Iron games.
    • Since this game represents the 10 year anniversary, it plays in many parts of the show from the past 10 years at the time and really does a good job in referencing seasons 1-5 (even if I don't like 5 that much).
    • I like how the hub area in this game is Spongebob's house.
    • Collectables offer artwork, cutscenes etc.

    Cons:
    • Enemies you fight feel a lot more lazy compared to other spongebob games.
    • It's a shame you can only play as Spongebob, especially how most other Spongebob games play as at least two Spongebob characters. You can have a second player play as Plankton for co-op, but it's a support role like it kind off was in Super Mario Galaxy.
    • The camera can be clunky and awkward.
    • The gameplay is quite good and has good qualities of a good game, but it gets very repetitive quickly.
    • The gameplay is very easy. This game has a lives system , but it's so easy you won't ever game over since you get plenty of lives and Truth or Square has no challenge.
    • The boss fights are also not very good overall, however seeing the Robot Squidward that was cut from Battle for Bikini Bottom was a pleasant addition, even if the fight was not good.
    • Very short game as well. Took me 3 hours to complete it, yes 3 hours.

    Sound and Music:

    Pros:
    • The voice actors do a good job with their characters once again.

    Cons:
    • Well... Mr. Krabs voice actor, Clancy Brown... is not present... again... for f**ks sake Clancy. The replacement is just alright, better then the one in BFBB but still sounds off.
    • A huge problem I have with this game is the music. It's really good, but all of it is recycled from BFBB and The Movie game which is a huge disappointment and sometimes placed in awkward times in levels that don't suite it. Power-ups have their own music as well depending on the Power-up (Revenge of the Flying Dutchman much) is just generic Spongebob music from the show and it cuts out the level music playing. The loop with some of the tracks as well is painful.
    • I find voice lines from Spongebob repeat too much. It was an issue in other games, but this game was 2009.

    Performance and Visuals:

    Pros:
    • Some people may not like them, but I like the pre-rendered cutscenes and they have some decent animations.
    • The graphics in this gamer are really nice. The colours are good, decent textures, lighting is great and this is possibly the best looking Spongebob game to date.
    • The game ran really well, zero slowdown and just smooth overall.

    Cons:
    • Had it crash once at the end of a level which sucked, but it's a minor complaint.

    Verdict: Truth or Square actually has the gameplay to potentially be a good game. It shows quality, polish and it shows us much nostalgia for the show. However, that's a major issue. It takes too much from other games, the gameplay has flaws that drag it down and it's unoriginality in so many parts. It's not a good or a bad game, just painfully average and very disappointing from Heavy Iron who I know had a rough development cycle, budget cuts that really show in this game.

    Story: 4/10
    Gameplay: 5/10 Sound and Music: 5/10 Performance and Visuals: 8.5/10 Overall Rating 5.0/10    … Expand

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  1. Official Xbox Magazine
    40
    Diehard fans may enjoy all the familiar faces, but a few hours was too much for us. [Jan 2010, p.77]