Nicktoons: Attacks of the Toybots, published by THQ is a sequel to Nicktoons Unite! and Nicktoons: Battle for Volcano Island. Released for the Nintendo DS, GameBoy Advanced, Playstation 2 and Wii consoles. While it's obvious certain versions would be different, some are highly different(ex: GBA and Wii/PS2 version), to he point of changing the story a bit, and to this point I will be reviewing the GBA version, mainly due to the fact that I own this version, and have since I was a child(Please be aware, this will taint my review a little, so I may be inclined to be more generous to this game).
First off the Gameplay, while I normally don't start with Gameplay, I feel like gameplay for this version is what particularly stands out. Essentially it's a platforming game, with enemies. Each Nicktoon character has a different skill set. At the beginning you pick a Nicktoon to play as through the first level, and then you unlock another at the end. You must also get all Nicktoons through each level, although you have unlimited lives and health mixed with a checkpoint system. If for some reason this system seems weird I'll explain it, you have health, when it reaches 0, then you restart at the last checkpoint you passed over. Also as each Nicktoon passes through the levels they gain new abilities, such as when completing the first level as Danny Phantom, you get the ability to charge up your 'Ecto-Shot'(I don't think that the official name). The game also uses a password system, instead of a save system, which is interesting as it's rarely implemented in games, especially around the end of 2007. Also the level-design gets repetitive and boring at times, with new things only really being thrown at you in the next level, although even then that's usually new enemies, which is one of my major gripes about this game, it's highly repetitive and gets boring quickly. While I do give the game credit for giving multiple paths in the levels, for each character's special movement abilities, like how Timmy Turner can turn into a Frog, or Jimmy Neutron can hack certain lifts to change direction, this doesn't help the repetitiveness that much. The game also rewards exploring in some cases, although the exploring is limited, as each level is rather linear, excluding some areas. Which don't help with replay value.
Next lets cover the Story, the story is slightly different from the other versions(at least the PS2/Wii version), in that unlike those versions, Cosmo and Wanda appear and have enough magic to unlock one containment unit, and that is your first character. Afterwards beating the boss you can go back, as they drop a key upon death. and unlock someone else of your choosing. However other than that change, I see little change in the story. Although I do think the story is rather well written,
Finally let's cover audio and graphics. The graphics are good for the fact that it's a GameBoy Advanced, and the audio is good, with nice music and nice sound effects. I really don't have much to say about them because of the fact that they do their job effectively, they look nice and provide enough information as to where to move.
In Conclusion I'd say that Nickoons: Attack of the Toybots for the GameBoy Advanced, is a good game with graphics that are rather good for the Gameboy Advanced, along with good audio. They story is well-written in my opinion and while there are changes from the PS2/Wii Version, that is to be expected due to the differences in hardware. The game mechanics are interesting, but levels generally get repetitive even with the alternate accesses for characters. This causes the replay value to be little, due to the fact that it gets boring for me rather quickly. However if you don't mind paying the money or can get it for cheap, like Nicktoons, platforming and have a Gameboy Advance sitting around, then go for it it's worth it.
NOTE: It should be noted that I have yet to beat the game...
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