A rep demoed the DS title for me, and explained the gameplay is similar to the original Drawn to Life - this time, obviously, with a big SpongeBob cartoon theme. It's actually based, she said, on an episode of the TV series where Spongebob accidentally scribbles himself an enemy, "DoodleBob," a drawing come to life.

Like I said, I never played Drawn to Life, but I heard at length from lots of friends and readers that the platforming was nothing to get excited about, so I asked whether they'd taken that feedback and cleaned it up this time.

Apparently not so much - the rep explained that Drawn to Life is actually targeted at kids, not older gamers, so we'd be mistaken to expect particularly complex, high-level gameplay. The appeal, she said, lies in how customizable the world is, giving the player the opportunity to draw and customize not only the player character, but gameplay elements like buildings, background elements and platforms in an MSPaint-like pixel-based stylus interface.

In the SpongeBob edition of Drawn to Life, players can pick either the titular sponge, his friend Patrick the starfish, or surly Squidward as a companion for gameplay, and each one lends a certain ability - SpongeBob provides a shield, and Patrick and Squidward have different special attacks.

The game looks rich with trademark Nickelodeon style, and one thing I'd think would make it really appealing to kids is that there are modes that teach them how to draw the key characters, so if they want to draw themselves a SpongeBob character and play as him, they can, but maybe not so much there for an audience our age unless you really love SpongeBob and don't mind simplicity.

THQ's survived a series of hard knocks in the market thanks to the strength of its kid-friendly titles based on licenses from the likes of Nickelodeon and Pixar, even while its stock has taken a serious dive since January of this year. The company's about to announce its fiscal fourth quarter results tomorrow - as a new year begins for THQ, is it on track for smoother sailing?

It's been somewhat of a mixed bag for THQ over the last few months - the company saw a studio acquisition (Big Huge Games) at the beginning of 2008, while on the other hand, its Sandblast and Rainbow studios just recently saw layoffs, according to reports. While it's canned a couple of its former key franchises, Stuntman and Juiced, it saw a boost in sales last quarter thanks largely to its WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2008 and MX vs. ATV Untamed.

Thanks mainly to its family portfolio, though, THQ's hung in there, and most analysts seem to believe the worst is behind the company, seeing them poised to climb in the year ahead thanks to more attractive license opportunities for 2009 — for example, analysts frequently comment that they expect THQ's upcoming game based on Wall-E to perform better than did the Ratatouille game, because robots are more likable than rats.

Both Cowan Group analyst Doug Creutz and Wedbush Morgan's Michael Pachter expect THQ to remain a little conservative on its 2009 estimates, since it turned out to disappoint on last year. Still, Creutz says the publisher can outperform the overall market by 20 percent, while Pachter thinks it'll stay in line with overall market growth of 10-15 percent.

So with games based on more Nick properties including The Naked Brothers Band: The Video Game, Tak and the Power of Juju, Avatar: The Last Airbender, SpongeBob Squarepants and Back at the Barnyard, THQ may turn a cautiously optimistic eye to the future — we'll see when results and future guidance are revealed tomorrow.

For more details on THQ's upcoming Nickelodeon portfolio, check out our earlier story. Note the "parkour-inspired" gameplay for the Tak and the Power of Juju game — everyone's catching the parkour trend train, it seems.

The game will feature DoodleBob, the horrible disfigured, and slightly Frankenstein-esque SpongeBob knock-off created by the yellow sponge in one of his cartoons. In the original show, a fan favorite at our house, SpongeBob finds an artists pencil and uses it to create a version of himself, which turns out to be quite evil.

Fantastic fun and more than a little bit creepy. What will make or break this game, I think, will be whether they include the creepy or sanitize it and make it into the sort of cartoon that only kids get, but bores adults, aka not SpongeBob. The fact that Altron, makers of Alex Rider: Stormbreaker for the DS, is behind this version doesn't bode well.

Hit up the link for the game's fact sheet and such.

Exclusive: Next 'Drawn To Life' Set In SpongeBob SquarePants Universe [MTV]

This week has a nice choice of titles spread out over various systems (sans the PSP). I'm trying to get to Heavenly Sword tonight so I can see for myself what it's going to be like and I am anxious to check out Jam Sessions and Drawn to Life for the DS. I've avoided Oblivion for a while just because I'm afraid of getting sucked in, but the inclusion of all the expansions on one disc is intriguing. What to do, what to do?

Heavenly Sword (PS3)
Will Nariko and her moves rival Kratos?

Skate (X360)
Skate to your heart's content and see what life is like without Tony Hawk.

NHL 2K8 (PS3, X360, PS2)
All the fun of Hockey without the broken teeth.

NHL 08 (X360, PS3, PC, PS2)
Because we always need more hockey games.

Galactic Assault: Prisoner of Power (PC)
Rule the planets in this sci-fi RTS.

.hack//G.U. vol. 3//Redemption (PS2)
The final game in the trilogy. The end of an era...

The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion - Game of the Year Edition (X360, PC)
All of Oblivion including the two expansions in one tidy package.

Kengo: Legend of the 9 (X360)
You are a legendary samurai in feudal Japan doing the stuff a samurai does.

DiRT (PS3)
More racing action for your PS3.

Jam Sessions (DS)
Strum your blues away.

Drawn to Life (DS)
Draw your own character and put him through his paces.

Guilty Gear XX Accent Core (WII, PS2)
Still guilty after all these years.

Fatal Inertia (X360)
Race in supersonic planes and kick some ass.

Ship Simulator 2008 (PC)
Imagine the fun of piloting your own oil rig!

Kind of a cool game that seems to be getting lost in the white noise that is this fall's uber-game line-up. What I enjoy most about this game is that you can draw liquid-spewing phallic heroes and the game doesn't seem to mind... seriously, I've seen it done.

If you missed our previous posts on Drawn To Life, it's a sidescrolling adventure that also affords the player the opportunity to literally draw his or her own character. Character creation is robust, but easy to design. The included simple MS Paint-like interface used to pencil, fill and color your avatar couldn't be easier.

That's not all, there are multiple things throughout the title that you'll draw... well, you'll be given the opportunity to draw. From weapons to accessories to usable objects, the simple, pixel-based image editor lets you design how you want aspects of the world to appear.

However, those drawings, whether carefully detailed or crude, seem to have absolutely no impact on how the game plays. Appearances seem only skin deep. Being presented with an outlined version of a platform, a cloud, a boulder, or wildlife that will act as transport are simply drawn for decoration. Crafting a customized sword is just as effective as scribbling within the weapon's parameter. While that may satisfy some, it left me wanting, wishing for the title to be given more time to up the impact of the unique drawing tech.

Sure, you can save multiple heroes, share your creations over wi-fi, making Drawn To Life a personalized adventure. Still, I couldn't shake the feeling the game was a fascinating tech demo attached to a run of the mill 2D platformer. I also couldn't help look forward to whatever the developer, Fifth Cell, has planned for the sequel.

There's no question the game is easy on the eyes. It may spawn a real following for those looking to express their pixel manipulating talents. With plenty of unlockable character templates and in-game tunes, replayability and content aren't lacking.

The game still has time to progress before its September release, and admittedly, I didn't actually get to control the game as it was still early, but those looking for a more customized platforming experience may be slightly disappointed. Michael McWhertor