I confess to not having played the original Drawn to Life back when it came out, but I've a pal who's a SpongeBob Squarepants fan, so when I was at THQ's Fall/holiday season preview event in New York City, I had to take a peek.

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.

Spongebob Savior: Will Kid-Friendly Licenses Save THQ?

Earlier today, we reported that THQ's portfolio of Nickelodeon titles has hauled in more than $1 billion in sales, with the publisher looking forward to its 2008 lineup of more Nickelodeon properties.

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?

THQ Sells A Billion Dollars' Worth Of Nickelodeon Crap

I am ashamed to admit that I'm a bit of a closet SpongeBob fan. Really, you can't blame me. When you have a child, and spend time with him watching television on occasion, you're going to eventually get drawn into liking one or two of his shows. SpongeBob, actually, can be quite funny at times.

As I mentioned before, one of my all-time favorite episodes is the one featuring the inordinately creepy DoodleBob, the creation of a artistically-lacking SpongeBob and a real-world pencil.

THQ contacted us after I posted about my reserved anticipation for the game with a couple of screen shots. I have to say they don't really assay my fears that the developers will entirely miss the point of what makes DoodleBob so awesome. In a nutshell? More creepy, less kiddie. Don't underestimate the SpongeBob adult fan club.

Hit the jump for a couple more screens and some of the game's details.

DoodleBob Set to Invade Drawn to Life Sequel

MTV reports that THQ is pimping out their Drawn to Life franchise to the SpongeBob SquarePants universe. Normally I'd be all over the another-crappy-kidsploitation-game band wagon, but I happen to think this is a fantastic idea.

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]

Did your children get an Xbox 360 for Christmas? Are they already bored of the two or three games you already bought them? Of course they are. They are children. They have the attention span of a gnat on speed. Well as we mentioned on Friday, 800 Microsoft points today earns you at least another hour of peace and quiet as your children work their way through SpongeBob SquarePants Underpants Slam! Available for download right now, it'll bring your children minutes of side-scrolling slapstick goodness, allowing you to take a moment to reflect over the holiday - at least until they start beating each other with the controllers. Ah, to be young and covered with self-inflicted bruises again.

Arcade: SpongeBob SquarePants Underpants Slam! [Xbox Live's Major Nelson]

SpongeBob Underpant Slams XBLA, But Remains "Just Friends"

A new SpongBob game will be hitting the Xbox Live Arcade the day after Christmas. SpongeBob SquarePants Underpants Slam!, an 800 point side-scrolling mulitplayer game, will the cast of the cartoon exploring the land of Bikini Bottom looking for the lost undergarments of King Neptune.

* All the popular characters: Play as all your favorite characters from the animated series, including SpongeBob SquarePants, Patrick Star, Eugene Krabs, Sandy Cheeks, and Sheldon Plankton. * Visit familiar environs: Search the kitchens of the Krusty Krab, visit the Flying Dutchman's ship, and explore the depths of the all-new Armoury of Atlantis for rare pairs of pants. * Wild arcade action: It's every sea creature for him or herself! Use your character's slapstick moves to knock down and slow your opponents, and gain special powers from pickups that allow you to move at super speed, hit twice as hard, or even steal pants from other players! * Single player modes: Take on the tricky Time Attack Mode where beating the clock means everything, or engage in the full Quest Mode, where you must collect 99 pairs of Neptune's underpants to win the game. * Multiplayer game modes: Play Tag Mode, and avoid being "it" at Bikini Bottom. Play with a friend offline or take it online to Xbox LIVE® Arcade with up to four players

The game will be rated E, and I'm sure my SpongeBob-addicted son's going to love it.

THQ Brings Four To XBLA

"We're excited to add one of our hottest properties to the Xbox LIVE Arcade line up of games," said Steve Youngwood, executive vice president of digital media, Nickelodeon/MTVN Kids and Family Group. "SpongeBob has been a top kids' video game franchise worldwide, making it the perfect property for Nickelodeon and THQ to bring to this downloadable platform."

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