Things are hotting up on DS for SpongeBob and Friends

Most of us at Pocket Gamer are supposedly grown up, which occasionally makes us wonder if we should put childish things away. Then a box set of Futurama or perhaps Family Guy will beckon us into their warm embrace, and we may as well be 14 again.

Fair enough, you think – but surely SpongeBob SquarePants is a step too juvenile? So my guilty secret is out. If I'm honest, I actually enjoy the antics of Bob of the spongey pantaloons, Patrick Star and Eugene Krabs.

Whether that enthusiasm will transfer to the latest SpongeBob SquarePants game remains to be seen, however. There have been plenty of previous game examples – mainly on the GBA, but a couple on DS – and they haven't been too impressive. In fact, most have been downright pants.

This time, as the 'and Friends' part of the title informs us, Bob and Pat will be joined by their Nicktoons chums in the battle against an evil spirit from the Ghost Zone, who plans to destroy their island paradise.

So as well as the SpongeBob SquarePants dudes, you'll be able to choose playable characters from some ten other Nicktoons series, including Danny Phantom, The Fairly OddParents and Jimmy Neutron. There'll also be an option to play through the game in a co-operative two-player mode.

Not surprisingly, the action itself will be strictly of the 2D action platforming and exploration variety, as you make your way up the dreaded volcano, disposing of various cartoon villains as you go.

Until we hear more about why this game will be different from previous examples, we'll not be too excited. But perhaps there's still time to get some good news from publisher THQ: SpongeBob SquarePants and Friends: Battle for Volcano Island isn't due for release until June.