It probably wasn’t the best news that Nintendo was going to feature 27 playable Wii titles on the show floor. About 10 of them are actually worth playing, and the good ones (the first party titles) are controversial. Though not waiting in line for a Wii game is nice, even five minutes is too long for SpongeBob: Creature From the Krusty Krab. It doesn’t capture the flavor of the TV show at all, nor is it fun. Though third party support for a Nintendo system is desirable, I don’t think THQ is really what anybody had in mind.

The E3 demo has you playing as Patrick who, for some reason, has been strapped to a rocket. You fly through space and a space station with a few weird creatures floating around inside. The rocket slowly runs out of fuel and you must collect canisters along the way, while firing blasters at obstructions or enemies.

The entire flight path is on rails – you can only control your position on the screen, but don’t think Star Fox; this is not nearly as intuitive. In fact, the Nintendo reps manning the booth suggest (firmly) that you shouldn’t point the remote forward at the screen, but rather point it straight up like a joystick. I don’t personally like the idea, but I could see it working in a much better game. The problem, par for the course in Nintendo’s booth, is that the Wii Remote is too sensitive. One little jerk and you’re on the side of the screen. It’s really too tough to keep the character in the center of the screen; THQ’s intended audience will not enjoy this, I’m sure.

I might even go so far as to say it’s impossible to finish the demo, because I was trying hard. No one I saw did any better, either. I may revisit the game later to give it another shot.