Scribblenauts (Full Review)

Scribblenauts

Sometimes a game comes along that entrances people with promises of something new, something innovative, something so ridiculous in concept that it can't possibly be true. Scribblenauts for the Nintendo DS is one of those games, but stumbles once a player actually takes rein of the controls.

The concept of Scribblenauts itself is enough to turn heads. It's essentially a puzzle game where, by writing a word into the game's notepad, you are given almost any object you can possibly imagine to utilize. Want get a cat down out of a house? Entice it with a piece of cheese. Need to clear a cow off of a busy road? Attach a rope to a helicopter and airlift it out. Have some enemy submarines blocking you from imprisoned sailors? Drop depth charges on them. Scribblenauts is not thin on possibilities, though players are not allowed to put in trademarked words or profanity.

There're plenty of levels with which to flex your creative muscle as well, with 220 levels. Half are puzzle levels, where the player has to complete a task, which when completed yields the game's ultimate goal of the Starite (a small, starlike object). The other half are action levels, which play like platformers where, using whatever words necessary, the player guides protagonist Maxwell to the Starite.

The graphics are highly stylized, adorable caricatures that, while goofy, fit well. Maxwell lacks dialogue of any sort, but his character design, down to his "rooster hat" make for a memorable character nonetheless. The stiff, action-figure ball-and-joint way everything move adds to effect and the style, making the game enjoyable visually. Sound is similarly simple, stylized, and goofy, making for a cartoonish atmosphere that is fitting and charming.

While this game has done well in reaching its ambitious goals, some of the other important features may have been left behind in the process. Movement of the character is done by touch-screen. While simple at first, this control scheme can lead to problems when getting Maxwell to pick up objects, or having to make fine movements. More than once I've completed a level's puzzle, only to have Maxwell fall into a pit of lava or something similar and have to start over again. I can't help but feel this game would've attained a much greater success if I could just control Maxwell with the freaking buttons. There was at least one puzzle where I spent the majority of the time just trying to get an NPC to just grab a piece of rope so I could get the rest of my convoluted idea to work.

Scribblenauts should teach developers a valuable lesson in how an awesome concept can still be marred by poor execution in any part of the game, in this case, the controls. After all, how can I use all these awesome items I can summon out of thin air if I have to spend an hour trying to select them by tapping the unresponsive touch screen? The camera has problems as well. You actually control the camera with the face buttons, and can’t move Maxwell while you’re scrolling around. The fact that the camera snaps back after you’ve left it alone for awhile can make it difficult to plan ahead as you can’t SEE ahead for more than six or seven seconds.

Another issue one might have is with the fact that even though you have almost anything at your disposal, a lot of them have similar properties and functions, and it’s often a player might find themselves in a rut with their items. This might be attributed more to me and a lack of creativity, but I found myself doing similar things to solve stuff. Need to get object from point A to point B? Strap a rope to a helicopter and then to the object and fly it there. Need to get rid of some enemies? Half the time I’d summon a bear or other animal to slaughter them for me. Need to get up to somewhere? Wings, Jetpack, Grappling Hook, it’s always the same for me. For a game with 22,000 words and phrases, there sure doesn’t feel like there’s any sort of variety.

For anyone looking to kill a good amount of time with a new DS title, I recommend Scribblenauts as $30 well spent. The concept is pulled off fairly well, as long as you’re willing to grapple with some frustrating controls, and unlike me, are willing to pull yourself outside of your initial box and actually think of fresher solutions to some of the problems. I could see myself getting some real mileage out of the game, in between breaks of being frustrated at how the controls artificially ramp up the difficulty.

Rating: 7 out of 10.