Gamertell Review: Scribblenauts for DS
by at October 13, 2009 8:26 am
Sections: 2D, Action, Developers, DS & DSi & DSi XL, Exclusives, Game-Companies, Genres, Handhelds, Originals, Publishers, Puzzle, Reviews
|
Sign up for the FREE Tell Membership and receive benefits that include the digital edition of Tell Magazine sent straight to your inbox, product giveaways, coupons and much more!
Maxwell is a young boy who’s been charged with finding starites. They’re scattered throughout a number of locations. But Maxwell can’t just walk right over to a starite and pick it up. Typically there’s some sort of challenge involved. There are 220 included levels, 110 which require you to solve a real-life puzzle and 110 which require you to complete go through what’s more like a side scrolling level. Players receive awards and points for solving problems creatively, and earn ollers that can be spent on unlocking new areas or extra features.
Scribblenauts definitely has its moments.
The amount of words you can plug into Scribblenauts to generate items is massive. Occasionally, you’ll find words which, in reality, would generate different objects, but in the game create the same item. But still, it’s staggering just how many items there are included. You get to put that massive dictionary to good use, as you can get a special gold star for completing the same level three times in three different ways.
5th Cell also obviously had a sense of humor about Scribblenauts, because some words generate funny and unexpected items. For example, inputting “virgin” results in a white man wearing a t-shirt with a video game controller on it. Internet memes are included: “loituma girl” spawns a leek spinning girl and “lol wut” spawns a huge Maxwell head which can be equipped like a mask. Maxwell can ride the “NeoGAF” symbol.
The place place to put that massive collection of words and items to the test is the title screen. I, for one, can say that it’s probably my favorite part. You can play around, changing the background and plugging in words all you like. There’s a sense of freedom and fun here that isn’t present in any of the levels in the game. It truly gives players an opportunity to explore and experiment.
Inputting these words is also effortless. I’m very glad 5th Cell chose to allow people to write in words by either actually writing with the stylus on the touch screen, or using the stylus to type on a miniature keyboard. The keyboard helps eliminate any character recognition problems that may occur. Also helpful are the word suggestions, in case the exact word you enter isn’t in the game. It’ll offer a suggestion of two or three other, alternative words.
And, in case you happen to get bored with or tired of the 220 included levels, there’s also a level creator with Nintendo WiFi Connection support which is a great additional feature. The only downsides is there isn’t an online database of levels you can puruse and choose from, and occasionally the tripwires or switches set up here won’t work properly. Even so, it’s a welcome addition and can be quite fun to use, provided you find other Scribblenauts enthusiasts to swap friendcodes and puzzles with.
But, Scribblenauts also has some glaring weaknesses.
While Scribblenauts has a rather impressive in-game dictionary of over 20,000 words, it sadly doesn’t make very good use of it. In certain puzzle situations, I attempted to use common-sense items to complete challenges, and found that many didn’t work. For example, in Shoreline puzzle 5-2 you have to get a candy bar from a vending machine for a young girl, but a bully is in the way and will kill Maxwell if you get close. I attempted to use mace to stun the bully and get past. It had no effect and Maxwell swiftly met his end. In The Gardens puzzle 1-11, Maxwell has to collect flowers and place them in a basket. A bee is near one and will again, attack and attempt to kill poor Maxwell. I dispatched a Beekeeper to deal with the bee. The bee immediately bested the beekeeper.
Speaking of sending Maxwell off to his doom, it can happen even when you’ve summoned the correct items. The exclusive use of touch screen controls can be quite a burden. If you click the wrong way when attempting to arrange a new item on screen, you can inadvertently send a vulnerable Maxwell off to a dangerous situation.
I found myself routinely using some words over and over. Like “tank,” “sword,” “helicopter,” “tranquilizer dart,” “cage,” “plank,” “ladder,” “pegasus,” “vending machine”, “handcuffs” and “leash.” There’s a reason for this though. My first time playing through levels, I felt an incredible sense of pressure. You’d think a game like Scribblenauts would encourage creativity, but you find out early on that levels have an item “par” and are timed. Players’ points and ollers are docked for using too many items or taking too much time, precious ollers you need to unlock new levels. The notion seemed counter-intuitive to me, giving players access to a staggering number of items, and then not allowing them access to as many items as they may want to use.
Lastly, the physics are also a bit screwed up. Let’s say there’s a ledge or cliff in the level. If you place an item, let’s say a car, at the edge, then attach a chain/leash/rope to it, then allow the chain/leash/rope to dangle over the edge, it will magically drag the whole car over the cliff. It doesn’t make sense. Another example is Ancient puzzle 4-3, where you have to get a unicorn to druids. I gave Maxwell a motorcycle, and attached the unicorn to the back with a leash. That unicorn must have been made out of cement, because he’d actually manage to drag Maxwell back. There are times when you can use this to your advantage, making a puzzle much easier than it should be, but more often than not it’s annoying.
Depending on your expectations, it may or may not live up to the hype.
Scribblenauts is an impressive game and there’s nothing else like it out there. It’s a lot of fun to play and it does make you think. However, it isn’t the life-changing experience that was lauded before its official release. It is a good game, with a lot of entertainment and replay value, but its not quite perfect. It’s a good start though, and hopefully there’ll be a sequel that will fix all of the Scribblenauts imperfections.
It is definitely a hallmark DS title, and will likely be one of the classic games for the system. Its ingenuity and uniqueness have definitely secured Scribblenaut‘s place in history and the hearts of its fans.
Site [Scribblenauts]
Related Posts