Scribblenauts

Preview from Jae - Thursday, 03 September 2009 @ 10:33am

Games that make you use your creative side are what I consider artistically interesting. Game styles like choose your own adventure, open ended action and RPGs with multiple endings have small elements of this concept. 5th Cell's new title Scribblenauts takes this to the next step by giving you free will to create the item you want to use to reach your objective.

Thanks to Warner Bros Interactive I've had a weekend's worth of Scribblenauts to play around with. I can easily say that this is the DS's breath of fresh air. Something simple in concept but deep in gameplay, this title is sure to please many owners of a Nintendo money printing device.

I've had a whirl of the first three worlds of Scribblenauts. Each world has eleven levels and each level has an alternative objective. According to my shoddy maths that is at least sixty six levels in the first small part of this game. Looking at the overall map you will easily have over two hundred challenges to work through. Couple that with a level editor function and you've already built a game full of content.

You have the option of typing your item into the game or spelling it out with your handwriting. I've been told I have handwriting worse than that of a doctor so it's an easy choice of going with the default qwerty key board. Some levels will require you to repeat them using objects other than the ones you have previously used. Meeting all your objectives, as well as bonus objectives like using zero weapons or using a new item, will score you Scribblenaut currency 'ollars' which you need to bank on helping you unlock further worlds.

The element of Scirbblenauts that will appeal to everyone is that you can use almost any common noun in the dictionary to create your item for the game. I typed in the word "Ifrit" thinking the ancient idol of fire would appear. Instead a person in robes shows up doing absolutely nothing to help out. Your obvious profanity is missing and the items you can access seem almost limitless; monsters, zombies, treehouses, stingrays, samurai's and anything that isn't naked pretty much make the cut for this game.

Cops and donuts. Genius.

Scribblenauts does throw you a few curveballs on some levels, for example the one where you need to get past a tornado. I had tried everything I could think of; blizzard, cure, haste, Bill Paxton, Helen Hunt - nothing was working. Then I thought I could fight a natural disaster with another natural disaster so I threw a tsunami into the mix. It got rid of the tornado but couldn't help but kill me in the process. In the end the best way to get through it was to use a shrink ray on the tornado so that I could jump right over it. To tell you the truth it took me almost 30 minutes to come up with that, which would normally make you want to put the game down but I couldn't help but want some more.

Can you name'em all? Note: not actually in the game but nice fan art

It's not all heaven on two screens with this title, minor flaws do exist. Controlling Maxwell, the redrooster hat toting guy, is done by touching a direction on the screen. This can easily get in the way of your objective and land your character in the wrong part of the level. I've also run into a few ladders that have shortcomings causing you to fall all the way down when you get to the top. This game has been cleverly developed to appeal to both casual and non-casual gamers. The casual appeal comes from the short level by level progression and the 'hardcoreness' comes in the form of the innovative gameplay.

Some features that I'd like to see in the final build, but are likely to be missed, are online multiplayer and the ability to use the DSi camera to input your own items into the game. Think about how many giant magnified wangs will appear in all the online levels. Then again Nintendo's giant cockblocking laws will ban anything over 3 inches long (so the Japanese boys still have a chance!).

If you've had your DS sitting in idle for almost a year, having lastly played GTA Chinatown Wars or Pokemon Iron Ore, then you will surely be intrigued by Scribblenauts. Many of us seem to be excited for this game and rightfully so. I can already smell multiplayer online sequel or iPhone version in the upcoming future, which I fully embrace and will spend hard earned benjamins on. Releasing in Australia on 16th of September be sure to give this one a go and spark the creative side of you.