Scribblenauts

Scribblenauts (DS)

The word Scribblenauts is not a very well known word, that was until earlier this year, when Warner Bros. Interactive showed us this DS gem.

Scribblenauts is a simple, original concept. You write anything, and it will appear in the game. The only exceptions are no copyrights, alcoholic drinks, or suggestive words, but who would put those in anyways? Right? The touch screen has great use when you are writing the words. The handwriting recognition is perfect.

So, you use these written items to solve remedial puzzles within 9 worlds. There are two puzzle types: action and puzzle. In action, you are simply using the items to get you to your goal, a starite, what our hero Maxwell is trying to get. There are buttons to press and gaps to leap in the action stages. The puzzle stages on the other hand, are much more interesting. Instead of the starite being right there, the game gives you a hint on what you have to do to earn your starite. You can save a cat from a house, or even exterminate rats, before you receive the starite.

Of course, creativity is a must here. There are a few trump cards, like jet pack, God, and bulldozer, but the game uses a cool par system. You can beat each stage 3 times, but without using the same items. This is fun. There are also merits and awards for you to collect, which range from summoning a ton of animals, or just using a new item.

Also, each item interacts with the other. Like bone interacts with dog. I only wish there was a bit more creativity when it came to interactivity. For example, I summon a baby and a diaper. I can make the baby hold the diaper, but not put it on his body. That's just common sense, folks!

There is also a cool level editor, which lets you tweak any level to what you want. And then you can send it to friends via Nintendo Wi-Fi.

Scribblenauts is a lot of fun, you can spend hours just on the title screen, summoning whatever the heck you want.

There is one point which made me give this a lower score: control. You tap the screen and Maxwell will run there, most of the time. Almost always, you can't go two steps without him going crazy! Especially when I set up a really elaborate plan and the crappy control screwed it up. I wish the d-Pad could be used to control Maxwell.

Pros:
Pure Creativity
Lots of Replay Value

Cons:
Terrible Controls
Low Item Interactivity

Overall - 8.6/10