“Scribblenauts” is the much anticipated game for the Nintendo DS by developer 5th Cell (makers of “Drawn to Life”).
Here, gamers spell out words to shape the world around them and create anything their minds can imagine (kind of).
Players control Maxwell, a curious-looking kid with a rooster hat that’s in search of illusive trinkets called “starites.”
“Scribblenauts” is basically a collection of scenarios in which Maxwell must overcome obstacles or help others to obtain starites.
The player writes a word, and it pops into existence, ready to be used by Maxwell or plopped somewhere on the map.
For instance, if a starite is in a tree, you can give Maxwell an axe, and he’ll cut down the tree.
Or perhaps use some TNT. It’s your call.
The challenge and fun of the game comes from picking your own mind, trying to figure interesting ways of accomplishing tasks (or, if you can, think of a word that will outsmart the system).
“Scribblenauts’” dictionary includes over 22,000 words, ranging from “anteaters” to “grappling hooks,” and “shotguns” to “airplanes.”
It’s pretty impressive how many words and uses for objects the developers included.
God and Satan are even spawnable (FYI, God easily destroys Satan, unless you have an army of devils. Believe me, I tried. Call it a Nietzsche moment.)
However, no obscenities, proper nouns, or questionable content is included. I can understand why the developers would feel obligated to exclude these, this being a Nintendo game, after all.
Nevertheless, I feel cheated when a game’s slogan is “Write anything. Solve Everything.” and I can’t solve a puzzle like “plug the hole” with a human beef thermometer.
The game is jam-packed with options, such as a mode that rewards you for reworking levels using all new items, a level editor, an online mode, and a shop to buy, among other things, skins for Maxwell.
Ultimately, it’s the little (but most important) things that leave such a sour taste in my mouth when I play “Scribblenauts.”
The controls are broken; there’s no sugarcoating it.
If I tap an object, half of the time the game interprets it as moving Maxwell instead of selecting the object.
It’s frustrating when there’s a man-eating shark in the water just below me, and I suddenly take the plunge to my watery demise instead of capping the fish’s ass with the shotgun I’m holding.
Menu selections are too small for comfort.
It’s like I’m playing Milton Bradley’s Operation when choosing options or items.
The electric buzz comes in the form of an expletive or two from me.
The graphics look like something my four-year-old brother drew the week he broke his arm (or, alternatively, something my best friend drew after the week-long test of endurance he likes to call “Woody-Fest ‘09”).
I get it: the game’s supposed to look cutesy, like amateur drawings.
However, “Scribblenauts” missed that cutesy mark and went straight for “stuff you draw on a drunk dare with something other than your hands.”
“Yoshi’s Island” did the whole cutesy thing perfectly; the world looked like it was a giant Crayola drawing.
“Scribblenauts” just got lazy and gives you pure, unfiltered crap.
Austin Ashby, another esteemed game reviewer for The Minaret put it perfectly, “‘Scribblenauts’ is more of a toy than anything else. It’s a great sand-box game.”
If you look at “Scribblenauts” as a pure toy instead of a true game, you’ll probably get more enjoyment out of it than I did.
Stages ended up becoming chores. I felt like I was doing work rather playing a game if I played for more than a half-hour.
It’s certainly a step in the right direction, and I have to give the developers props for having the guts to make something with such range.
I’m hoping for a sequel in which they polish the game’s controls.
Even so, this is exactly what the game industry needs: an innovative game that pushes the envelope for what a game can do with interactivity.
I give “Scribblenauts” for the Nintendo DS a 3/5.