DS Review – Scribblenauts and “Imagination Turrets”
Playing through Scribblenauts I have what one might call “imagination turrets.” In the middle of this adventure puzzler, in any given level, I find myself trying out the strangest combinations, just to see if it works. This review will be rampant with imaginative outbursts; I hope you’ll bear with me.
WEARWOLF, BUTCHER, CRÈME BRULLE
See there’s one. Anyway, back to the review.
This is in the game
The concept is simple. You are Maxwell, a Scribblenaut, on a quest to collect the coveted Starites. Unfortunately along the way there are obstacles such as mountains, goats, and pirates. Luckily for you, you’ve got anything at your disposal. Well, anything but vulgarity, copyrighted things, and proper nouns. I know that seems like the catch, but there’s still countless things in the game.
KNIFE, SURGEON, SLIDE
This unfortunatly, is not in the game
The game is a puzzle adventure, and there are two different kind of levels. Action, which involve you trying to get the Starite by overcoming obstacles and perhaps a few enemies. Then there are puzzle levels, where you’re given a one word sentence such as “Guard food from ants, without offending the hippy.” So, now we’ve got to protect a picnic spread from ants, but you can’t kill them. What could you possibly do? Well, you could take the food, and hide it in box. Or, you could make a ladder and climb it so the ants can’t reach you. Or, you can do what I did, and annihilate the hippy. Unfortunately, the last one won’t land you a Starite.
OVEN, DANDELION, MIME
It’s amazing how different things interact. If you plant a piece of fish in front of a bear, he’ll eat it. If you put a live chicken into an oven, you get roast chicken. If you give a sword to a pirate, he’ll- scratch that. Don’t give a sword to a Pirate.
Unfortunatly, in the game
The controls are done primarily with the stylus, and they’re not always as responsive as one would wish. I’ve written “A’s” and have them read as “N’s” or “D’s” read as “O’s.” Luckily, they offer a keyboard, so you don’t have to fuss around with it. Sometimes, Maxwell will not interact with an item the way you want him to, leading to much frustration. Luckily, there’s really no downside to losing, so you can try over and over as much as you like.
PTERODACTYL, NINJA, ATOM BOMB
Though the game doesn’t offer any “mature” items, you can still do some pretty horrible things. Ever stuck a rat in an oven? Try it, the results are horrid. And did you know that chloroform might arguably be the games most useful item? This game might just make a whole generation of date-rapers. Okay, maybe not, but it still makes me feel wrong anytime I have to knock out an officer of the law, or, you know, a bear.
The Awesome
-Write Anything, POOF, there it is
-Lives up to hype, as amazing as everyone says it would be
-Infinite possibilities, more replay value than just about any game ever, perhaps even more than E.T. – The Game
The Not So Awesome
-No vulgarity means I can’t type in “Fart”
-Controls shoddy at times
-Items don’t always work the way you want them to
Verdict
Many games as ambitious as Scribblenauts hardly ever live up to the hype, and aren’t always executed as well as they promised. Scribblenauts is amazing because everything that’s been said about it is true. This game might have the most replay value of any game, and beating it to 100% might take a lifetime. Yes, you can do anything, but don’t kid yourself, it’s no walk in the park. This game would make most of the “E for Everyone” crowd soil themselves due to the difficulty. Yes the controls are annoying at times, but even when the game is frustrating, it doesn’t disappoint. I only wish I had the imagination to fully take advantage of this masterpiece.