"A picture's worth a thousand scribbles"

Scribblenauts is one of the most unique and original games of all time. While its execution is definitely flawed at times, it still manages to be charming, fun, and addicting. I was a little reserved about the game at first, as the company behind the game, 5th Cell, didn't exactly have a solid track record before this game. While their previous efforts, the Drawn to Life series and Lock's Quest, appealed to some gamers, I didn't find them to be all that enjoyable. I am glad that I didn't let these reservations keep me from playing this would-be-gem. You'll be glad, too, if you decide to give this game a spin.

5th Cell's games all fall back on a “gimmick.” They all have shtick that sets them apart from all other games. They really strive for all of their games to be unique, and while I feel they should probably focus on other aspects of their games to increase the overall quality, this approach pays off in Scribblenauts. In Drawn to Life, for example, players could draw whatever they wanted in order to complete the platforming levels that the game provided. Scribblenauts uses a similar idea, but it's much more fun and interesting. In Scribblenauts, players can use virtually any noun they want in order to solve puzzles, earn “ollars” and unlock more stages.

The game's levels are separated out into themed worlds like a lot of platformers. In these worlds, there are a set of puzzle levels, and a set of “action” levels, though all of the levels involve solving puzzles. I will use an example that has been used a lot to describe the gameplay of Scribblenauts in order to fully convey what this game is all about. The objective of each level is to collect a Starite, which are star-shaped objects that unlock new levels. So, let's say that the Starite is perched on the top of a tree. There are plenty of solutions to this puzzle. The player could summon a jetpack and have the silent protagonist, Maxwell, fly up to the Starite. On the other hand, the player could simply cut down the tree with an axe. For an even more conventional approach, the player could simply summon a ladder and climb up to the Starite. As you can see, this is an extremely unique approach to a puzzle game, and it's a very welcome breath of fresh air in a video game generation dominated by big explosion, big guns, and a stupid amount of blood and gore.

I love this concept. While it certainly is fun and challenging to solve these puzzles, it's equally as fun to screw around in the title screen. I don't know if I've ever had more fun in any other game's title screen that I've had in Scribblenauts. From the title screen, players can summon whatever they want without having to worry about collecting Starites, and cause all sorts of trouble. Players can summon God and Satan and watch them battle to the death, or having an army of zombies chase hapless humans around. It's really impressive what the game is capable of, and the sheer growing potential of this game as a franchise is limitless. Scribblenauts is going to be huge, and I'll be damned if we don't see entries in this series well into the next generation. Mark my words.

Scribblenauts isn't light on content, either. Skilled players could blow through the game, and only play the worlds that they want. Instead of following a linear path, Scribblenauts allows players to buy any of the worlds they want in any order, assuming they have the appropriate funds. Funds are allocated by completing puzzles quickly, using new nouns to help solve the puzzles, and earning “merit badges” for doing certain things like not killing anything, using no weapons, etc. Other players will want to savor the game, beat every puzzle, earn as much money as possible, and then unlock all the extra content and explore all the game's secrets. I found myself just typing in words for hours just to see if they would pop up on the screen, and I was rarely disappointed.

A level editor is available, though the lack of online support or local multiplayer makes it feel rather pointless. The game's “ollars” can be spent at the “Ollar Store” (god), adding extra incentive for players to earn the most amount of cash in each level. I am now going to mention how utterly stupid the word “ollars” is, and how there was absolutely no reason that they just couldn't have referred to the money as “dollars.” Seriously now.

Regardless, there is a lot to do in this game. I mentioned right at the beginning of the review that Scribblenauts isn't perfect, however, and let me explain why. Most of the game's issues stem from the controls. Most of the game is controlled with the touch-screen, which is fine for inputting words, but moving Maxwell around the environment is a pain in the ass. The d-pad has been assigned to moving the camera all around the levels, but this is hardly ever useful as the game tends to show everything right at the start anyways. Dragging objects can get annoying, as sometimes the game will read your attempts to drag the objects as other actions. In short, very few games manage to use the touch-screen correctly as its primary source of input (with few exceptions, like Phantom Hourglass), and Scribblenauts is no exception.

Another aspect of the controls that I had a problem with was the inputting of letters. While a standard keyboard-style set-up is available to tap away on that works perfectly, there is another input method. By writing one letter at a time, players can write the words themselves instead of picking letters off a keyboard. Why anyone would want to use this method is beyond me, but the fact is that it's there, and it doesn't work right at all. The game will read some letters perfectly, like “A”, but other words, like “T” or “E”, it's nearly impossible to get the game to recognize. Yes, it's optional to use this to write words, but the fact remains that it's a feature in the game, and it's broken. It warrants at least a mention in this review.

Besides these issues, other problems still pertain in Scribblenauts. Due to the free-form nature of progression in the game, there is more or less no storyline. While this isn't a huge deal since the primary method of entertainment in a video game is the actual gameplay, it does take away a bit of the game's charm. Maxwell is a cute little character, but why should the player care about him? Since Maxwell is given zero personality and zero charisma whatsoever, why not just allow the players to customize their own character? These are certainly questions that should have been raised during the early developmental stages of the game.

Speaking of design decisions, I really don't like the art style. Does it work? Yes, but the game feels so plain and generic as a result. Scribblenauts goes for a cutesy, “drawn” look, but the results are less than satisfactory. Scribblenauts is a 2D game, and the DS has proven that it can be an absolute monster when it comes to producing 2D visuals. The Castlevania series on the DS has proven time and time again that gorgeous 2D visuals can be easily obtained. While it's still cute and the visuals aren't detrimental to the experience in the least, they still could have been so much more.

While I didn't so much enjoy the graphics, I did take a liking to the upbeat soundtrack. The game doesn't feature very many different tunes, but the ones available are likeable and catchy. It's hard not to nod your head to the short little, jazz-like beats the game produces. 5th Cell did a fantastic job here, and it's strange, because I like the audio for the same reason that I disliked the graphics. The audio is simple. It's not overly complicated; it's fun to listen to, and it gets the job done on the most basic, but greatest, level.

Scribblenauts is a fun, imaginative puzzle game with light platforming elements. The game's catchy soundtrack, innovative gameplay, and slew of content mostly overshadow the game's flaws. While control issues need to be ironed out and the generic look and feel of the game should have some attention paid to it, Scribblenauts is still fun and unique, and one of the most original games release this entire generation. There are no big explosions or giant plot twists, but there is what matters most: fun, addicting, and engrossing gameplay. Scribblenauts excels at providing gaming in its purest form.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 01/04/11

Game Release: Scribblenauts (US, 09/15/09)