"OMG! Our hero's an Irish Pickle! OMG!"

Since the DS was released, video game companies have been trying to find ways to incorporate the DS touch screen into their games. Personally, I find that the DS' success is based off of the touch screen. Drawn to Life is my idea of game that utilizes the DS' touch screen in a way that will revolutionize the Nintendo DS as we know it.


All is well in the village of ______ until... (story)

The story starts off with a village (which you later name) that's half-covered in darkness, freezing cold and where the "eternal flame" is long gone. Because of that, the fox-like inhabitants (known as Raposa) are leaving. The only ones that are left are the mayor, Mari (the mayor's daughter) and Jowee. The creator (a.k.a. You), have abondonned the people of this pathetic village... until now. The creator brings to life a wooden manikin and colors it to his liking. He names it and sends it out to help these people. That hero then gets sent out by the mayor to find the lost villagers and recover the torn pages of the Book of Life. With quite a few twist in the plot, Drawn to Life's story is great.


An Irish Pickle shooting a snowball firing gun at a penguin... Sweet! (gameplay)

This game has many different aspects of gameplay. First of all, you get to draw your own character (and yes, I did draw an Irish Pickle). The character can be anything you'd like. It even gets animated for you. Then, there's the town aspect of the game. The town is where you can shop, chat with the townspeople (or should I say towns-Raposa) and throw money into the wishing well. From here you can enter one of the four worlds (which you unlock over time). This is where the game becomes somewhat like Super Mario. First you select the level you wish to play via world map. Then, you are transported into a 2-D platformer. There you must scout out the HUGE levels to find the missing Raposa, find the torn pages and also clean up "dark goo". All in all, the gameplay is pretty darn good.


Hi Mr. 2-D

The graphics in this game aren't the best. Good, but not the best. In the town, the 2-D graphics look nice with some minor detail ad such. The Raposa are well done with cute little drawings to accompany them. You barely spend any time there though. In the 2-D levels, everything looks OK as well. It's easy on the eyes. Overall, though, the graphics are good, and kinda cute ;-).


Ah! This music is getting on my nerves! (sound)

The music is simply, annoying. The main reason is because the music stays the same for the entire level. Like I said earlier, it takes 30 minutes to beat each level, therefore, 30 minutes of continuous, repetitive music. The sound effects are good though.


Pros, Cons and Whats

Pros: + Drawing the characters is great
+ Pretty good story
+ Good 15-20 of playing time

Cons: - Kiddie feel to it
- Platforming could be a bit better
- Repetitive music

Whats:? When you get hit, it looks like your clothes are coming off


Buy or Rent?

It's worth buying. It's always fun to doodle around with your characters and such. Renting it would limit the fun because you'll never be able to see your character again when you return the game. Besides, it's not that expensive.


Overall

Gameplay: 8/10
Sound: 6/10
Graphics: 7/10
Story: 8/10
Overall (not average): 7/10

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 02/26/08

Game Release: Drawn to Life (US, 09/10/07)