Scribblenauts – NDS – Review

E3 readers will know what a fan I
was of Scribblenauts coming out of the event this year, and I was not alone.
Many members of the gaming press were singing its praises right out of the gate,
calling it the best game of the show, potential game of the year, and so on.
Now, a few months later, the game is upon us, and the results are joy mixed with
a few tears. Scribblenauts delivers in many key ways, as the charm that wowed us
is still here, as is the incredibly ambitious scope that pulled us towards the
game in the first place. However, a few nasty things also came along for the
ride, namely some inconsistencies and very spotty controls. Still, frustrations
aside, the game has tons of personality and should at least be given a shot.

For the uninitiated, Scribblenauts
follows the hero Maxwell through a series of puzzles and action sequences as he
performs certain tasks in order to earn Starites. Depending on which route you
choose (there are action and puzzle mission sets), you’ll have to complete
certain tasks like find the proper items for earning the Starite.

The main thing that truly sets
Scribblenauts apart from other action-puzzlers is the game’s encyclopedic array
of items that you can summon up to use simply by writing them. You’re able to
conjure up tens of thousands of different types of people, animals, and things
in order to help you complete your quests. The amount of work that went into the
game in this regard is pretty incredible, as each object that you can create has
its own functions, physical properties, and even will react with other
characters and items in specific ways. Guns will shoot, dangerous animals will
attack others (sometimes you), and several items can be combined with others to
create something completely different. Creating all of these items for use in
the game and having them react well is definitely a phenomenal achievement, and
the crew at 5th Cell deserve some kind of medal for their efforts.

As the game features tons of objects
at your beck and call, there are also many ways to solve each of the game’s
puzzles. You’re awarded Ollars (the game’s form of currency) for completing the
puzzles under PAR (the number of items that you summon up to solve each puzzle),
completing them in a certain time frame, and style points for your creativity,
whether or not you resorted to conjuring weapons, and so on. Ollars can then be
spent towards unlocking new environments and mission sets.

Unfortunately, given the high hopes
and heaps of praise that were lavished upon the game leading up to its release,
there are some parts that will understandably make you feel let down. The game’s
controls are very spotty, and downright unresponsive at certain points. Moving
Maxwell and picking up items are both done using the stylus and the touchscreen.
While this doesn’t sound too bad, it can be a huge pain. Positioning Maxwell too
close to an item to pick up will result in him standing in the way of it,
preventing you from getting the needed object while tapping on him instead.
Another frustration occurs when you’re getting attacked by an aggressive
creature like a bee or a bear, and Maxwell ends up hopping around the screen
while the beast in question hammers away at him, making it terribly difficult to
get Maxwell to respond to your commands, let alone defend himself against
attacks.

There are also a few inconsistencies
with the items that you get and use. There were a few instances in the play
session where summoning something doesn’t perform what you’d think it should.
For example, one Starite goal requires you to roll down a mountain and jump off
a ramp. Ok, fair enough. So, a scooter was summoned and sure enough one showed
up on the screen. Unfortunately, no amount of coaxing could get that sucker to
roll down the hill, with or without Maxwell on top of it, requiring it to be
scrapped and a skateboard pulled out, which worked swimmingly. While this should
be expected, there’s really no way to expect the game to nail every single one
of its tens of thousands of items perfectly, but it is an annoyance that bears
reference.

Another problem with the game are
the puzzle goals themselves, which lack any real challenge. Whereas the game
could’ve used this opportunity to really tax your mind, the puzzles are very
often lined out in completely obvious ways, requiring little outside of the
simple solution. Many of the puzzles that require you to navigate through
difficult terrain are easily solved by employing a flying device like a
helicopter or jet, thus negating the purpose of the challenge.

Still, even aside from these issues,
as equally frustrating and saddening as they may be, Scribblenauts still has a
tremendous amount of charm and personality. The game’s graphical style boasts a
cute style and art direction that carries the game a long way, even if there are
some gameplay foibles. The music is also charming and works with the game’s
overall atmosphere.

To see Scribblenauts as an overall
disappointment is a fairly cynical stance. The game delivers on the promise of
being as much of an open sandbox as any other game could claim to be. The amount
of effort and work put forth by the developers truly showcases that this game is
above all else a labor of love, as the game’s creators found a concept that
could’ve been a logistical nightmare to pull off and made it look easy.
Unfortunately, it was the common game elements, namely the controls, that ended
up falling by the wayside in the pursuit.

Review Scoring Details for Scribblenauts

Gameplay: 8.0
A game that truly lets your imagination run wild, Scribblenauts is as
ambitious and open as they come. However, some very basic issues hurt the game,
like lousy controls and lackluster puzzle goals.

Graphics: 8.5
The game’s art style and characters are very charming and chockfull of
personality.

Sound: 8.0
The game’s sound is pretty low key, but the music does a great job of
setting the mood.

Difficulty: Medium

Concept: 8.5
Scribblenauts is indeed an ambitious game that delivers on many of its
ideas, and is very impressive for it. Unfortunately, the actual execution
stumbles a bit due to some unnecessary gameplay issues.

Overall: 8.2
Scribblenauts is a charming game to be sure, and the sheer level of work
that went into the game is indeed impressive. Unfortunately, there are some
gameplay quirks and frustrating issues that prevent it from being the classic
that it should have been.