Game Reviews | Game Previews

Summary

Scribblenauts is the best game ever in my oppinion. The idea for this game is perfect.

You play as a boy named Maxwell, a flat out cool character. What you have to do in this game is get these stars called Starits, and by getting these you beat a level. Now to complete a level, you have to first figure out the puzzle by useing different objects such as ladders, sports balls, chainsaws etc. There are about 15,000 different things you can use in this game. And this game sure sticks to it's saying, "WRIGHT ANYTHING, SLOVE ANYTHING." You earn money called Ollers. You earn more Ollars by doing better in the level, and you can purchase new characters and music. There is also a level maker mode where you can make your own levels, I use this alot myself. The controles are good. You use the touch screen to move Maxwell about the level and to write the names of objects. The music in this game rocks. I have trouble not singing to it and humming the tune. You have to but this game. I gave this game a 10/10. I still haven't played Super Scribblenauts, so I can't wait to get my hands on a copy of that.

Summary

How many games let you conjure up almost whatever you wish for in the game and then use it to complete levels? Not many, I guess, but I sure know one game that does it: Scribblenauts.

Scribblenauts is a puzzle platformer with a difference - you can use any of the large collection of objects that the game offers in order to solve the puzzles. All you have to do is type in(or scribble in) the name of the object and voila, you get it. It could be anything from a flower to a jackhammer, from a gun to a car and you could use these in a number of ways. Wall blocking your path? Just use the bomb to clear it. You could even couple two objects to get the work done. A rock that needs to be moved? Use a glue and a rope and you can tow it away.

It is the very concept of being able to use almost any object you want that makes Scribblenauts completely original and unique. It is a game that demands the player to be creative to solve puzzles and does not limit you to just a handful of options to solve it.

The puzzles in the game are fresh and engaging. The game offers two modes: Puzzle and Explosion. The Puzzle mode has you thinking through the level's objectives and solving the puzzle and is the easier of the two modes. In the Explosion mode, you will have to find a way to reach Starites(which is the game's objective), overcoming various obstacles. Both involve puzzle solving with the only difference being each mode's objectives.

To top it all, the game offers over 200 levels of puzzle solving fun, something that fans of the genre are sure to appreciate.

However, the concept alone does not make the game and Scribblenauts is plagued by a number of quirks that go on to prove that it is not a mature concept and is in need of better implementation.

As I said before, the game dictionary is pretty extensive but is just not enough. I found a lot of objects that could have been included in the database but were left out. Smoke bombs or sleeping gas anyone? On top of that a number of objects would probably never be needed in the game or even if they are, it would be a one-use affair, since there are others that do the same job. Then again, you will find that you could probably finish a good number of levels with the same set of tools. Stages with live enemies? Just torch them or shoot them. Objectives in high places? Use a ladder or chopper.

Object interactivity could have also been better. Had the devs implemented this well, they could have improved the strength of the puzzle element. For example, you could call for spray cans and insecticide separately, which can later be mixed to create a bug spray. However, that is not the case and in most cases interactivity between objects is limited.

The most important nag of all, though, is the control scheme. The game is almost completely touch controlled. You touch a spot on screen to get your character, Maxwell, to go to that point. Touch is also used to move and interact with objects or other characters on screen. A lot of actions for a single control? Translates to more room for errors. To make things worse, the control sometimes become unresponsive.

There is some bonus content in the form of sound tracks and character avatars, which you have to buy at the in-game store using ollars, the in-game money, which in turn is earned by completing levels. The quicker you finish a level and the lesser the objects you use, the more ollars you earn.

These extras are not much of an incentive to try and maximize your ollar earnings. The only worthwhile use of your ollars would be buying new levels. Yes, you have to buy new and that in a way is some incentive to rack up the cash.

The achievement system is also neither very helpful nor exciting. Most of the time you don't really know what a particular trophy was awarded for and you would probably stop caring about it a few levels into the game. This is because you get several such trophies each level, you get the same trophies over and over again and they are not tough to get at all. That beats the objective of even having achievements.

The devs have also thrown in a level editor where you can create and edit your own custom levels, thrown in a few objects and characters and even set the personality of these characters. It is a nice addition and a bonus for the game.

The art style for the game is inviting, especially given the nature of the game, while the sounds are not anything to drive home about.

VERDICT:

It's got an original concept, it's got some good puzzles and there's hours of fun to be had conjuring objects and playing with them as you solve puzzles. However, the game still has a good distance to go before it can win top honors. And it has quite a lot of potential too.

Summary

Scribblenauts is one of the best games I've ever had the pleasure of playing. It has an immense dictionary at your finger tips. You can literally type in almost any word and it will appear in the game. It is really easy to pick up this game, even for beginners. It's no wonder this game got game of the year in 2009 at the E3. It lets you use anything you want to finish certain puzzles. Usually I pick the lazy way out and type in "pterodactyl" and just fly over all the obstacles.....either that or "pegasus." Though the game is much more than just figuring out how to get over walls and blow up certain objects with explosives...or taking on Cthulu with anything you can think of, whether it be God, Benjamin Franklin, Einstein, Dracula, or a Frost Giant. This game will have you thinking of things you've never thought of before. I remember taking down "Robosaur" with an electric eel! Now that was some pretty messed up logic right there, but hey, it worked didn't it?!

Summary

When I first saw Scribblenauts being played, I was extremely excited for it's release. What could be better than creating anything I wanted to beat a game? And I mean anything. There are so many objects in this game, from a rock to Cthulu, and even Longcat, if you keep up with your Internet memes. Needless to say, it looked great right off the bat.

Once I had gotten it, I wasted no time in playing in the sandbox mode. Oh what fun, handing Abraham Lincoln a rail gun and forcing him to battle with the Kraken. The first day I owned it I didn't even play the levels, I just messed around.

Once getting to the levels, though. The appeal slowly died down. Not enough to say it was a bad game, but it wasn't great. As I blazed through the painfully easy puzzle levels, I got stuck in the action levels often. The controls were tedious, and more often than not I ran into pits of lava or moved a helicopter I was riding, sending Maxwell to plummet to the ground, ridden with danger.

Just make sure you have a lot of patience while playing this game, the controls can be frustrating and the levels repetitive. All in all, it was still a good game, due to the amount of creativity used by the player to win the game. It was still a little lacking, but it's definitly fun.

Summary

According to the game developers, the purpose of Scribblenauts was (basically) to allow gamers a chance for complete freedom of imagination. As the game description implies, Scribblenauts is all about putting goofy and outrageous ideas into "reality" by bringing your imaginations into a video game. More specifically, in Scribblenauts, you can supposedly type in anything and it will appear in the game for your character to use. Isn't this a radically new advancement in video gaming?

It would be if it ACTUALLY worked. Moreover, the front cover shows a cartoony, childish, and crude sketch of a guy next to dinosaurs and rocket ships. And it seems as though the game's dictionary is just as complex as its cover. You see, the game doesn't really allow us to use our wild imaginations. Specifically, it doesn't recognize a lot of common, but long words. For example, if you type in gecko, or longsword, salamander, or battle axe (to name a few examples), you'll end up with nothing happening. The game only allows you to type in extremely simple and general words, like "bird" or "man" or "sword".

This game doesn't provide freedom of imagination! Instead, it's limiting it!

The main point is that this game was doomed from the start. Moreover, games that claim you can do whatever you want can't and don't really offer this privilege.

That's because games will always have limits. After all, a first-person-shooter can never transition into a farm simulator. Nor can a farm simulator turn into an epic shooting game experience.

In other words, all successful games have a specific focus: a specific theme that makes the game what it's known for. If a game tries to accomplish too much and cover too much "distance", then the "distance in between the start and finish" will be incompetent.

Successful games are made by developers who have a specific idea in mind.
Scribblenauts is a prime example of a game that got too greedy and dropped many good rules and opportunities along the way.

Point breakdown:
1 point – for a new but stupid game idea "to include everything in one game".
1 point – for catching my interest for a couple of days (before realizing that this game is pointless).