Scribblenauts falls short of hype, but game is still very entertaining

Scribblenauts is a puzzle game that features a new way to solve puzzles: just write any item you want, and it’ll appear. Using the Nintendo DS stylus, you can use these items in any way you can think of (within reason) to solve a variety of challenges.

Scribblenauts is not as ground-breaking, as revolutionary, or as perfect as it was lauded to be before its release. But make no mistake: despite the flaws and frustrations, Scribblenauts is an incredibly entertaining game. While it isn’t a reason for you to purchase a DS to play it, it certainly is a must-buy for any current DS owner. Just be prepared to deal with a few speed bumps as you play it.

Here’s what I liked about Scribblenauts. I liked its quirky sense of humor. In a level where you need to shepherd a group of bad guys from hell to heaven, you’ll find a “criminal,” a “thug,” and a “lawyer.” When you try to hunt ducks, there’s an infernal dog there (although he doesn’t laugh when you miss, thankfully). They even slipped in more than a few Internet memes, like “Rick Roll,” who’ll dance a little before disappearing.

I liked discovering new objects and, even more so, the way they interact. Like how an atheist will run away from God, or how lightning resuscitates a corpse, turning it into a zombie. Or how a pirate will beat a ninja. There are so many different items you can spawn that the combinations are endless. I spent more than two hours on the sandbox main menu before I even got started on the core gameplay, and I’ve returned to it multiple times since. In particular, I enjoyed the satisfying feeling that you get when you figure out the perfect combination of items for solving a frustrating puzzle.

But the fact is that you won’t like everything about Scribblenauts. For example, that “frustrating” puzzle? Most of the time, it isn’t frustrating because of the puzzle itself. It’s frustrating because of one of two things: the controls, or trying to get the items to work the way they should. Since you control both Maxwell, the main character, and every object you create with the stylus, you’ll often make mistakes (like trying to place a platform over a pit of lava and instead causing Maxwell to walk directly into that pit). It’s frustrating, and could have been easily fixed by offering an alternate control scheme — like, for example, the D-Pad.

The physics engine in the game is a little unpredictable, as well, leading to items not acting the way they should. Items will spontaneously fly through the air, lassos will grab onto objects through walls, and don’t even get me started on the rope. The rope is the most finicky and difficult mechanic it has ever been my displeasure to use in a video game, making it nearly impossible to link two objects together — a shame, because otherwise it would be a very powerful tool to have in your arsenal.

One thing that Scribblenauts prides itself on is its underlying dictionary of terms that can conjure up objects. It really is quite impressive, but there’s really no reason to try new objects other than to satisfy your own curiosity. When you’re on the spot, trying to solve a puzzle, it’s much easier to brute force your way through the puzzle with an item you know that works than to try to think of an item that might not work. This isn’t helped by the fact that sometimes it won’t accept some non-traditional suggestions, like trying to distract a leprechaun with a “pot of gold.” Although it takes a bit away from the fun of discovering new words, a built-in list of potential terms would have been immensely helpful in encouraging people to try new words.

That type of list would be particularly handy in the level-editor mode, an otherwise easy-to-use part of the game. Although you can only use the pre-existing levels as a basis for your own levels, there’s enough variety that you shouldn’t really need any more options. Once you’ve picked out what level you want to edit, the rest of the process is easy. You just spawn the objects you want in the level, and then “program” the intelligent beings by telling them how they should react to different objects. It’s limited, and doesn’t allow the variety found in the main game, but you can make some really creative levels with the tool. If only there was a better way of sharing them than over Wi-Fi with friend codes.

I think that a lot of the fun of Scribblenauts will be swapping stories about how you beat this level or the other. I almost wish that 5th Cell had set up a community site specifically for this purpose. It’s not only fun to brag about your own victories (saved a scuba diver in a steel cage from two giant, flesh-eating fish using only a single balloon), but also to hear about the equally amazing solutions from other players. It’s hilarious, gratifying, and it gives you some clever ideas of your own.

Even with all of my complaints, there’s no denying that Scribblenauts is a fun game. Once you get past (or at least get used to) the bits that are a bit rough around the edges, there’s nothing like getting to pit “Cthulhu” against the “kraken.” If 5th Cell had just spend a little bit more time polishing up the engine before they worked on the dictionary, this would have been just as amazing as promised.

Scribblenauts, available for the Nintendo DS, is priced at $29.99. It is rated E for Everyone. – TechFlash

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