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It’s “Naut” a Bad Game - Scribblenauts By: PoisonRamune, the Apathetic Lizardman When I had first heard about Scribblenauts I was very intrigued with its concept. Someone from a chat room I frequent touted Scribblenauts as a sandbox game with puzzles and god game like elements. Though I didn’t get to play the game while at PAX (as the lone Scribblenauts DS at the show was constantly occupied), I did get my hands on the game soon after launch and have been steadily milling through it. Your objective is simple; using somewhat ambiguous hints given to you at the start of a level you are to complete various tasks to collect a starite (a generic end of the level bauble). Levels come in two flavors puzzle and action. In the puzzle levels you’re to do things like stop leaks, keep ants from eating a picnic spread, and find students for teachers in order to obtain the level’s starite. Action levels focus more on actually dodging obstacles and getting to the starite somehow. As you’re trying to collect starites, you’re never without help or tools to aid you in your endeavor. In fact, you have the ability to “summon” help and tools at will.
You get nearly all the tools and helpful NPCs you need to beat each level by summoning them. Summoning is done with the DS touch screen by either writing out the word (though the game couldn’t understand what I was writing and I have really nice penmanship) or by using the onscreen keyboard. The game recognizes thousands of words (with the exception of expletives, copyrighted material, and proper names), so finding a way to beat a level is nearly entirely up to you. In fact, you’re encouraged to use some creativity beating the levels, as each level has an “advanced mode” where you have to replay a stage and beat it using 3 different methods.
A neat thing about the game’s “vocabulary” is the fact that it’s not limited to just common objects. Scribblenauts also has a large number of humorous things you can summon ranging from famous internet memes (such as longcat) to ridiculously outrageous items (like teleporters and time machines). This alone adds so much to the game as I often catch myself just playing with the title screen’s demo to see what would happen if we pit some zombies against Rick Astley. One thing I need to complain about is the lack of logic some of these levels and tools have. For example, did you know that a fish on dry land can literally bite you to death? Well, it can in Scribblenauts. And did you know that a priest with a gun has the ability to kill God? Insane, but true. While the game is very innovative and funny, there are some times I’ll be working through a level and will say to myself “Well, that shouldn’t happen in real life” and will essentially have to scrap my current strategy. At its best the game is hilarious and puts a smile on my face when I complete my objectives in the most outlandish ways, at its worst I feel as if the game is like some stuck up bitch where any answer you have for her is the wrong one.
Graphically the game shows a lot of polish and follows more of an impressionistic style as opposed to a more realistic style. Everything looks very whimsical and cartoony which sometimes is somewhat inappropriate for the action occurring on screen (I still find it funny to watch NPCs turn into a cloud of dust upon getting killed by a shotgun blast). My only complaint about the graphics is the fact that a lot of the models look like they’re rejects from Little Big Planet, but that’s more of a personal preference thing. Aside from a bit of unfair in-game logic and weird looking sprites, the game is really amazing. While I recommend it as a must get game (if you own a DS), it’s not really a game that you must get now. I’d honestly wait for the game to get a $10 price cut (bringing it down to $20) especially if you’re on the fence about this one. Final Verdict:
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