'Scribblenauts' tests your head, brain and mind

This DS game lets gamers get creative.

By Chase Koeneke

Published Sept. 18, 2009

There comes a time in all our lives where we ask the big questions: Why are we here? What is our purpose? Who would win in a fight between God and a vampire? These questions have gone by unanswered for centuries. "Scribblenauts," the newest offering from developer 5th Cell, can't uncover all of life's mysteries, but it can answer some (by the way, vampire wins; I couldn't believe it either).

"Scribblenauts" is essentially a puzzle game. The goal is to collect each level's Starite, a small token either hidden somewhere in the level or only becoming available by satisfying the level's criteria. So far, this sounds like par for the puzzle game course, but here's the twist: You are in control of a magical notepad that brings into the world any word you type to help you clear the level.

"Any word" is a bold statement, but one that is easily backed-up by "Scribblenauts." Pogo stick? It's in there. Crane? Whether you meant the bird or the vehicle, they're both included. With only a few small limitations (vulgarity, copyrighted material and proper names are all no-nos,) the only thing holding you back is your own imagination.

Even more impressive is that all of these items will interact with each other like they do in real life. Magnets attach to metal, dogs chase cats and ghosts frighten people. It's truly a technical marvel -- one that allows you to really give your mind a workout if you let it.

For example, one of the earliest puzzles requires you to retrieve a Starite from the top of a tree. There is a plethora of ways to accomplish this task in real life and almost all of them will work in the game. An obvious way would be to summon an axe and chop the tree down — which totally works — but a more stylish and creative way might be to make use of a jackhammer, breaking the ground underneath the tree and bringing the token down to arm's reach.

You'll begin to rely on this out-of-the-box thinking because in addition to beating a level to unlock the next, you'll also be able to "master" a level by beating it three more times consecutively, while not employing any of the items you conjured previously. Mastering the early levels will be easy, but how many ways can you think of to get a patient up to a hospital on the top of a mountain without him being eaten by a polar bear?

The graphics are simple and cartoonish, as they should be. Even with crossbows, ray guns and nukes, there is no gore. Things that are killed simply poof away in a cloud of smoke, allowing children and adults to enjoy the game equally, though most likely using completely different trains of thought. To accompany the innocent graphics is a soundtrack that screams charm. Think Koji Kondo (the composer behind almost every classic Mario tune ever) only mixed in a way that makes it completely original.

The game isn't all rainbows and butterflies, unfortunately (though both rainbows and butterflies are useable objects). Controlling your main character Maxwell is atrocious. Instead of going with the tried and true control pad for movement, 5th Cell figured that using a PC-style point-and-click method with the stylus would be better. They were mistaken. The system makes any type of movement a jittery mess.

On top of that, you also use the stylus to drag items around the environment, which leads to a lot of unintended failures that should have been easily avoidable. Sadly, there is no way to change the controls, so you'll just have to get used to Maxwell's sprinting.

My only other gripe is directed at my lack of creativity, but the combo of helicopter and rope works about 60 percent of the time. This blatant recycling of items is totally unacceptable in my eyes, yet it's something you'll have to police yourselves on because it's not really the game's fault.

All in all, "Scribblenauts" lived up to its promise, making it the most thought-provoking game of the year. Now if only we could get a Mac version.