Videogame review: Scribblenauts
Scribblenauts is an imaginative and exciting new platform puzzler from 5th Cell for Warner Brother games.
In this game we take control of Maxwell, and help him on his quest to find the increasingly rare 'starites', star-like objects that are needed in order to complete the level.
Standing in between Maxwell and these 'starities' however, are a wide variety of obstacles which as his guide, we are obligated to come up with solutions to.
Here is where Scribblenauts really stands out from the crowd.
Instead of searching the level for objects in order to complete each task, we have to delve into our imaginations to find a solution.
Take this as an example. When Maxwell was asked to fix a car, so the owner could finish his journey, we are presented with many options - make a mechanic appear, strike the car with a lightning bolt or connect it to the suspiciously placed pylon with a wire, to which any could be the answer.
In summoning the items to the screen, Scribblenauts takes advantage of the Nintendo DS's touch pad, allowing the player to either tap in the item name on the touch keyboard, or scribble the word down relying on the in-game handwriting recognition system, which sometimes has great difficulty in recognising the simplest of words.
This game boasts more than 20,000 words, giving it an unimaginable amount of replay value.
Completed a challenge using a plane and horse? Type in Pegasus and see what happens, the combinations are almost limitless.
Overall, Scribblenauts is fun, creative and sometimes a little frustrating, especially if you can't think of an item that would help you complete the level quickly.
This game is perfect for the commuter but has enough content to keep any hardcore gamer occupied. Get Scribbling.