I first started playing Scribblenauts with high expectations. The hype surrounding this game was very high coming out after E3 (a game convention). The details that came in leading up to the release of Scribblenauts got me the most excited for a video game than I have been in a very long time. When I played Scribblenauts, it had been a blast for about 5 and half hours out of the 6 that I had been playing. The disappointing half hour completely frustrated me because of one problem (I will explain the problem later). This unfortunately is the factor that will stop me from giving this game a perfect rating that I originally wanted to give it. However, the game does really well in giving gamers a completely original and thought provoking experience.
The reason I called Scribblenauts thought provoking is because the game lets the players type (or write) virtually any word that one can think of and have that word help them complete an objective. The game starts out with a useful (but a little long for my taste) tutorial that gives players a very good introduction of how to play the game. Players are given an objective, such as helping a dehydrated man from dying of thirst, and the players type in any word, like water or ice tea, to help complete that objective. After completing a level the player earns Ollars, the currency in the game, depending on the amount of objects used to complete the level and the user’s creativity. These Ollars can be used to buy new avatars, songs, and one of the 10 worlds in the game.
The game is split up into 10 worlds that each have two sections of 11 levels. One section of levels give players an objective to complete and the other section has players attempt to get a Starite located some place in the level. The levels can still be played after that because to fully complete each level, one must compete each level 3 times by using completely different objects each time to beat the level. The objectives that the game gives are so creative and fun that I have spent half an hour on one level just having fun putting random items in it. For example, one of my favorite levels is one in which the objective is to save a cat that is stuck on top of a house for a little girl. My first instinct for this level was to type in ladder to reach the cat but then I realized I could get a lot more creative. I decided to first put a trampoline at the bottom of the house for protection and then put a dog on top of the roof to scare the cat off the roof in order for it to bounce off the trampoline. I spent about 20 more minutes on the level just messing around trying to find different ways to complete the level. This part of the game is why Scribblenauts is so fun and unique. The game can give the player a simple task and allow players to use their imagination to complete the level any way that they want.
There is one problem with the game which is the only aspect of the game that makes it flawed. This issue is the controls of the game. The controls are really aggravating and it makes some levels too difficult for no reason. The game makes the player control the avatar by using the DS’s stylist to move the character throughout the level and uses the d-pad to control the camera and because of this, the controls can be and are very often clunky. Moving the avatar around by tapping on the screen in the direction you want it might have worked, but the fact that the player has to move objects around and pick the options of how to use items while having to move the character can get really annoying and this hinders the player’s enjoyment of the game. I have had situations in which I had a level figured out and was about to complete it, but the avatar didn’t fully respond to the controls and moved too far in a direction and made me fail at the level. That has happened on more than one occasion and has therefore made the game unnecessarily difficult.
Besides the control problems, Scribblenauts is a perfect game and I plan on playing it for a lot longer. The game has a way of getting players to waste hours just messing around on a single level without even realizing it and that is what gives the game a long life span. The fact is that if I type in “unicorn” and “T-Rex” and they fight, the game has to be at least decent. If the game didn’t have the control problems I would have given it a perfect score, but because of these issues, I will give it a 4.5 out of five. However, I fully recommend Scribblenauts to anybody who wants to have a really good time playing a completely original and incredibly fun game.