Scribblenauts
The main idea behind Scribblenauts is that you are presented with a challenge and you can do whatever you can think of to get past that challenge. This is done via the onscreen keyboard. You can enter anything you can think of into the keyboard and it comes to life in the game world. Not everything works, but you’ll be amazed at how much actually does. The game accepts over 20,000 different inputs.
The game is split into two modes, challenge and journey mode. The modes aren’t actually that different. In challenge mode you have to complete a certain objective, once you complete it a star appears and you collect that to complete the level. In journey mode, you have to get past obstacles in the level to get to the star. Both modes require you to think of ways to complete the object by brining whatever you can think of into the world. Everything including: people, animals, dinosaurs, weapons, tools, buildings, vehicles, and whatever else can help.
Challenge mode has all kinds of objectives. Examples from the first area include: saving a sandwich from ants, beating a long jump record, picking flowers, catching a butterfly, etc. Those might seem simple, but they can get tricky depending on the level layout, and the challenges get harder as the game goes on. Journey mode could have the stars behind walls, up on high ledges, or guarded by enemies, so there’s some thinking involved on how to get to them as well.
Once you finish a level in either mode you can choose to play it again and this time you’ll be playing in advanced mode. The idea behind advanced mode is that you have to complete the same level 3 times in a row; the problem is you are never allowed to use the same object twice. This really causes you to think about the puzzle in a different way and try to come up with new solutions. You really have to think outside the box to complete most levels in this mode.
For each level you’ll earn a currency called “ollars” you can use these to buy new areas, songs, avatars, or other features from the store.
You can also create and share your own levels through wifi. You can choose any level as a template and modify it to include whatever you like. This has the potential for some very interesting user generated stages.
Now aside from just creating and populating levels with objects, you do have a character that can interact with the objects. You can move your character around the level, have him ride vehicles, and also hold objects. He can attack with weapons, use tools, and throw items as well. Also you can drag the objects you create around, and attach them to each other when necessary. So there’s a lot you can do here.
The one drawback to the game is that the whole 2d physics thing just doesn’t work well enough. Everything is in 2d and sometimes the weight of those objects is just way off. Also because it’s in 2d you can do some things that are just silly. For example, in one level you have to catch a butterfly that’s floating way above you. We’ll you can just create any object you want and drop it onto the butterfly repeatedly until it is pushed down to your level. That’s just an example of how to abuse the system, but the same problem can prevent you from doing things that would help you get through a level as well.
Scribblenauts is a very innovative and smart DS game, it’s worth checking out if you like to be challenged and want to try something new.
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