Winning several Best of E3 Awards, and even a highly regarded BBPS Halfie, Scribblenauts was screaming with potential.  It’s finally been released upon the masses, and it’s ingenious premise of writing something and having it show up is ours for the taking.  Want to make God fight a T-Rex while Keyboard Cat watches on?  No problem.  But does the cuteness and imagination translate into a good game?

Well, not exactly...
The first 2 days I spent with Scribblenauts I loved it.  The premise of the game is so ridiculously fun and simple, it’s almost impossible not to like it.  You play as Maxwell, trying to solve random puzzles by writing any object into your notebook and seeing it appear.  Solving puzzles using as few objects as possible, and as creatively as possible, earns you more “‘Ollars” to spend on new levels and other extras.  There’s a level editor, where you can create your own puzzles and share them online.  Showing it off to some co-workers, it was actually too broad of a premise at some points.  I’d say “Say something.  I’ll write it and it will appear.”  The limitless options seemed to confuse some.  But Fifth Cell has done their homework, and almost anything you can imagine is in the game.  However, its potential is only overshadowed by the disappointment that is the gameplay.

Main offender numero uno is the controls.  Unfortunately, they are terrible, and cannot be rearranged on the DS.  The camera is controlled via the D-pad or face buttons, while both moving Maxwell and interacting with objects is done via stylus.  This makes for some extremely frustrating trial and error where I was placing an object somewhere on the screen, and due to lack of stylus precision, barely missed the object, and instead sent Maxwell running into either lava, spikes, or a security guard who beat me to death.  If the camera and interaction were stylus based, and moving Maxwell was with the D-pad, I feel like this wouldn’t be such an issue.  But like I said, we’re stuck with the controls we’re given.


Just one of the numerous nonsensical things Scribblenauts can provide.

The puzzles in the game range from simple, yet clever, to a throbbing headache full of WTF.  You’re given a clue at the start of each level.  Clues are sometimes as straightforward as “Give the Chef a dessert,” and sometimes as cryptic as “Things aren’t what they seem.”  There are some levels I absolutely no idea what to do, and there’s no other sort of hint system.  If I know what my goal is in a game, and can’t seem to achieve it, that’s my fault.  But if the game doesn’t explain what the goal is in any way, and I’m wandering about aimlessly, then shame on the game. 

Interaction between objects sometimes makes no sense.  For example, I needed to kill a bee.  I summoned a beekeeper.  The bee killed him.  Not what I expected.  Maxwell can jump small gaps and obstacles automatically, but I’ve yet to find a way for him to actually jump higher than by using a jetpack.  There’s a technique to connecting things by using glue and ropes, but I still don’t get how it works.  Ropes or strings and other objects are set lengths.  Getting specific is sometimes wonky too.  On separate occasions I summoned an invisibility cloak.  Once, I was given just that.  The next time, I was just given a regular old cloak.  Same goes for boots/iron boots, robots/zombie robots, and the like


FACT:  Cops love donuts.

For as cute and smart as Scribblenauts is, the disadvantages to it spoil the whole thing.  I felt severely disappointed, and a good chunk of that goes to the fact that the potential and idea at it’s core is fantastic, yet the ball was dropped so hard on the actual execution.  Perhaps a sequel or a port to another console (WiiWare, XBLA?) will atone for the gameplay sins Scribblenauts has committed.  It’s worth playing with for a bit, but I can’t recommend a purchase.  Try out the demo at your local game store and be content with what it could have been.

YAY! - adorable, your imagination makes the game, limitless possibilities
NAY! - wonky controls, wonky interaction, wonky choices
For those of you who really hate reading, or only learned to read numbers: - 6/10

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