Dribbling over scribblings

ScribbleNauts Review

Any self respecting ‘adult’ wouldn’t give ScribbleNauts a second glance in a shop. The box art consists of a winking cartoon boy wearing what can only be described as a rooster hat and a few random floating objects. The tagline ‘write anything, solve everything’ is slightly more alluring but even so the crudely drawn bicycle and puppy on the cover are probably going to appear far too ‘gay’, to the ignorant halo fanboy who has just purchased a replica battle rifle.

So what is this game all about then? To put it bluntly ScribbleNauts sets the player in charge of Maxwell whose job is to help those who can’t help themselves. This can entail reuniting estranged penguins, escorting sword happy knights and rescuing kittens from trees. Aww. Well as lame as this might sound the game is actually pretty damn original. In order to complete these ‘challenges’ the player must use their imagination to create tools and vehicles that best suit their mission. At any time during a level the player can tap a pencil icon in the top right of the screen to open the item selection window, which features an in-game keyboard. From there you can simply input the name of what you need and it will most likely spawn in front of your very eyes. For example type ‘rope’ and you’ll get a rope. Feeling a little more adventurous? Type ‘jetpack’ and you’ll get a jetpack.

However the key to beating these challenges doesn’t lie in just picking a single useful tool each time. The real skill is in combining items and there is never just a single correct way of doing this. One level asks the player to transport a chariot from one side of a map back to its owner. Simple! Or is it? First off you’ll need something to tow the vehicle, so you could type in ‘horse’ for example. Poof! We have a horsey. Next, you’ll need to tether the animal to the chariot so that it can pull it, so you’ll probably want a chain or a rope. Ahh sorted. Well... not really, now your horse is just sat there unwilling to shift its furry hide. Hmm. How can we motivate this lazy ass? Aha! Equip Maxwell with a carrot and then tempt the thing across the map with the promise of orangey goodness.



Complete a goal and you’ll be awarded with a ‘Starite’ (Hmm Mario anyone?) and also some ‘Ollars’. These Ollars act as in game currency, which can be used to acquire new levels, avatars and songs. There are ten worlds in total, each consisting of eleven challenges that award a certain amount of Ollars based on the player’s performance and style. So if you are the sort of boring nark that just selects a ‘gun’ or ‘car’ on every stage you won’t get as many points as you would if you mixed it up a bit. This is easier said than done in some cases as your brain does tire of being 100% original all of the time. This is probably the only case where a game is limited by the player and not the other way round.

Whilst it would be nice to say that ScribbleNauts is perfect, there are some elements that are so damn frustrating you’ll want to send Maxwell and his cheeky red hat into the jaws of a dragon or repeatedly drop anvils on his head. A perfect example of this is when you are trying to escort a character across a map without damaging them. In some scenarios, restricted manoeuvre space will mean you’ll inadvertently tether the princess you’re supposed to be saving to your boat and then drag the both of them arse-over-tit, condemning her highness and the SS cock-up to a watery end. To be honest this is mainly down to the DS’s poxy screen and the inaccuracy of the stylus, not the game design itself.

It’s likely that this game will be easier to play on the DSi, which doesn’t suffer as much from these flaws because it’s slightly bigger. Whilst only a minor control problem, it can be the difference between life and death – a misplaced flick of the wrist and Maxwell is launching himself off the nearest cliff. The suicidal scamp.

All in all ScribbleNauts is one of the best DS games available, if not one of the most innovative handheld games ever made. With a heavy focus on imagination and problem solving, the gameplay is top-notch and the hand drawn feel of the 2D graphics adds extra charm to a title that is essentially packaged fun. This is easily one of the best games released this year, so don’t miss out!