There are times when you are playing a game that you simply say “They got it right.”  It could be during a puzzle or moving through open spaces or fighting enemy AI, but usually it only happens once or twice, or if you’re lucky, several times.  Imagine playing a game that gives you that feeling in almost every one of the 220 puzzles packaged into that tiny Nintendo DS cartridge.  Welcome to Scribblenauts.

You play as Maxwell.  Actually, it is more like you play as Maxwell’s omnipotent friend who helps him find the Starite in each level.  The levels are grouped into “worlds,” with each world presenting different environments and obstacles for you and Maxwell to conquer.  There are two different types of puzzles to play: “puzzle” levels that have a task to be performed and “action” levels that test the speed and accuracy of your wit and cunning.  The puzzle levels are much less stressful and aimed at the casual user and the action levels are aimed more at your core user.  At the beginning of each level, you receive a hint that guides you towards the correct path without giving you the answer.  Then comes the fun part: figuring out how exactly you want to solve the level and claim your starite.

The controls are easy and intuitive.  If you want Maxwell to move, you click in front of him and he moves.  He is also capable of jumping over low objects for you, as well as jumping into lava, running into bad guys who kill him and generally get himself into trouble without your permission.  With only camera movement and flipping objects set to buttons, all tactile movement is controlled with your stylus; it is both a blessing and a curse.  It is a breeze to grab objects from your magic bag of goodies and control Maxwell with tap, but if you miss clicking an object, Maxwell may interpret that as an order to move and help himself into the aforementioned pit of lava.  Much of my frustration, if any, was because I did not have a button to tell Maxwell to stand still.  That way, I would be able to do my work away from Maxwell and he not try to kill himself.

Now we get to the fun part: the transfiguration of your typed ideas in a corporeal form on screen.  When you need a particular object, you simply click the icon in the corner and a QWERTY keyboard appears (you can also write in letters: see left).  You then type in the name of your object and click the green checkbox.  Presto!  You have instant solutions at your disposal.  Size and shape are no problem for a system that contains over 10,000 words ready to be deployed.  This is where the game really shines.  It is not so much the sheer number of objects that you can create, but how you can have those objects interact with each other and the environment.  In this game, you are only limited by your own mind and its vocabulary.  Some objects look and are used the same way.  I was facing an angry bee and typed, “smoke gun,” such as the ones beekeepers use in their profession.  I only wanted to confuse and disable the insect, not kill it.  Unfortunately, the game gave me a real gun with which I slaughtered the unwitting insect.  

Combining objects is one of the crown jewels of this game.  Being able to create an elf and give him a sword to slay orcs or airlift a patient using a helicopter and a rope, make these levels all worthwhile.  That, along with the level design itself, coax the player out of their shell into using objects and combinations they may never have considered using otherwise.  So many times, I found myself staring at a level, looking for a unique way to solve the level after immediately dismissing “the easy way.”  Sure, you have your standbys that you’ll fall back on in a pinch, but it’s the unspoken challenge that drives you to be creative.

The “Ollars” and merit systems also accomplish challenging gameplay.  Ollars are the form of currency native to Scribblenauts.  After the successful completion of a level, you earn Ollars by your object use relative to par, your creativity (style) and how fast you completed the challenge.  Par is considered the “normal” amount of objects you would create in solving this puzzle.  The fewer objects you use, the further under par you become and the more Ollars you earn.  In fact, there were quite a few puzzles I was able to solve with creating no objects at all.  After accumulating enough Ollars, you have the option to purchase new worlds to play, costumes to dress Maxwell in and songs to play.  Scribblenauts also has a merit system that tallies up little awards from refraining from violence to using a water animal as a vehicle. There are 80 merits in all and it is definitely on my list to accomplish every one.

           
As with many games that have been released in the last year or two, Scribblenauts has a level editor built in.  While getting into the level editor and beginning to create your own level is easy, it has the same feelings as playing chess: easy to learn, difficult to master.  Opening up the level editor you choose a level you have already played as a template for your level.  Obstacles are placed into the level by your using the notepad. It’s simple to modify the level name, the opening hint and even the music.  There is some depth in the use of people as you can set their “mood” meaning what or who they protect, attack, fear, consume, follow, guard, use, mount or steal.  I do wish they had a “palette” of common or useful objects and tools to use.  There were a couple of objects that I thought would be good in my level, but I didn’t know what they were called, so I had to leave the editor, find a level with the object in it and use the identifier to find the name.  It was the spiked steel ball, by the way.  After you create your level, you can play it or share it with friends over the Nintendo DS Wi-Fi Connection.  Honestly, I did not try this because I didn’t feel like dealing with friend codes.

If you have not figured it out by now, and you are a Nintendo DS owner, you owe it to yourself to pick up Scribblenauts.  This game utilizes and excels at everything the DS is built to do.  It makes excellent use of the touchscreen, is challenging, has something for everyone and is in perfect, bite-size chunks.  Sure, your frustrations can run a little hot when Maxwell jumps to his own death or your combined objects do not act as you think they should (I love and hate the rope), but all those frustrations melt away the moment you grab that starite, Maxwell does his best Pete Townshend imitation with it and you hear the beautiful victory music.  Starite Found!