Scribblenauts delivers on exactly what it promises and brings alot to the table. This game won't disappoint.
When you first boot up this amazing game you are greeted with a simple screen that features Maxwell (the main character) and an open area with a "Start" button at the bottom of the screen and your notebook at the top of the screen. This is pretty much an open sandbox style area where you can play around, having no objectives to fulfill or anything to get in your way. I wanted to watch Santa and a Raptor fight to the death, and I got just that.
The starting screen is also interesting because you can change your location by summoning in different things and unlocking different themed areas. Simply by summoning in a Raptor I got access to some volcanic looking region that offered a fair bit of room to play. If you wish to change locations simply tap the icon in the upper left hand corner and you can view which regions you've opened and which are still locked. All you need to do to give yourself more areas to play is simply mess around, summon in things, and see what happens.
So I finally tapped the start button after a few minutes and got started into the game. I was greeted with a short run down of the how the game play, which the entire game is touch based (minus the fact that you tap the L and R buttons to rotate objects you've summoned in). Tap the screen to make Maxwell run to the point, tap an object to select what you want to do with it, it is all pretty straight forward stuff you've all probably done countless times on your DS before.
The tutorial is short but explains things clearly, the object of the game is simple, get the Starite. How you go about that is entirely up to you. Example: A Starite is up in a tree, you could summon a ladder to climb and grab it, you could start a fire and burn the tree down, you could summon a ball to throw at it to knock it out, you could even summon a beaver or woodpecker to chop the tree down for you. So as you can see, gameplay is very open ended.
The game contains 10 different worlds to play in, each having 11 puzzle levels, and 11 action levels. Puzzle levels having you doing obviously, solving a puzzle to the get the Starite. Whether it is handing out tools to certain people like police men, fire fighters, or doctors, to trying to figure out how to jump further than someone else has on their bike, to finding a way to collect a few items while avoiding certain hazards.
The action levels are simply get the Starite, no puzzle to solve, no rules to obey, anything goes. However each level type has a few other things going on, first off there is a par count, which is the amount of objects it should take you to complete the level. If you are dead on with the par count or use less than the par, then you earn more ollars which can be spent in the ollar store to buy music and different avatars to play as (Ninja, Policeman, all kinds of things). Then you also have the merit that you are rated on, which is basically a way to judge your style. Did you use a new item? Did you not use a weapon? Did you use something really obscure to complete the level? The more creative you are, the more you earn! Plus you earn medals for doing new things.
Now after you complete a certain level, you can then go back and play it again to master it. In order to master a level you play through it three more times, however each time you play through it, you can't use any of the items you summoned in before to get through. This is where the challenge really starts kicking in and you find yourself taking a few moments to scratch your head. In one case I beat a level where I had to summon in 3 farm animals for a farmer, simple enough, let's master this bad boy! So I start up to master it and got to the last time through and I found myself wondering what other farm animals that I could use.
In order to unlock more worlds, you have to buy them, and everytime you buy a world the next world doubles in price, so this really encourages you to play through the levels and try to master them. Mastering a level applies to not only puzzles, but action levels as well.
Outside of the main game you have a level editor which allows you to sit down and edit any level you've already played and beaten. One level I edited was where originally you had to protect your sandwich from ants, however you couldn't harm the ants because a Hippie was there. Where I ended up changing the level to where you can to protect yourself from Lions. The tools are very simple and play out much like a normal level, you simply summon in whatever you want, place them in the stage, and then you can set how you interact with them by tapping them and scrolling through the options. It is quick and easy to use, and I'm sure once the community gets up and running you will be able to find some great levels online.
Besides the Ollar Store there is also your bonus levels, which is levels you've either edited or received from someone else who has edited a level. The only draw back here is that you need to use the friend code system it looks like to share content.
The item summoning is the main reason you are playing this game and that delivers are on every level. I've only found a few items that I couldn't summon in which I'll list since it is rather short: Jesus and Farts. Now don't expect to be able to summon in copyrighted things, actual people, or anything crud like poo or what have you. But the system has so many things that you can summon, and even you if spell the name wrong or it doesn't have exactly what you are looking it will pull up a list of similar items. From UFO's, to jetpacks, to laser beams, sticks, swords, horses, dogs, God, Satan, Santa, T-rex, pills, handcuffs, fire trucks, unicycles, boats, jets, and well you get the idea. It is all here.
Overall this game is amazing, truly one of the best games I've played to date on the little handheld and I think it stands on its own, not only for the DS but even against the major console games coming out this year. I find it very hard to say anything bad about the game, everything works perfectly, the look and feel are great, the gameplay is really fun and highly addicting. This is a great game all around and 5th Cell has done an amazing job here.
Scribblenauts does what it set out to do and more, and if you are a fan of fun, this is definitely the game for you.