Scribblenauts

Rating: E10+

Score: 9.0/10

In our world, we have a billion possible solutions to each and every problem we encounter. We usually only think of the most obvious, but those other options still lay there if they need to be used. Maybe we don’t have the material to implement certain solutions, but we usually find at least one solution that works. With Scribblenaut, you solve those small problems in, quite literally, anyway you can imagine. This game is exclusive to the Nintendo DS.

As already mentioned, you solve normal everyday puzzles with any object you can think of using. You could use the normal, boring, obvious solution, but those solutions get you less “Ollars”, the game’s currency. It’s the more creative and spontaneous solutions that gets you the huge Ollars. Use any object you want; the possibilities are endless!

That’s no exaggeration; you REALLY have thousands of objects to use in this world! Before its release, a hacker apparently sneaked into the developer’s database and posted a list of 22,802 words that could be used, in which lead designer Jeremiah Slaczka responded: "That was leaked by a hacker who does not know anything. It's more than that”. This means pretty much any word you can think of that isn’t copyrighted or obscene is a potential way to solve a puzzle.

Don’t believe me? Here’s an example: You need to rescue a little kitty from the top of a house. Instead of the boring “use a ladder” solution, try attaching an anvil to the cat to drag the cat down forcefully, or set the house on fire with a flamethrower, scare the cat out by summoning Cthulhu, or attach the cat to a rope dangling from a helicopter piloted by you - it’s truly limitless.

There’s no story, so to speak. It’s simply a bunch of reality-based puzzles that must be solved. The game does have two main modes, Action and Puzzle. In Action, you get from point A to point B to get a Starite (a star you collect in each level to complete that level). In Puzzle, you solve a single puzzle to get the Starite.

There’s also a level editor with which you, what else, create levels. These levels can be transferred over Nintendo WiFi Connection around the world!

There’s really nothing more to the game though; it’s just solving puzzles, getting Starites, and making levels. It will definitely force you to consult a dictionary every now and again, unless you already know every word in existence already, fortunately for you.

It’s not a complex game, but it’s one that makes you think. Thoughts like “What possible object would get the job done most effectively and comically?” It’s not too often you play a game that makes you think gingerly and intensely on one single puzzle because you want to test the system. Scribblenauts is a game of true freedom and interesting antics, one that everyone should experience in action.