Tech: Scribblenauts

Most video games don't require imagination. Problem-solving? Sure. Logic? Of course. But few games allow the user to tap those deep wells of creativity that lay dormant in the workaday world.

"Scribblenauts," a Nintendo DS game from developer 5th Cell, is one of those few games:



In each stage of the game, you'll have to solve some kind of puzzle, whether it's getting a cat down from a tree or hopping over a huge chasm. As the ad suggests, you can write and summon almost any physical object into the game world to help you.

The dictionary is extensive, covering everything from kitchen utensils to mythical beasts. Solving puzzles can be made as simple or as convoluted as you like...check this clip out:



There are a lot of amusing, emergent interactions that arise from the extensive object-and-characteristic database. I lured a cat out of a tree with a ball of yarn, for instance, and putting a mirror in front of a medusa works how you'd expect. There are some times when you can stump the game (I thought a beekeeper would help me with an angry bee, but instead he was attacked and stung to death), but, on the whole, it's astounding how complete the game's simulation is.

Most reviews dock "Scribblenauts" for its unwieldy controls - moving your character around can be a hassle, especially when you consider that the same stylus is also used to drag and drop objects around the playfield. The production values are pretty basic, too - limited sound effects and animation accompany each object. But those complaints seem like nitpicking when you consider that this game lets you fly a pterodactyl while dangling a hobo over a shark-filled pool.

Rating: 85/100 (most complete hobo-endangering simulation out there)