Super Scribblenauts is a very unique DS experience, building upon the creative foundation set by last year’s Scribblenauts. In the game, players are asked to come up with any object they can think of to solve the game’s “puzzles,” which are situations in which the game is asking for your help to achieve a specific outcome.
When you first play, a fairly quick introductory level teaches you the basic mechanics of how to move, create and interact with objects with onscreen. Then it’s on to the puzzles, where seemingly the only limit to what you can do is your imagination.
One of the main differences in Super Scribblenauts from its predecessor is an easier control scheme, in which players can choose to move Maxwell (the main character) with either the directional d-pad or by pointing onscreen with they stylus. The other big addition to Super Scribblenauts is the ability to use adjectives to describe objects. This means you can now make specific colored keys, or “giant” objects as well. And honestly, it’s so cool to see a game glorify parts of speech, and to see kids experience what the game calls an “adjective level.”
What’s so great about Super Scribblenauts is the ability to tap into kids’ imaginations. While playing the DS is usually a solitary experience, we’ve had great fun setting the DS on the table, or gathering around it, and asking kids to come up with objects to try and solve the puzzle. Even young toddlers will want to get in on the act, although they’ll obviously need assistance from someone who can help them spell. We think that despite the game’s E10+ rating, that it’s a great game to share and play along with kids and even toddlers.
As an example of types of puzzles in the game, you may come across a man standing by a cliff, and the game asks you to help him make it down safely. Really, there are few boundaries to what you can come up with, and there’s not necessarily any one correct answer. Perhaps a hot air balloon will help. Or maybe you should create a hang glider for him. We also tried bouncy shoes, and even pillows. The fun of Super Scribblenauts ends up being what your imagination can come up with, and then the satisfaction of seeing that the game creators were indeed able to create that object in the game.
There are also times when a puzzle might be a real stumper, and you’d like to be able to skip it. The way Super Scribblenauts is set up, you can skip a level or two and still be able to progress, which is something we definitely appreciate (we got stuck on having to create a Dinosaur extinction event that didn’t involve weapons or asteroids – and, at least to us, a game that asks you to do that sounds very cool, despite the fact it stumped us).
Super Scribblenauts might be the coolest DS game we’ve ever played. It encourages creative thinking and multiple approaches to problem-solving, and can be enjoyed as a shared, cooperative experience. We highly recommend this one for kids with DSes, and even think parents would be okay playing this game with younger kids, despite the game’s E10+ rating.
*FamilyFriendlyVideoGames.com Favorite* - This was one of our favorite family-friendly video games we saw at the E3 video game trade show in Los Angeles in June. Here's what we had to say about it then:
Super Scribblenauts brings back more of the same action of the first, with new improvements like easier controls and now the ability to use certain adjectives (so for example, you not only need a key, you need a GREEN key).
Super Scribblenauts contains 12 new levels, and also a mode that lets you just create and link any items you can imagine.
Due to the creative nature and surprising humor of conjuring up nearly any object you could think of to help solve a problem, the original Scribblenauts was one of the few DS games we recommended as something that family members would enjoy watching others play. We think Super Scribblenauts is shaping up to offer even more of the innovative, fun and creative gameplay that was found in Scribblenauts, and should prove to be one of the DS games this holiday season that can be enjoyed by families who want to play together.
INFORMATION FROM COMPANY FACT SHEET
Super Scribblenauts for Nintendo DS expands the innovative elements from the award-winning first title with inventive new features, including an adjectives system and upgraded controls to create an incredibly fresh and entertaining gameplay experience. Created and developed by 5TH Cell, players use the stylus and touch screen along with their imagination to help Maxwell, the game’s hero, solve robust puzzles and challenges in redesigned levels to acquire the “Starite.”
In Super Scribblenauts, players now have the ability to write any object that comes to mind and modify it in any way they desire, using adjectives to reach the goal in each level. Adjectives can change the color, size, elements, behaviors and many other aspects of the object they are describing. Multiple adjectives can be combined together to produce incredibly creative objects, such as gentlemanly, flaming, flying zombies and purple, obese, winged elephants allowing the player’s imagination to run wild for an even more inspired and individual experience than ever before!
PRODUCT FEATURES:
• Brand New Levels: Experience 120 brand new, in-depth levels that include task such as finding a cure for the plague, populating an office or identifying animals with shells.
• All-New Adjectives System: Create a shy green polar bear or an angry zombie pear! Thousands of adjectives reflect real life behaviors, personalities and characteristics when applied to objects.
• Multi Layered Hints: Just can’t figure that puzzle out? Purchase more explicit hints at a decreasing Ollar cost over time.
• Universal Feedback System: Visualize progress throughout many levels! Relevant objects summoned get a thumbs up, while irrelevant objects get a thumbs down.
• Updated Dictionary: Summon hundreds of all-new, customizable objects to solve puzzles and earn Starites.
• New Control Schemes: Control Maxwell with the D-pad or with updated and more precise new Stylus controls! Weight, buoyancy, friction have all been reworked to make objects interact better to the player’s input and reflect any adjective that is applied to an object.
• New Level Editor: Create both puzzle and action levels and/or build your very own custom playground! The unique new template system allows players to create all kinds of objectives for their levels with ease.
• Innovative UI: An exciting new UI gives players more control over gameplay, with more detail on how to navigate through new levels in the game.