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Super Scribblenauts (DS)

Rating: NNN


When the original Scribblenauts first blazed onto the screens of DS owners a year ago, gamers discovered an experience so simple in concept yet incredibly deep in gameplay that it was an instant must-have. Fast-forward to 2010 and Super Scribblenauts is aiming to up the ante.

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For those who missed the first edition: there are puzzles to solve, but objects you can use to help solve them appear when you type their names into the game. For example, need to climb over a ledge? Type “ladder.” A tree in your way? Type “axe.” Super Scribblenauts introduces adjectives, so now you can make short or tall ladders, fat, hairy dogs or tiny, hairless cats.

Puzzle-solving is the heart of the game. Problem is, many of the puzzles in Super Scribblenauts are way too easy. Even coming up with multiple ways to solve them in advanced mode isn’t in many cases a stretch. And not every puzzle requires the use of creative adjectives. Often you can get by with your standard-variety snake rather than a massive orange one. And the giant chainsaw just looks cool – it’s not actually more functional.

The most fun is in the free play mode, where the only objective is whatever you set for yourself. Pit fantastical creatures against each other or take control of the situation with a giant bazooka. Simply exploring all the possible noun and adjective combinations you can think of is an interesting challenge, not to mention watching what happens when creatures and items are paired up on screen.

Scribblenauts remains one of the most innovative puzzle games ever made, but thoughtless puzzle design and inconsistent use of adjectives, the game’s only new feature, make Super Scribblenauts less tantalizing than it could have been.

$34.99 at HMV

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