Even more E3 impressions!

Click any of the quotes to go to their respective sources and read up on the full article. Unlike last time around, I'm trying to mix it up with both positive and negative responses. You know, fair and balanced! Just like Fox News.

Beyond that, there were a lot of changes that were demonstrated quite quickly. You can go back through the last twelve things you typed and bring them back up, without having to re-type. You can go to a quick list of all of the various adjectives you have input into the game. Maxwell can be controlled via d-pad and buttons at any time via a quick trip to the start menu. The level editor has been expanded, and allows you to make more complex challenges using a variety of templates built into the game. In essence, 5th Cell did that thing you always want video game companies to do - they listened, and they learned, and they responded. Super Scribblenauts might just be the game we wanted Scribblenauts to be - a classic.

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Yes, adjectives are what put the 'Super' (literally!) into 'Scribblenauts' this time around, and it's pretty darn adorable. We made a big fat cat. We put William Shakespeare on said cat, and donned a pair of striped pants for the occasion. Though we haven't gotten deep enough into the game to claim that the descriptors do anything to increase game play, it certainly made things funny.

So 'Super Scribblenauts' is just that: 'Scribblenauts,' but bigger, funnier and more linguistic. We would have loved to see an analog input, allowing the player to write instead of hunting and pecking those tiny letters, but no dice. The game still has all the pitfalls of its predecessor, but it also maintains its addictive adorableness too. So we guess 5th Cell used the old trick -- find something that works, stick with it, and if it ever gets old, give it a pair of striped pants and a giant cat to make it fresh again.

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The game also boasts a set of adjectives; we're no longer limited to “chair” - we can have a metal chair, a wooden chair. If that's all a bit vanilla, then use it only as a guide. As with the first game, the only limit is your imagination. Although, it seems that could be pretty limiting. The first level in my hands on required me to bribe a number of people in different professions to get them out of a line so I could cutsies to the front and get a new game console (quite well suited to E3, actually). I gave the delivery man mail, but got stuck on the body builder. I went for baby oil and it wasn't recognised by the game. Spinach didn't work, so there was no Popeye connection (I ended up accidentally giving it to the artist, and it worked for her, so she must have been some kind of tree hugger). In the end, I went for weights, just to be done with it – the most obvious choice.

E3 Impressions: Does Super Scribblenauts make a good impression?

SS unfortunately doesn't have the advantage that the first game had last year. That is, of course, the element of surprise. Scribblenauts charmed everyone at E3 with its unique concept and rather strong demo-build. As such, can SS make a big splash?

Here are some E3 impressions from various sources.

EVERYTHING THAT WAS BROKEN IN THE ORIGINAL SCRIBBLENAUTS HAS BEEN FIXED IN SUPER SCRIBBLENAUTS!

...

I typed in "ANGRY BLUE WINGED PREGNANT DRAGON" and that is what I got. How did I know it was pregnant and angry? It gave birth to a baby dragon right there on-screen and then tried to attack me. Um, yeah. I'm not kidding. That really happened.

-Destructoid

The developers were adamant that Super Scribblenauts will require you to take better advantage of their massive library (which you should be doing anyway).

If a fat, rainbow, gentlemanly Cthulu isn't your cup of tea, perhaps some other adjectives will suit your fancy. Emotional adjectives (like "happy") can be applied to inanimate objects to give them a personality, so that bookcase is no longer a stationary piece of furniture. When we conjured an angry armed refrigerator, it immediately began hopping after us, brandishing a sword. To protect Maxwell (and to settle an age-old kitchen appliance rivalry), we summoned an angry armed dishwasher. The two engaged in a grisly fight to the death, with the refrigerator claiming victory

-Gamespot

Super Scribblenauts is clearly no more than an expansion pack to the first game, with some better controls. Given the fact that the allure of the title has worn off, I suspect that Super Scribblenauts will likely fair worse with me than the original.

-Pixlbit

Alright, well, opinions are going both ways it seems. Interestingly, sites seem to simutaneously be saying "if you hated Scribblenauts, you'll love Super Scribblenauts" AND "If you hated Scribblenauts, you'll hate Super Scribblenauts". You'll find, however, that a much smaller number of people are hating on the sequel.

I'm sure we'll be getting more impressions and various other cool stuff in the coming days, so hang tight, I'll keep ya updated.

God vs. Kraken 2: The Vengeance

Alright, so perhaps God and the Kraken get a lot less screen time. But tell me how you feel about God giving birth to baby God, or sticky Einstein giving birth to sticky baby Einstein?

I also couldn't stop laughing at the radioactive pacifistic warrior, who slowly died of radiation poisoning as he stoically refused to fight.

Have some Scribblenauts videos, why don't ya?

Courtesy of GameTrailers, we have our hands on 2 new videos

http://www.gametrailers.com/video/e3-2010-super-scribblenauts/101461

What an excellent video to show off. We can see 3 major changes to how levels are presented

1. The hint system is incredibly expanded, offering more info, becoming more visible by chilling out at the top screen, and generally acting like a tutorial in addition to helping you with a level
2. You'll notice a progress bar at the top which tracks level objectives. In this particularly level, Maxwell had to do 3 different things. His progress in their completion is kept track of, making levels make a lot more sense
3. There seems to be a notification system in place, allowing "real time" notifications like completed objectives and earned merits to pop on the screen. The merits - assuming that's what they are - actually follow the item you created. Neat stuff.

http://www.gametrailers.com/video/e3-2010-super-scribblenauts/101462

In this strange video, we see a rather simple level where Maxwell has to find the cross between a house and an animal. Right. Well, he chose Furry House, which worked. All around strange level, especially when compared to the excellent showing of the previous one. More than likely, this is simply an early tutorial level

Comments re-enabled

I forgot I turned them off when I shut the blog down - I think it was to prevent the spread of the ROM, which at the time had just hit the internet. Ah well, thems the breaks, it seems.

We're back at full speed now. Feel free to leave a comment if you can see this post.

Super Scribblenautics?

Scribblenauts is back, and so am I.

I kinda dropped off the face of the earth after Scribblenauts released. I loved it - a lot - but it also left a lot to be desired. The concept was fantastic, but the execution? Not so much.

I'm not alone in my thoughts, and in fact many mainstream reviewers (and equally mainstream gamers) felt the same way. Poor controls, wonky physics, even wonkier levels and a strange sense of inconsistency seemed to permeate from the game. A lot of it was the hype train we had all built and fueled coming to a close, but that didn't stop us from being disappointed.

Enter, Super Scribblenauts



We know very little about this game, save for its one major feature: adjectives. These little modifiers are meant to change the way we use objects. Remember that bridge which was always too damn small? Perhaps "Long Bridge" or "Large Bridge" would be the better choice. The adjectives don't stop there, of course, and we're bound to see an insane amount of really messed up objects. You can also mix and match adjectives, meaning you could have a robotic zombie cow. Or a purple flying toaster.

Yeah, as if the "random" appeal of the first game wasn't high enough.

Ask any core gamer, though, and they'll tell you that all the random humor from the first game wasn't enough to make it entertaining. Thankfully, the sequel is bringing with it improved physics, d-pad controls, better levels (less "Action" levels), an entirely redesigned level editor, and more.

Well, we shall see. This is E3, after all. Will we see a Feep Post 2.0? Will the demos impress? Is this sequel going to live up to its name? Stay tuned.

[N]Gamer's Scribblenauts Review

(Nope. Sorry folks. Joshua didn't already change his mind about putting the blog on hold. This is @Scribblenaut speaking.)

A few days back you could read about the first two review scores Scribblenauts had received. There have probably been a few more magazines to review Scribblenauts since then. But if you're not subscribed to any of those magazines, you've most likely not actually read a single Scribblenauts review yet.

I do have one gaming magazine subscription, and that is to [N]Gamer. They recently reviewed the game as well, and I sent them an e-mail asking if I could post an English translation on the internet. I'm not sure why I bothered asking, to be honest. What I was requesting was basically borderline plagiarism. There must have been planetary alignment at the time, though, because they actually gave me permission! I can't thank them enough for that.

Keep in mind, though, that this is a translation of a Dutch review. Obviously not all word play will translate well, but I did my best to prevent the text from seeming plain.
Also, [N]Gamer never wrote a preview to Scribblenauts before this review. So a lot of the review will sound familiar to the hardcore Scribblenauts fans.

But enough delay. Here's [N]Gamer's review of Scribblenauts:


Scribblenauts

No thought too extraordinary
Time certainly flies. While adventurers could only carry up to twenty items back in the day, the lad from Scribblenauts can materialise half a dictionary from his notepad. It's enough to make your jaw drop in amazement.

If there is one thing the creators of Scribblenauts deserve a standing ovation for, it's that they dared to carry out this daring, almost ludicrous concept. Because even though the game might look simplistic, recreating all objects in the dictionary must have cost them a lot of time an effort. Just imagine: Not only does every object need to have a matching appearance, but is must also display the appropriate behavior. No, the gentlemen at 5TH Cell definitely didn't make it easy on themselves.


Cartoony symbols show what people and animals are thinking. That baby is toast!

Digital bag of tricks
Scribblenauts contains 220 puzzles (not counting the tutorial levels). Maxwell, a little chap with a rooster-hat, fulfills the role of main character in these. By completing missions, you earn Starites and unlock more levels. Simple as that. You solve the levels by creating the appropriate objects. Simply type in (or write down) the object you want and it will appear on screen. If you want to reach a higher platform, for example, you can place a ladder next to it, or have Maxwell fly up to it with a jetpack. If you encounter an enemy, you could give Maxwell a shotgun to shoot it with, or you sneak past him with an invisibility cloak. And if you see a cat in a tree, you can summon a fireman to rescue it... or simply lure it with a bowl of milk. But of course there are a few limitation. You can only write down nouns: Adjectives, verbs and proper nouns will not be recognised (though the latter has a few exceptions, such as 'George Washington'). You also can't use vulgar words, or copyrighted objects and characters. Even with these restrictions the list of available objects is massive, and even available in our native language (Scribblenauts has a Dutch language setting: Every word has been translated)!


God can be a big help, though he's not always in the mood.

Platypus
Of course we've tried to 'stump' the game here at [N]Gamer. In other words, we tried to think of words that the creators might have forgotten to add. But that was easier said than done. Platypus? It's in. Sumo wrestler? Present. Oil platform? No problem! Of course these objects aren't very useful when it comes to puzzle-solving, but that's what's so great about it: Scribblenauts gives you the freedom to figure that out for yourself. Of course this does mean that every puzzle can be solved in hundreds of ways. Imagine there's a whale on the beach, and the game asks you to return the creature to the sea. You could tie it to a vehicle and drive into the water. But you could also grab a shovel, and get the water to flow to the whale. Or you hop on the beast and stick a pair of wings to Maxwell's back to fly it back into the ocean. A plethora of options, but you do get rewarded from putting some thought into your solutions. Creative solutions are rewarded with badges and 'ollars' - coins required to unlock new worlds. And if you beat the level three additional times, you are awarded a gold (instead of silver) Starite. So creative players are rewarded, while the indolent player is encouraged to try more original solutions. This is as good as it gets, folks!


If this vehicle doesn't earn us some extra 'ollars', we give up.

Star on the roof
The worlds in Scribblenauts (a total of ten) are divided into eleven action- and eleven puzzle levels. The action levels have one simple goal: 'get the Starite'. This is usually easier said than done. We once stumbled upon Maxwell inside a building filled with explosives, while the Starite was located on the roof. We've lost count of how many times Maxwell exploded, but we can tell you it was more than in all the previous levels combined. The puzzle levels, on the other hand, place you into different scenarios that require more thought. The task you receive is different in each of these levels. In one level you'll be trying to swipe a dino egg for a starving caveman, in another you focus your efforts on getting a cute girl into a swimming pool. Sometimes the solutions are obvious, but as we said: Creative solutions are more rewarding... and more fun. Sure, you can build a bridge to cross a ravine. But of course it's much more fun to jump over it with a motorcycle... on the back of a panda... wearing a top hat! Admittedly, it can be a little tough to combine items. Especially when you're trying to work with chains and ropes things can go awry. Either items refuse to connect, or you accidentally instruct Maxwell to move elsewhere. This can be a tad annoying (especially when Maxwell is in danger), but with a little bit of patience you should be able to manage. Levels do not have a time limit, so you'll rarely need to rush.


In this level you must stop the ninja from massacring the royal family.

Admiration
Once you've plowed through all of the action- and puzzle levels, there's still the option to create your own levels, which you can share with the rest of the world (via Wi-Fi). The level editor contains all 220 level designs, and 38 tunes from the game, and you're given the ability to set the relationship between objects, to add a hint and alter the difficulty setting of the level. We expected no less from the men at 5TH Cell. Perhaps the game is a little less impressive from a graphical aspect, but what it does is so unique and created with such dedication, that we can't look at the game with anything but total admiration. You can literally have weeks - no, months - of fun simply thinking of new objects to try. Original DS games that are fun to play to boot... they do exist!

Graphics: 7/10
Sound: 8/10
Gameplay: 9/10
Lasting appeal: 10/10

The Good: No DS game has ever captured our imagination like Scribblenauts has. With tens of thousands of words, 220 puzzles and a level editor you'll be playing for a long time.

The Bad: If you're not of the creative kind, it might be best to avoid Scribblenauts. A bit of patience is also required: the game doesn't always do what you want it to.

Score: 9/10

-Niels de Rijk

To put that 9 into perspective: [N]Gamer has only once given a third party game a higher score than that. And that game was Resident Evil 4.
Evidence of that the game might be as great as we all hoped it would be is piling up, wouldn't you say?