''Super Scribblenauts'' is an
emergent
Emergent may refer to:
* ''Emergent'' (album), a 2003 album by Gordian Knot
* Emergent (software), Neural Simulation Software
* Emergent BioSolutions, a multinational biopharmaceutical company headquartered in Gaithersburg, Maryland, USA
* Emerg ...
action
Action may refer to:
* Action (narrative), a literary mode
* Action fiction, a type of genre fiction
* Action game, a genre of video game
Film
* Action film, a genre of film
* ''Action'' (1921 film), a film by John Ford
* ''Action'' (1980 fil ...
puzzle game
A puzzle is a game, problem, or toy that tests a person's ingenuity or knowledge. In a puzzle, the solver is expected to put pieces together ( or take them apart) in a logical way, in order to arrive at the correct or fun solution of the puzzle ...
developed by
5th Cell
5th Cell is an independently owned video game developer founded in 2003 as 5th Cell Media, LLC. led by Jeremiah Slaczka and Marius Falhbusch. The company is most well known for creating the ''Drawn to Life (video game series), Drawn to Life'' and ...
and published by
Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment for the
Nintendo DS handheld game console
A handheld game console, or simply handheld console, is a small, portable self-contained video game console with a built-in screen, game controls and speakers. Handheld game consoles are smaller than home video game consoles and contain the cons ...
. The game was released on October 12, 2010. It is the sequel to the Nintendo DS game ''
Scribblenauts''.
The object of the game is to solve puzzles by writing or typing any object which exists in the game's vocabulary, in order to interact with other parts of the level. The vocabulary includes numerous
adjective
In linguistics, an adjective ( abbreviated ) is a word that generally modifies a noun or noun phrase or describes its referent. Its semantic role is to change information given by the noun.
Traditionally, adjectives were considered one of the ...
s that can give the object special properties that may be needed to solve a puzzle.
Gameplay
''Super Scribblenauts'' is a side-scrolling action-oriented
puzzle game
A puzzle is a game, problem, or toy that tests a person's ingenuity or knowledge. In a puzzle, the solver is expected to put pieces together ( or take them apart) in a logical way, in order to arrive at the correct or fun solution of the puzzle ...
that requires players to collect objects called "Starites" by inputting words, such as "
ladder
A ladder is a vertical or inclined set of rungs or steps used for climbing or descending. There are two types: rigid ladders that are self-supporting or that may be leaned against a vertical surface such as a wall, and rollable ladders, such ...
" or "
fire
Fire is the rapid oxidation of a material (the fuel) in the exothermic chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction Product (chemistry), products.
At a certain point in the combustion reaction, called the ignition ...
", in order to collect these objects. One of ''Super Scribblenauts'' features is the ability to add characteristics to objects, such as a "
green
Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 Nanometre, nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by ...
refrigerator" or "
anthropomorphic
Anthropomorphism is the attribution of human traits, emotions, or intentions to non-human entities. It is considered to be an innate tendency of human psychology.
Personification is the related attribution of human form and characteristics t ...
antimatter
In modern physics, antimatter is defined as matter composed of the antiparticles (or "partners") of the corresponding particles in "ordinary" matter. Antimatter occurs in natural processes like cosmic ray collisions and some types of radio ...
". More than one adjective can be tied to a single object, making it possible to summon objects such as "big flying purple pregnant
octopus
An octopus ( : octopuses or octopodes, see below for variants) is a soft-bodied, eight- limbed mollusc of the order Octopoda (, ). The order consists of some 300 species and is grouped within the class Cephalopoda with squids, cuttlefis ...
".
Players control the main character, Maxwell, using either the
touch screen
A touchscreen or touch screen is the assembly of both an input ('touch panel') and output ('display') device. The touch panel is normally layered on the top of an electronic visual display of an information processing system. The display is ofte ...
,
D-Pad
A D-pad (short for directional pad or digital pad; officially referred to by Nintendo as a +Control Pad) is a flat, usually thumb-operated, often digital, four-way directional control with one button on each point, found on nearly all modern vi ...
, or face buttons. Maxwell is a boy who has a "magical" notebook that makes written words come to life. Creating new objects with that notebook is the key to the game.
The game includes a hint system as well as an improved level editor. The level editor allows the player to create various types of levels such as playgrounds (objectiveless levels that allows players to goof off, test combinations, or create words for Ollars) or adventure missions, and allows the player to pre-spawn objects via notebook icon.
Plot
Maxwell, the game's protagonist, is tasked with using his magical NotePad to collect Starites. At the end of the game, Maxwell comes face to face with his evil Doppelganger who steals the last Starite from him. Maxwell chases him to the moon, where Doppelganger crashes his UFO, seemingly defeated. The game breaks the fourth wall by telling the player that since the final Starite was destroyed in the crash, to simply spawn a new one using the NotePad to beat the game's final level.
Reception
''Super Scribblenauts'' has received generally favorable reviews. It currently holds a score of 81/100 on
Metacritic
Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...
.
It holds an 8/10 on ''
Eurogamer
''Eurogamer'' is a British video game journalism website launched in 1999 and owned by alongside formed company Gamer Network. Its editor-in-chief is Martin Robinson.
Since 2008, it is known for the formerly eponymous games trade fair EGX ...
'' and a 9.0/10 on ''
IGN
''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa dist ...
''. ''IGN'' Daemon Hatfield stated that "Super Scribblenauts is as fun and imaginative as you are". He also praised the game's refined control scheme and incorporation of adjectives, but criticized its low level of difficulty. The British magazine ''
ONM
''Official Nintendo Magazine'', or ''ONM'', was a British video game magazine that ran from 2006 to 2014 that covered the Nintendo DS, Nintendo 3DS, Wii, and Wii U video game consoles released by Nintendo.
Originally published by EMAP as ...
'' gave it an 86%, saying that "it's a step above the original, nearly everything's improved here and the addition to adjectives is heartwarming. A good step in the right direction for ''Scribblenauts''".
''
GameSpot
''GameSpot'' is an American video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information on video games. The site was launched on May 1, 1996, created by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. In addition ...
'', however, was not nearly as ecstatic about the game, giving it a 6.5/10 and criticizing its restrictions on user creativity and lack of "real-world logic".
Development
5th Cell
5th Cell is an independently owned video game developer founded in 2003 as 5th Cell Media, LLC. led by Jeremiah Slaczka and Marius Falhbusch. The company is most well known for creating the ''Drawn to Life (video game series), Drawn to Life'' and ...
revealed they improved the physics and fixed the controls, as many have complained about the
predecessor's imprecise touchscreen movement system.
References
{{5TH Cell
2010 video games
5th Cell games
Action-adventure games
Nintendo DS games
Nintendo DS-only games
Puzzle video games
Scribblenauts
Video games developed in the United States
Video game sequels
Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment games