dbarry_22's Game Review of Scribblenauts Unlimited

Definitely Not "Unlimited"
dbarry_22 - wrote on 08/02/13

While the title of the game appears to indicate creativity and "unlimited" possibilities, Scribblenauts Unlimited is actually a simple puzzle game that fails to incorporate all of the features it boasts.

Maxwell, the main character in Scribblenauts finds himself in a predicament early in the game. He has a magical book that can create anything his imagination desires simply by writing it down. After encountering a hungry gentlemen on the road, he decides to play a prank by giving him a rotten apple. The gentlemen then proceeds to put a curse on Maxwell's sister, Lily. Maxwell is then forced to do good deeds across the land in order to save her. Everytime he helps someone, he receives either a Starlite or a Starlite shard.

By using this storyline, Scribblenauts does provide an open world concept. There are thresholds of Starlites you must obtain to open up more areas, but for the most part you can wonder from place to place helping whoever you want. If you get stuck on a particular puzzle, it won't stop you from beating the game.

This game incorporates the use of the WiiU Gamepad Controller quite well. You move around using the joystick and can type in your book with the stylus. And, by equipping yourself with a pair of wings, you aren't limited as to where you can go. After creating an object, you can drag it using the stylus to Maxwell or whoever else needs it.

However, when it comes to multi-player and using Wiimotes, it's a different story. While this game proclaims to have 4 player support, there's a major addendum you should know about. Whoever is using a Wiimote has no ability to create objects and has a difficult time interacting in the environment. Picking up objects, giving objects to others, and using objects are examples of complicated things to do with a Wiimote. It's far easier and quicker to have 1st player with the Gamepad to do everything, so there's no real point in having extra people with you.

Also, the game does provide you with an object editor allowing you to create and combine different things into pretty much whatever you want. But, there's no real point to it unless you want to share your imaginative creations online. These made up creations won't help you beat the game faster or even enhance the outcomes of the puzzles you solve. That brings me to another problem I have with this game, there's no incentive to be creative. Why try and be creative when building a robot when the ultimate result will look the same no matter what? I just don't get it.

There are fun moments in the game. For example, I used chloroform to disable a guard and an EMP to disable a security camera in order to steal a diamond. That was entertaining. There are many noticeable references to TV shows and other video games which provides a chuckle, too. Some of the puzzles are fun to solve and provide many possibilities, other times you just have to create a mechanic to fix something. It's definitely hit and miss.

The visuals are simple and colorful and look good on the WiiU. It was nice to finally see some HD coming from a Nintendo console.

There are a ton of levels and a bunch of puzzles in each level so there's many hours of gameplay. There's even a long list of side puzzles to do. I didn't do all of those because I didn't think it would be fun roaming from once place to another trying to find what puzzle would work where.

In general, I think this game is geared much more for a 10 to 12 year old than anyone else. It can be used as a learning tool and there are times it can be fun. But, to me, many of the puzzles were too simple and it lacked the creativity it boasted. While it's not a terrible game by any means, it's not a really good one, either.

2.5/5