Scribblenauts Review: A Guide to the Nintendo DSi / Nintendo DS Game

Scribblenauts is one of the most original games to come along in a long time. The reason it's so original is because it challenges your imagination and creativity. There are hundreds of puzzles, and you have to figure out which items you need to solve each puzzle. The catch is each puzzle has more than one solution.

The object of the game is to complete each puzzle and collect a "starite." You accomplish this by writing or typing nouns into the game. You can summon objects, people, and creatures to help achieve your goal. For example, you could grab a starite from a tree branch by typing "ladder." The ladder would appear and you could climb it to reach the starite. Just about any noun you type appears in the game (as long as it's not obscene or a copyrighted term). Scribblenauts is the first game that gives players this kind of control over items appearing in the game.

The Scribblenauts dictionary is virtually unlimited with more than 20,000 words. You could spend hours typing in words just to see if they appear. I typed "zombie", and was surprised to see it appear and turn everyone into a zombie. There are also two modes of gameplay. Puzzle mode is when you must solve a puzzle to make the starite appear. Challenge mode requires you to solve a puzzle three times in a row, but without using any object more than once.

Scribblenauts is fun for all ages because anyone who can spell can play. My 5-year old niece can't even spell yet, but she tells me what to write so she can see it in the game. This is a unique game that gives you hours of playing time. Plus, the replay value is very high.