Game Reviews

While most folks would likely agree that Scribblenauts' innovative approach of using words to spawn puzzling-solving items was nothing short of fantastic, the execution of last year's Nintendo DS hit sharply divided players. Some critics, like GamePro's own Tae K. Kim, embraced the overall vision of the game and saw past its technical flaws, while others (myself included) were too frazzled by poor controls and other qualms to give it enough time to properly sink in.

Thankfully, Super Scribblenauts lives up to its name with an enhanced second effort that finally delivers the series' charming potential. One might argue that adjectives are the biggest addition here -- the "Super" in Super Scribblenauts, if you will -- but for me and assuredly many others, the most notable change is the ability to control Maxwell in a meaningful way. In the first game, your only option was to tap the screen to move the hero, who would then shamble several steps in that direction, regardless of what hazards lay in his path. Not only was it frustrating to be bound to haphazard stylus controls, but many puzzles also required precise movements, and it was far too easy to unintentionally lead Maxwell into a pit or off a ledge.Thankfully, Super Scribblenauts rectifies this mistake with the ability to control Maxwell with the d-pad or stylus (you can swap between the two at will from the pause menu), plus his movements are now minute, letting you control him as you would a character in a traditional side-scrolling platformer. It's a night-and-day kind of difference, and one that lets you fully focus on conjuring up splendiferous pairings of nouns and adjectives.