The Scribblenauts series has been on my radar ever since Super Scribblenauts came out in 2010. Yet somehow I just never got around to picking up one of the games. Eventually my girlfriend downloaded a version of it on her phone and in the time spent watching her play over her shoulder I found the game fairly endearing (I'm a sucker for cutesy stuff). A couple weeks later I found out Scribblenauts Unmasked was coming out so I held off a bit longer to give it a shot. I ended up picking up a copy for the 3DS a couple days after it was released.
For those not familiar with the Scribblenauts series it centers around the adventures of Maxwell who can summon anything he can write down in his little notebook. Maxwell's sister Lilly, who can travel anywhere she points out on her globe, is also along for the ride in this game. The main goal of the game is to recover the Starite fragments which were released from Lilly's globe when her and Maxwell crash landed in Gotham. The Starite are powerful magic items which villains are after as well.
Firstly, the amount of DC related characters included is impressive. It's just the popular characters everyone knows, I mean jeez you can summon the Ghost Patrol. In many instances your also given several iterations of a character to choose from. Typing in Superman gives you the options of: Red Son Superman, Kingdom Come Superman, Superman Beyond and quite a few others. I've only typed in one character to find they weren't included (Wesley Dodds, but oh well they give you Sandy Hawkins). However, a lot of the DC characters within the game are only visually distinguishable from each other, and tend to act the same without much depth. There is also quite a few DC related items and vehicles you can summon to.
Levels are divided into three categories for the most part. Locations mainly associated with Batman, Superman, and then the Justice League. Gotham, Metropolis, and Oa are accessible within the first hour or so of game-play while other locations can be unlocked with enough reputation which is earned after preforming good deeds(solving puzzles) for random(ly generated) citizens or heroes in each location. Helping James Gordon fix his patrol car and citizen get around toxic waste in Gotham may net you enough reputation to unlock Arkham Asylum. While find thing right ingredients for a witch or helping Green Lantern Salaak score a goal in soccer can lead to unlocking Atlantis or Themyscira. While no level can truly be "beaten", due to randomly generated puzzles upon entering said level, each level does have a sort of boss battle which evolves you(Maxwell) teaming up with a hero to stop a villain and Doppelganger(who posses powers similar to Maxwell).
Game-play wise Scribblenauts Unmasked is relatively simple with fairly basic controls and level layouts. In the time I've played it I've never scratched my head and had to figure out what I was supposed to do next. While simple I still found it fun and relaxing. It's the perfect game to kill some time and unwind with, which compared to the majority of games I'm used to playing is a nice change of pace.
Visually, for most people, this game probably isn't much to look at. However I really enjoy seeing DC characters depicted in the simplified 2D cartoon style that somewhat defines Scribblenaut's look.
Audio-wise the game is nothing to write home about. Fairly generic background music and very little speaking leads to me playing with the sound off a majority of the time.
I do have two gripes/complaints however. Occasionally, there will be so much going on in a level that the game will lag, stutter and slow down to the point where the only feasible option is exiting the level and coming back hoping there's not so much activity. Also, the hero editor/creator is not included within the 3DS version of the game. I understand it's my fault for not knowing this before purchasing it but since I was expecting it I was a little disappointed once I found out.
Overall Scribblenauts Unmasked is just a fun little game. I don't foresee myself logging a million hours in it(like Skyrim) or becoming obsessed with it in general(like Castlevania) but it's very rewarding to play. If you have vision and thumbs I would recommend it. If you have vision, thumbs, and like DC comics I would highly recommend it.
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