Scribblenauts Unmasked finds players once again in control of the main protagonist from the series named Maxwell. After Maxwell and his sister Lily accidentally break their world traveling device, they find themselves stranded in the DC Comics universe, and they must team with many different members of the Justice League and other heroes to take down the bad guys and recover the missing starite pieces that powers the duo's important machine. Unfortunately, the villains have also found a new ally in Doppelganger from previous releases in the Scribblenauts series, and he's got his own magic notebook and reason for wanting to gather the Starite pieces. The story is a pretty decent one in a series that isn't known for its amazing storylines, and its pretty adorable to watch the Scribblenauts versions of Batman and Joker go at it, even if the cutscenes in the game will sometimes go on for too long.
Scribblenauts Unmasked features 12 different levels spread across various cities in the DC Comics universe including Metropolis, Gotham City and Atlantis. Each location will feature the various heroes and villains associated with the area, and Doppelganger always shows up to cause Maxwell problems, and the player must quickly counterattack whatever the sneering punk throws at him. Lily takes up home in the Bat Cave and assists Maxwell throughout the game by offering hints and letting him know when it's time to move to a new area. Though there are only about a fourth of the amount of locations in Scribblenauts Unmasked as compared to Scribblenauts Unlimited, there are plenty of missions to complete that will require the player to visit a location more than once to see them all, and the final time spent with the game should clock in over 10 hours for most players.
Though players will likely be more interested in playing Scribblenauts Unmasked if they're a fan of DC Comics, it's definitely not required for players to enjoy their time in the game. Missions are still solved the same way as in most other Scribblenauts game. Players write words into their book and the item will appear with a quick poof, and items or people in the environment can be modified with adjectives such as friendly, small or pink. Some puzzles will require defeating an enemy or overpowering them with a decisive advantage, and some items in the game have been modified such as guns now having limited ammunition before they are no longer useful. Of course, there are plenty of DC Comics themed items included in the game beyond what characters are included, and it's not uncommon for Maxwell to solve a puzzle using a Batarang, Superman's cape, Kryptonite or some other comic related item.
Scribblenauts Unmasked is one of the most violent games the series has seen, and while using a turkey-firing cannon to solve a puzzle might not land the game in trouble with the ESRB, so much fighting with other characters can cause a lot of problems for the player. It's pretty common to have mission progress completely ruined by accidentally attacking the wrong person or having something you summoned do the same thing. Enemies will seemingly come out of nowhere to attack the player just for getting too close, and the only way to attempt the same mission again is to completely reset the stage or leave and return later. This happens far too frequently and interrupts the player's progress too much to not be a massive hindrance against the game. It's also not completely rare to find scripting errors that prevent progress after missions aren't finished in a certain order, or the game may lock up altogether. The numerous bugs in the game should've been worked out before its release, and it's hard to look past them when you'll be continuously frustrated from having to restart the game through no fault of your own.
Scribblenauts Unmasked does do some things right however, and there are some new features incorporated into the release that somewhat help alleviate its blunders. The most interesting new feature asks players to come up with new words to solve each puzzle. Use the same word multiple times and you will be penalized, but using new words each time unlocks additional reputation points in the game. The feature encourages players to be creative in their puzzle solving or to at least pull out a thesaurus and maybe learn a few things while playing a video game. Who knew?
Reputations points are used later in the game to unlock new stages and additional superhero costumes for Maxwell. There are also DC Comics unlocks that gives some history lessons on the characters that make up the DC Universe. While parents aren't likely to prefer their kids to be learning about superheroes over picking up an old fashioned history book, at least the game gets them reading, and that's always important. As for older gamers, the game's unlocks offers a chance to geek out and learn more about DC Comics history, its characters and how the company became so popular over the years.
Scribblenauts Unmasked offers additional challenges for the player as well. It's important to complete missions in a respectable fashion for a true superhero, meaning don't kill or destroy the world too much in order to solve puzzles. This can unlock additional reputation points for the player, and Maxwell will sometimes encounter the maniacal Mxyzptlk, who will offer double the reputation points for solving his much more difficult versions of puzzles. While the reward for completing these challenges are great, Mxyzptlk has a tendency to make what can already be difficult puzzles into unsolvable stumpers, then players will once again be forced to reset the level or come back later to progress through the game and earn another starite piece.
Scribblenauts Unmasked looks about the same across all three platforms, Nintendo Wii U, Nintendo 3DS and PC, and the game's aesthetic hasn't changed much since Scribblenauts Unlimited in all honesty. The stages in the game all carry different themes based around the heroes that inhabit them, and most are larger and vertically built, so players will need some fancy superhero gadgets or powers in order to get around without too much trouble. The game also includes a new soundtrack with more epic themes to accompany the various comic worlds. Each version of the game is nearly identical, though the Nintendo Wii U version costs $20 more. It should go without saying that the versions offer different incentives to play on particular platforms such as PC making it easier to type out words on keyboard, while it would be easier to play the game on Nintendo 3DS while laying down and so forth.
Scribblenauts Unmasked is a good game that makes only a few innovations over the previous release in the series, and the overall good experience players could have had with the game is ruined by bugs and a few poor design choices. Adding DC Comics characters and worlds to an already entertaining game series should've easily made Scribblenauts Unmasked a must buy for most any gamer, but as it stands, it can only be recommended for the biggest DC Comics or Scribblenauts fans. With new consoles and plenty of great new releases available now, it's difficult to see many gamers picking up Scribblenauts Unmasked, even at a discounted price on PC, over these other titles. For players that can look past a lot of bugs in their games, definitely check this one out, everyone else can look for other highly quality games to spend some time with.
Scribblenauts Unmasked: A DC Comics Adventure is now available from all major retailers and can be purchased for $59.99 on Nintendo Wii U and $39.99 on Nintendo 3DS and PC. Scribblenauts Unmasked: A DC Comics Adventure is rated E by the ESRB for Cartoon Violence & Comic Mischief. For more information on the game, check out the official Scribblenauts Unmasked: A DC Comics Adventure website.
Game Features:
Game Information:
Developer & Publisher: 5th Cell
Platforms: Nintendo Wii U, Nintendo 3DS & PC (reviewed)
Release Date: September 24, 2013
