Scribblenauts Is the Best Video Game of All Time

Two weeks ago, every major news outlet, blog, talk show, and farmer's market was talking about The Beatles: Rock Band. The New York Times even called it "the most important video game yet made." We disagree.

Scribblenauts, the new puzzle game for the Nintendo DS, is easily the most impressive game of the year, and perhaps the millennium. At $30, it's about half the price of even the basic The Beatles: Rock Band game, and what it lacks in plastic guitars and hype, it makes up for with creative brilliance and ingenuity.

The premise of this puzzle game is simple: You control Maxwell, guiding him past obstacles and leading him towards a star (or Starite). Grab the Starite, and you move onto the next level. How do you get past the obstacles? That, dear reader, is entirely up to you.

When confronted with a problem—for instance, how to retrieve a Starite from a tall tree—tap the onscreen notebook icon, type the name of any object you think will help you, and presto, the object appears on screen! As long as it's a family friendly word, and a common noun, chances are, it's in the game. Type "fire," and a little fire will appear. Place this fire next to the tree, and the tree burns down, allowing you to grab the Starite. If you're opposed to the idea of tree murder, type "ladder," and you'll be given a ladder that you can climb to retrieve the star, hippie.

Easy, right? But what separates this game from any other we've played is the number of options and possibilities. Back to the Starite in the tree dilemma—ever think about using a grappling hook? How about a helicopter? An elevator? A trampoline? A whip? A sword? How about riding on one of Santa's reindeer to reach the Starite? What about digging a hole under the tree to make the tree sink? What about typing "ramp" and "motorcycle" and then driving the motorcycle off the ramp to retrieve the Starite? It all works.

And the tree puzzle is the easiest of the lot. As you progress, you'll require more items to get past challenges, and you'll need to combine objects using glue. Don't let the cutesy graphics fool you. Some of the puzzles are tough. One puzzle involving a tornado had us stumped for a while, as we tried everything we could think of to get past the whirling wind, from using ropes and bridges, to putting Maxwell in a suit of armor. But nothing seemed to work. Finally, we were able to fly through the tornado by using a jetpack and a little bit of patience.

After we completed this puzzle, we went online to read about how others bested the storm. No two solutions were the same. Once you get past one level, you'll want to go back and see what else would have worked.

You might be asking, "How many items are in this game?" We don't know. But after playing for several hours, we have yet to think of s omething something that the game couldn't generate. From dragons, to boogers, to lemonade, to zoos, to skyscrapers, to clogs, this game is always one step ahead of us. It even has items we never new existed, such as a bird called a whaup.

Our favorite moment so far came when we had to retrieve a Starite that was being guarded by two bears. We could have figured out ways to trap the bears, or sneak past them. But instead, we typed "T-Rex." The mighty dinosaur appeared and ate the bears, while Maxwell watched the carnage from a safe distance.

Speaking of watching, if you play this game in the vicinity of any other living person, that person will begin to suggest solutions. Don't be surprised if your usually quiet dad suddenly pipes up as you play the game and starts shouting, "Use a hang glider. That might work. Did you try the hang glider? I really think a hang glider is what you need here. Can I have a try? Hang glider, I'm telling ya!"

So if you're bored with the current crop of shooting games and over-priced music games, give Scribblenauts a try. (And then tell us how to get past the museum security guards in level 2-3.) Oh, did we mention that you can make a werewolf, too?! And a flame-thrower, and a high-definition TV, and a unicorn, and nunchucks that you can then give to the unicorn, and a matzo cracker, and a rottweiler, and hot-air balloons, and a tank…