Drawn to Life

Although it is definitely not the most powerful handheld console on the market today, the Nintendo DS has led he industry to rethink how they make games. While we have seen our fair share of standard games with some “basic touch screen” concepts thrown in, THQ has tried to go the extra mile in delivering a project that gives players not only a 2D platformer to play through but also the ability to draw and create the game around them. This game is Drawn to Life.

You play the role of The Creator and although you have spent years turning your back the raposas, you decide to help them out by ridding the town of darkness. This grand quest could be done by simply swiping your stylus across the world and ridding the world of evil. However, that wouldn’t be much fun though I wonder if God uses a stylus in our world…? To accomplish your goals, you bring to life a mannequin by drawing, coloring, and designing them. Although it can be a bit rough to get the fine details and your character may end up looking a bit pointed looking, it is quite amazing at the number of heroes you can make. Your role as a designer does not end with making a hero. In many levels you will come across an easel that you can use to make an item to help you through the level. However, not all drawing aspects give you complete freedom. There will be times when you have to use a rocket or surfboard to make it through a level. The game draws the outlines of these items and only allows you to color them.

Although the fun of Drawn to Life is the freedom you are giving in creating a world you play in, the game plays out as a 2D platformer and throws in a few quests to round out around a ten hour gameplay experience. The actual gameplay elements are pretty straightforward and if it were not for the artistic side of things, Drawn to Life would be a bit boring.

Overall, Drawn to Life is a fun experience that is worth playing mainly because I have never played anything like it before. However, once you do beat the game, you may find that there isn’t much excitement left for you. Hopefully we can see this idea fleshed out more in a Nintendo DS sequel or something even more fun on the Wii.