Drawn to Life
Score: 90% ESRB: Everyone Publisher: THQ Developer: 5th Cell Media: Cartridge/1 Players: 1 Genre: Platformer (2D)/ Classic/Retro/ Editor
Graphics & Sound: Drawn to Life is a very interesting and novel game. It reminds me a bit of Magic PenGel, a game that was a fascinating, but niche sort of title. In Magic PenGel, the player would draw 3D characters that would come to life and fight for you in an otherwise Pokemon sort of way. Drawn to Life is a 2D version of this concept, but instead of only drawing characters, the player is responsible for drawing other elements in the game, from different types of platforms to vehicles and weapons. It's an interesting twist to see your own artistic talents used in a videogame, and it's neat to see how Drawn to Life handles it. Specifically, there are things that you have to draw, such as characters and weapons, that have only a bounded canvas that indicates a general shape and locations of parts (such as head, torso, arms, legs, etc.), and you are responsible for the complete appearance of the thing. Other in-game items, such as a sled that you have to help create, have a predetermined outline and you can paint it to look how you like. Still other items are fully detailed drawings, but are not colored; you get to choose how to color these elements. This artistic expression is an interesting dynamic that, while gimmicky, adds a great deal of fun to the game. The music in Drawn to Life is fun and playful, and helps to set the cartoon-like mood of the game. Dialogue in Drawn to Life is all written, but is accentuated with cartoony sound effects. My favorite example of these sound effects occurs when you open or close the DS while playing. Closing the case of the DS will pause the came (well, hibernate it, actually), but you'll hear the little creatures you're trying to save cry out with a sad little, "Ohhh...." Later, when you open the case, they let out a little cheer. Too cute.
Gameplay: Drawn to Life is, at its heart, an old-school platformer, much like the original Super Mario Brothers. The difference here is that you actually get to (and have to) create or decorate certain elements within the game. This is an interesting gimmick that helps to increase the players interest in the game, I suppose, but it's a bit strange to switch gears in the middle of playing the game. Most of the platforming gameplay is done without the use of the stylus. Occasionally, there will be a door to tap on to open it or some darkness (think black slime) to wipe off of things. However, for most of these actions, I find I can use my finger on the screen; these activities don't require a lot of precision. When I do get to a place where I need to actually color or draw something, I usually have to go back to where I was playing last and grab the stylus. I find that I don't want to store it in the back of the DS, because I want to keep it readily available, but when I get up and go somewhere else to keep playing, I forget I had the stylus sitting on my lap or wherever until I need it again. If you like old-school platformers, you'll feel at home playing Drawn to Life. Most things are fairly straightforward, and new elements are added with each new level you get to. There don't seem to be any real time limits on any aspects of gameplay, in other words, there aren't any "timed events," per se. The only timing issue you really have to worry about comes from successfully avoiding and attacking enemies. Most of your goals are centered on locating things and freeing people, which is simply finding the cage the person is in and hitting it a few times.
Difficulty: The difficulty level and learning curve of Drawn to Life seemed very reasonable. It was just about perfect, in my opinion. Each level added something new, building complexity as the game progressed. It's worth noting that most enemies and items respawn when you get a minimal distance from them. While this means that you can't expect areas to remain "cleared," it also means that useful things like health will replenish if you get a small distance away from them. This has come in handy a few times when my timing was a little off and I took some damage I wasn't expecting to take. There were a couple of times when I couldn't find something that I was looking for, once inside of a level and a few minor times when running around in the village. You will often talk with a character and then they will tell you to meet them somewhere and they head off in that direction. The problem is that you aren't allowed to follow after them; you have to wait for their animation to complete and then you get to move. If you don't know where the meeting location is, you might have to look around a bit. In occasions like these, I find you have two choices: either just keep looking around until you find what you're looking for or start mapping the areas. It wouldn't be a bad idea to make a map of the village to help you find locations later. It's not very hard to stay alive in Drawn to Life. Pretty much the only way to die is to make a series of mistakes or have a really bad run of luck. You create a skin for your character at the start of the game and each time you take damage, parts of your character revert back to a wooden doll. There's arms, legs, torso and head, after which you're 100% wooden doll. Taking a hit when you're in full wooden doll form will actually kill your character, but you start back over in the same level, so even then it's not so big a deal. Walking over health somewhere in a level will pick it up and instantly use it and I find that you don't have to try too hard to locate health when you need it. You just have to make sure that you don't make a series of mistakes or have a bad run of luck before you do.
Game Mechanics: While Drawn to Life definitely relies heavily on its gimmick of user-designed content, it still provides a fun platformer gaming experience. It's interesting to see how the art assets you create are used in the game itself. The only downside to Drawn to Life that was bothersome to me was the fact that the stylus is used rarely enough that I would typically have moved to another room in my house before I needed to use it again and have to go retrieve it before continuing. This is mainly a personal habit, I suppose, as you could simply slip the stylus back into the back of the DS or your pocket and avoid this problem altogether. The overall presentation of Drawn to Life is definitely aimed at a young audience, but the gameplay is suitable for old and young alike. Which is good, because creating art to be used in videogames is likely to be a dream for children of all ages. Get your stylus ready; it's time to live the dream.
-Geck0, GameVortex Communications AKA Robert Perkins
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