Scribble time

We've already seen two Scribblenauts releases on Nintendo's DS system, but now the series is making the jump to the home console on Nintendo's upcoming Wii U, in the form of Scribblenauts Unlimited. While the series has never looked better visually, it's the major improvements to the gaming experience itself that really takes this entry to new heights.

Anyone that's played a Scribblenauts game before should feel right at home in Unlimited, as the basic premise and game style remain intact. You'll be forced to help the various characters by typing in the names of objects that they'll need in order to complete their tasks. For instance, a character might need to chop down a tree and it will be up to you to supply them with the proper tool for the job. While there are quite a few different items you might use in a particular situation, you simply type in something like "axe" and your character will then be given an actual axe to chop the tree down. You'll be hard-pressed to think of an object that the game can't recognize, but just on the off-chance that you do, Unlimited has you covered with its amazing item creation function.

Not only can you design your own items, you can combine multiple items together into one brand new creation. You'll then be able to not only name the object, but adjust just about every facet of that object down to how it's used, reacts in the game, and functions. The amount of customization in this object creation tool feels nearly limitless and this mode ends up being every bit as fun as the game itself, if you're willing to put in the time to learn to make full use of it.

Horsing around

As you'd expect from the series so far, the storyline is quite amazing and gives you a lot of challenges to complete. The free-roaming design of the levels allows you to navigate through them in your own unique way, while there's also a very smooth difficulty curve to allow players of all ages and skill levels to enjoy the experience at their own pace. Of course, having the Wii U GamePad's touchscreen at your disposal gives this a familiar feel to the portable versions, but there's nothing quite like seeing such a gorgeous title play out on an HDTV.

After playing the Scribblenauts titles on a handheld for so long it's a bit shocking to see it playing out so well on the big screen. The attention to detail shows that the developers have put a lot of time and effort into giving the console version a big step up in graphics; when you toss in the unique input functionality of the Wii U GamePad controller, you get a perfect fit for the Scribblenauts universe and yet another title to put on your Wii U wish list for the holidays.