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Drawn to Life: The Next Chapter
Once again gamers are transformed into the
being known as the Creator and of course their hero which is the
gamers' avatar in this interactive world.
Continuing from the previous
instalment, Drawn to Life, the player must help the people of Raposa to
solve their current dilemma that not only includes a "big bad" but also
the strangeness of their town vanishing. Jumping onboard the magical
Turtle Ship, the nameless hero will venture into a variety of worlds in
order to rectify and solve this mystery. Unfortunately to help bring the gamer into the
story, we are introduced to one of the longest and I'm sorry to say,
most boring cinematics that I have experienced on the DS.
If you can draw this in the game, you've
done better than us
After a considerable long cinematic, finally, once my life was back in my hands again, I could create my
character which basically allows the player to draw, colour and make
their "hero" for the game. It's actually quite fun to create your own
character and the developers have carefully added 3D to these 2D
designs.
You can literally create almost anything in the template and of
course, the more time you spend, the more impressive your character will
look. Once created, my surfer dude was ready to interact with the townsfolk and as you explore the town, you will speak with citizens who
will give you missions and assist in the overall story of this title.
Although the game is a
traditional platformer, as you progress through the various levels of the
game, you also have to create various objects like weapons and even
vehicles which does add some uniqueness to the title and almost gives
you some ownership of the world that you play in.
As you jump and fight
your way through enemies, sometimes the Creator needs to intervene with
the world and their hero such as drawing bridges over holes and the end
result is only limited by the gamers imaginations which is definitely a
fun tool for the younger gamer.
There are some puzzles
in the game as well where you need to create certain objects with a set
number of lines that does add some challenge, albeit in an easy way.
Apart from your hero, you also need to create a blob which adds some
interesting elements into the gameplay such as getting into places that
your regular hero cannot.
Shooting and exploring is the fun part of
Drawn to Life: The Next Chapter
Graphically, the title is visually quite
colourful on the DS with some great level designs and decent character
animations. Although your hero at times looks a little superimposed,
it's great that you can create your own hero and the character creation
tools are rather in-depth if you wish to create that perfect character
or Mr. Stickman.
Add in a variety of sound effects and a pleasant soundtrack and Drawn to
Life: the Next Chapter is an above average arcade game.
At the end of the day, Drawn to Life: The Next Chapter is an interesting
sequel to the original game, although it seems to be lacking that oomph
factor. The most challenging aspect of the game is the story which seems
to drag on which was a shame, however if the story was a little more
engaging, this would of helped considerably. Also, it would have been
nice if the developers focused more on the arcade world, rather than
adding unnecessary filler to the gamer that is almost reminiscent of those
Japanese RPG titles where you just explore and talk and talk and talk.
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