Nintendo Okie

A couple of months ago we had the chance to try out an early version of Pressplay’s WiiWare title Max and the Magic Marker.  A couple of months have passed so how is the game shaping up?

The easy answer would be quite nicely.  Since that early version the gang in Denmark have completed ten more levels, bringing the total to fifteen spread across three different worlds; Max’s neighborhood, pirate ships, and a factory.  They’ve also added a nice cartoon intro sequence that sets up the story of Max’s adventure.

This version is a PC build of the game so I can’t talk specifically about the controls, but all the correct prompts for the Wii Remote are now in place.  The platforming itself feels more solid and Max has a good feel to his movement.  It feels somewhere in between the insanity of Mega Man and the comfort of Mario.

Previously the physics had not been completely workd out.  The platforms you would draw didn’t have any weight to them and would often be inadvertently pushed out of place by Max when he tried to move across them.  That’ has  now been fixed and if a platform has two solid anchor points it won’t go anywhere.  It’s also very easy to understand how drawn objects will fall; empty boxes will fall slowly and won’t have much weight behind them.  If you need to vault yourself to a high place a quick seesaw and a tangled mess of Medusa’s hair will do the trick.

I’m most impressed so far with the audio aspects of the game.  Aside from the almost annoyingly catchy intro tune all the actions you perform in the game fit perfectly with the rhythm of the soundtrack composed by Analogik, Max’s footsteps sync perfectly to every beat

This may be the first console release of a game by Pressplay, but they appear to have fallen onto a simple concept and are executing on that concept.  The platforming, mixed with whatever your imagination can devise is a brilliant idea and the solutions to the game’s puzzles are only limited by your imagination.  This could very well be one of the best games to hit WiiWare this year.