Nintendo Okie

Howdy:

• Creativity is the key to success
• Platforming is some of the most solid on WiiWare
• Fun to look at/ Great sound design

See Ya’:

• Drawing not as precise as it could be
• Final boss fight is a bit of a let down
• No variety to the drawing

There are very few things are creative as the imagination of a child.  Press Play wanted to take that concept and run with it.  Max and the Magic Marker is their first effort on WiiWare and it takes that child like imagination, mixes it with some solid platforming for a new take on the create your own solution to a puzzle genre.

Max is like any other kid with a blank piece of paper and a dream.  One day he receives a marker in the mail and one of his drawings comes to life and jumps into another picture he’s drawn.  He must then set off after his creation to stop him from causing havoc everywhere he goes.  It will be up to you to guide Max through 15 levels of puzzle platforming using only a magic marker and your imagination as your weapons.

The drawing mechanic is both the strength and the weakness of Max.  Without it you wouldn’t get very far.  You’ll use the orange marker to create platforms, squash enemies and build see saws that will fling you high in the air.  Those times when it works, it works brilliantly and you’ll find ways that many other people won’t to solve problems.  The problems with the drawing mechanic come when you’re trying to make precision drawings.  There are times when you need to squeeze the line into a small space and you just can’t put it there.  If the marker comes into contact with a physical object at any point during your drawing it will disappear and you will have to start over.  You can’t help but get frustrated at times, but it’s not any real fault of the game.  The Wii Remote, despite being a great innovation in this generation of gaming just isn’t as precise as you would need it to be.

The platforming areas of the game, on the other hand, are wonderful.  Max’s movement feels very tight and he always seemed to go where I wanted him to.  There was never any issue with moving him around the levels.  The last level of the game is definitely the showpiece of the platforming in Max.  The final sequence is brilliant in its use of precision platforming and timing.  For the last few minutes the game throws away the drawing and you’re just testing your skills as a gamer.  I do have to say that the final boss felt a bit of a letdown after the previous sequence of platforming.  There was no real challenge to defeating him and it felt somewhat empty beating him.

The folks at Press Play left nothing on the table when it came to designing the look of Max.  The three different worlds are all very unique and come to life a bit.  The early levels in Max’s neighborhood feel like people have lived there.  There are basketballs bouncing on courts, drink machines that will dispense a secret.  Then you move to the pirate themed world where it’s full to the brim with nautical goodness.  Everything from the ships, to the happy whales feel like they’re straight out of a child’s imagination and what little boy’s world wouldn’t be complete without robots.  The last five levels take place in a robot factory filled with toxic gas, giant robots inhabiting the backgrounds and dangerous gears that must be navigated.  They even invited a group of second graders into the studio to help them with ideas on just what to fill Max’s world with.

By far, though, the stand out area of Max and the Magic Marker is the music.  Everything just fits perfectly to the themes of the worlds.  Danish band, Analogik is behind the music in the game.  They’ve created a tune that opens the game that you won’t soon forget.  It’s catchy, light and fun.  Everything in the game has been designed to fit in time with this soundtrack.  Max’s footsteps fall perfectly on the beats and even the sounds you hear when collecting the different orbs in the game match perfectly to the beat or the up beats in the music.  It gives the sound just a little bit more when everything fits perfectly like that.

Despite all this there are some technical issues that need to be addressed in the future.  There were numerous times when I’d have a drawing that completely encircled Max and something would happen and he would suddenly appear on the outside of the circle.  There were also a few times, mainly in the robot factory that half the screen would flash white for a split second.  It didn’t happen often, but it was enough to notice it.  They were never anything that caused me to lose progress or die, but they were noticeable enough to detract from the game itself at times.

Even with a few technical issues that got in the way and the imprecision of the Wii Remote Max and the Magic Marker is a game that shouldn’t be passed up, especially if you’re a fan of platforming.  It would have been interesting to see some variety in the drawing.  Things like different colored markers that have different properties or the ability to draw simple objects would have greatly improved the immersion in the game.  I can’t wait to see what the folks at Press Play will come up with if they decide that a sequel to Max is warranted.

Final Score: 3/5 Average

Review copy of the game was provided by Triplepoint PR

Played the game to completion.  Total play time was just over 3 hours.