Drawn to Life

So, this week THQ and 5th Cell finally released Drawn to Life to DS audiences. In case you've never heard of it, the best way to describe it is: "Classic platformer with a twist".

The gist of the game is that you are the mythical Creator of legend, who drew an entire world into existence. Now, that world is being overrun by evil little shadow creatures and you've been called in to lend a hand. To help out, you infuse a small wooden mannequin with some of your power, drawing the character into life (hence the name of the game).

The big hook here is that when you're playing the game, you create a custom hero. Using the basic paint tools offered in the game, you can make the character look like just about anything. Also, at key points in the title, you'll be called upon to draw more assets, such as custom platforms, weapons, and even spaceships. While these items react the same no matter what you actually draw, it's a great way to "draw" the player into the experience. Right not, for example, I've drawn up a custom animated Master Chief as my hero, armed with a crude representation of a Covenant Plasma Rilfe. Through the first stage, "M. Chief" was hopping around on the Xbox 360 logo and having a grand ol' time on the DS.

The game supports 3 saves/heroes, and players can trade out their characters with friends via local connections. While I haven't tried this yet, you can also apparently swap out parts between characters, making for some cool little Frankenstein's monster mashups.

The gameplay itself is pretty straightforward ... think along the lines of the original Mario games (before he went all 3D). The player runs around collecting coins and bouncing on enemies. The touchscreen is used sporadically for things like clearing the inky shadows from the landscape, but otherwise it's main focus is drawing.

I'm having a lot of fun with this right now. It's nothing too deep, and it's a casual yet creative little gem that may fly under most people's radar. Still, if you're looking for a change of pace and are feeling a bit artistic, give Drawn to Life a whirl.