Do you have what it takes to get a review published right here on Kotaku? Jenn does, as she discovers her inner Mr Squiggle.
Yes, that’s right, we’re publishing reader reviews here on Kotaku. This is your chance to deliver sensible game purchasing advice to the rest of the Kotaku community.
And thanks to the very kind chaps at Madman Entertainment, purveyor of all kinds of cool, indie and esoteric film, the best reader review we publish each month will win a prize pack containing ten of the latest Madman DVD releases.
This review was submitted by Jenn Christodoulou. If you’ve played Max And The Magic Marker, or just want to ask Jenn more about it, leave your thoughts in the comments below.
Max And The Magic Marker (PC)
Have you ever looked at a flight of stairs and hoped to see a ramp around the corner? Or laid eyes on an enemy and wished you could smash them with a brick? You may never get this chance in real life, but for about $20 on Steam you can transport yourself into a happy little platformer where every obstacle can be overcome with some creative drawing.
Loved
Art style: The graphics in this game are incredibly bright and colourful. Even when you’re stumped and feeling completely aggravated, a little part of you can take solace in the fact that at least you’re stuck in a world that’s really really pretty.
Challenging: The game has quite a childish feel to it, however some parts of it are still quite difficult. Though the actual level completion is easy, there are some collectibles that require some abstract thinking before you can obtain them.
Controls: They’re so user-friendly that anybody can get used to them. WASD move you, you draw with your pen using the mouse and if you want to push or pull an object, you simply press shift. I thought it was going to be difficult having to run, jump and draw all at the same time, but I was pleasantly surprised at how easy it was to do all those things at once.
Hated
Menu: I spent about 20 minutes navigating around the awkward menu screen looking for somewhere to turn the sound off, only to realise that it was impossible to do. Though the soundtrack is good, when you’re stuck on a level listening to that overly happy music it sorta makes you wanna rip your face off. Which is a very violent action to be caused by a kid’s game.
No monster, that’s MY ink: At every checkpoint the bad guy sucks away all the magic marker’s ink. In a way this is good, because it adds another obstacle to the game, however if you hit the checkpoint by accident, it’s incredibly annoying. For example, I jumped down off a high ledge to collect some orbs, but on the way I missed some. I intended to go back and get them, but when I landed on the ground, I hit a checkpoint, lost all my ink and any way of getting back to the ledge. So because I’m anal retentive about completing every level perfectly, I ended up having to start all over again. I wasn’t happy.
Max and the Magic Marker offers you the fulfilling action of dropping heavy things on enemies’ heads whilst also providing a blank canvas you can draw stupid things on and then screen shot it to show all your friends. It retains all the innocence and cheer of a kid’s game combined with puzzles for a teenager’s mind. There’s nothing better on the market for shutting up your inner child, so go grab a sippy cup full of chocolate milk and get drawing.
Reviewed by: Jenn Christodoulou
You can have your Reader Review published on Kotaku. Send your review to us at the usual address. Make sure it’s written in the same format as above and in under 500 words – yes, we’ve upped the word limit. We’ll publish the best ones we get and the best of the month will win a Madman DVD prize pack.
Leave a Reply