Awhile back, there was a DS game called "Drawn to Life" in which gamers drew the items they'd use in the game.

The developer, 5th Cell, has returned with a similarly creative game called "Scribblenauts." This time the creativity comes through words.

"Scribblenauts" consists of 200-plus puzzles. Each can be solved any number of ways, and it's up to the player to do it creatively. By inputting a word, that word (if it's in the game's dictionary) appears within the level.

An example: The main character, Maxwell, must get a cat off a roof. I typed "lasso" and that dropped a lasso into the game, which I gave to Maxwell and had him toss it at the cat. He then dragged the cat off the roof.

Not the most humane method perhaps, but it got the job done.

Each level has a "par" for the number of objects you use. After solving, you're scored based on that number, the time needed to solve it and creativity. The score translates into "Ollars," which are used to purchase costumes for Maxwell and open up more levels.

There are two types of levels: puzzle and action. Puzzle requires you to solve a problem (such as the cat). Action involves getting Maxwell from one part of the level to another. Generally, the puzzles are more fun because of iffy controls.

You move Maxwell by tapping the screen where you want him to go. Unfortunately, this is super-sensitive. I'd get Maxwell killed because I'd accidentally tell him to jump in with the shark instead of just selecting the shark, for instance.

There's also a bit of disappointment from the items themselves. Some of them don't do what you'd expect; for the life of me, I could never get the grappling hook to be of any use.

Still, the puzzles grow increasingly hard and require lots of thought. Plus, once you solve a puzzle, you unlock the advanced mode, which has you solve the same puzzle multiple times while not repeating any items. It's amazing how small your vocabulary can feel.

"Scribblenauts" is not perfect, but it's fun and original, and players will spend hours thinking of the kookiest ways to solve the simplest problems.

DS owners shouldn't miss it.

Etc., etc.

Wordy: "Scribblenauts" boasts a library of 22,802 words. Good luck coming up with all of those!

Free play: Sometimes it's fun just to call up items in the menu and see what happens. I pitted a ninja against a samurai. The samurai won.

Aimee Green writes video games reviews for the Lincoln (Neb.) Journal Star, a Lee Enterprises newspaper.