Create

Posted June 9, 2012 by Speed - 0 comments

Ready to go creative? In Create the idea is to be as creative as possible in making scenes as well as ending various missions well. At least, that’s what EA Bright Light had in mind. In reality the creating is limited to decorating, adding objects and putting stickers on an existing background. The missions themselves require a lot less creativity than we had hoped and it often comes down to repetition with some minor variations here and there.

Create has 14 levels with their own theme (for instance cars, a fair, space). Inside each level there are 10 different puzzles and 5 create-chains that need completion. By finishing these assignments you can earn create-sparks which then give access to new objects and levels.

Let’s start with the chains. Here the game takes you by the hand to do certain actions that help you decorate the world you’re in. This goes from planting trees and flowers to placing furniture and adding (often) butt-ugly stickers. Perform the chain in the correct order and you get a create sparkle. Little creativity and most of all little freedom here as the game leaves you hardly any choice. Afterwards you can of course undo your actions and decorate the world to your own liking.

Next to that there are puzzles that need solving, the only thing I found worthwhile in this game, thanks to the realistic “physics”. There’s four types of challenges, all with their own objectives but they have one thing in common: you need to move the key object from A to B.

In the Object Challenge you only have a limited amount of objects at your disposal, while Scoretastic is the similar but requires you to gain as many points as possible. The amount of create sparkles you get depends on your score. A third puzzles is te Pickup-party where you need to collect sparkles while on the way. Here the fastest way isn’t enough and a creative brain is an added plus. Finally there’s the Contraption-O-matic where you complete challenges with the help of machines that you make with blocks, wheels, and all kinds of other parts.

These four challenges deliver the necessary fun, but also plenty of frustration. You’ll often have to start over, make careful adjustments, try again, make careful adjustments, try again, … and this until you’ve found the perfect combination. I can imagine younger gamers (this is a family game) can drop off quickly when things take too long.

Also the limited moves of the camera, which only goes up and down, forward, back and sideway, causes some frustration. You can’t turn around eventhough this would come in handy if you want to create a beautiful environment. Also it’s not possible to zoom out far, making it difficult to get a good overview.

Eventhough there isn’t much creativity necessary, it’s a pleasant puzzle game nonetheless. If you haven’t had enough of the puzzles after finishing, you can go online and upload your own creations, or download those of others to prolong the lifespan a bit.

Epic Mickey Call of Duty: Black Ops