5th Cell, developers of Drawn to Life and Scribblenauts, are hoping to please gamers worldwide again with the sequel to their first game, Drawn to Life: the Next Chapter for the Nintendo Wii and DS. The original Drawn to Life was best known for its inventive mechanics which had players drawing items rather than having to use those provided already.  Unfortunately, the game made gratuitous use of outlines, which restricted players from getting too creative with their items. Hopefully, we’ll see improvements upon this issue and any others players found.

In Drawn to Life: the Next Chapter, rather than being forced to use the single character the developers envision as the hero, players will be able to either draw their own or choose from a pool of some that have already been made. So, in theory, yes, you will be able to jump from platform to platform controlling a peacock with a monocle and galoshes. So long as you’re that talented an artist, of course.

As of yet, the only details about the story that have been released are that it will have players travelling from island to island returning color to the drab worlds they find. Story aside, the first Drawn to Life was more about the platforming than the drawing, and that seems as though it will be the case in its sequel. Released gameplay footage showed a player drawing platforms to hop onto in order to advance through a level. That coupled with the context-sensitive colors of the drawings will no doubt complicate puzzles in ways other games have not.

When an item is drawn, it takes up ink. The amount and color of the ink used will play a pivotal role throughout the game. For instance, green ink may cause a gun to shoot goo, blue make it shoot water, and black make it shoot bullets. These could be important differences in situations where a player may want to splatter someone with a disgusting substance, put out a small flame, or kill a monster in their way. On the other hand, a green platform may cause the player to bounce up and down on it, a red one may simply fall away once landed on, and a blue one may hold firm. There won’t be any telling what will happen until items are implemented.

The game will also cater to the less artistically inclined consumer base as well. If drawing platforms aren’t your thing, transform your hero into a spider and have him/her swing to safety. The only limiting factor in all cases will be how much ink is available. Like Scribblenauts, deleting items will restore ink, but using them will diminish it. As well as that, there will apparently be “no-draw” zones, in which, well, drawing isn’t permitted. Presumably, these areas would be few and far apart, and force the player to use their wit in other ways.

As for the multiplayer, Drawn to Life: the Next Chapter will include short, co-operative mini games that players can participate in with friends. Other than that, nothing else has been announced, but one might assume there would be a little more to it than that, especially knowing that this title comes after Scribblenauts, which allowed players to craft their own personal levels and share them. Luckily though, the game’s release is just upon us, at which point we will learn all there is to know about its features.

Drawn to Life: the Next Chapter is a promising little sequel that may surprise some folks this holiday season. Knowing that it’s competing indirectly with other big releases such as Double Fine’s Brutal Legend, it’s hard to say whether people are as excited for this game as 5th Cell would like for them to be. Whatever unfolds, Gameonn will be right here keeping you updated as always leading up to its October 16th release date.