Gaming Target - PlayStation 2: Magic Pengel: The Quest for Color

Written by Chris Reiter on March 12, 2003

First Impressions: Wow, I can like...draw myself in the game, and like...also kill myself. D'oh!

Whether you want to believe it or not, everyone's got at least a little bit of creative sense in them. Everyone from all over the world is into different cultures. Some express that talent through dancing, singing, or sometimes even juggling. Agetec knows there's a large deal of gamers out there always waiting to see technology improve, enhance, and out perform its previous trials without falter. This spring, that next leap ahead is coming in the form of artistic means by becoming your own video game character creator.

It's not every day that someone's own father is kidnapped by government agents. For two young siblings though -- a girl named Zoe, and her brother, Taro -- that day is today. In order to rescue their father from captivity, Zoe and Taro are now faced with the task of delving into their deepest, most profound talent: the ability to draw. By using their imagination to construct and capture other monsters like the ones they'll be able to fabricate, these two must stop at nothing to find the artists within themselves.

The TV screen is your pallet. The controller is your brush. The experience is your masterpiece. Unlike Mario Paint, which was simply an interactive drawing tool, Magic Pengel: The Quest for Color is closer to comparison on the level of Agetec's other well known "do it yourself" franchises -- RPG Maker and Fighter Maker. Instead of piecing together your own characters and your own worlds with which to engage in, you'll have the chance of drawing a 2D doodle that will end up becoming a 3D work of art.

Conceivably, the process of picture making will work relatively simple. First you'll be able to bring your very own video game character to life using an in-game sketchpad. Also by using colors or pre-rendered body parts you'll come across along the way, your creatures will transgress from 2D lines to 3D, moveable bodies. Called "Doodles," the idea of the game will be to create these moveable models with the game character -- which incidentally is given the title of a Doodler (go figure), and pit them into battle for a collection of drawing improvements in return. Through a varied set of arena battles like the kind found in Pokщmon games, you'll need to defeat enemies, which will relinquish new colors or parts that will enhance your own animated figures later on. Also on its way will be a versus mode, where two players will have the chance to hook up and battle one another by putting those moving lines of digital fantasy to work.

Uniqueness ensues in the visual department where like many games before it, Magic Pengel will blend into a cel-shaded standard. By the looks of things, the game's current visual state isn't very detailed or technically ready to blow any other game out of the water. However, the demo clips reveal smooth character animation added with some decent light and shadow touches. Considering that Magic Pengel: The Quest for Color is a game that specializes in artistic means, it should be great to see how the final release ends up looking in action.