Beginning as a prototype developed in flash, Max and the Magic Marker has evolved into an exciting new puzzle platformer that will be available for download from WiiWare on Monday March 8.

Max and the Magic Marker is the very first console release for Press Play, a small development team based in Copenhagen. In the game, players control the young red-headed boy Max who stumbles upon a marker with special powers. Not realizing its magical abilities, Max paints a monster that comes to life and starts wreaking havoc in his drawings. The only way for Max to stop the despicable creature is to draw himself into his doodles.

The game at its core is the familiar platform-style adventure that has been seen countless times before. Max can perform traditional actions like running, jumping, and climbing using the nunchuk. Yet the game takes advantage of the Wii Remote to add an innovative twist to the platform genre. By holding down A, players can use the magic marker to draw anywhere on the screen. Players can draw bridges, shields, ladders, hooks, see-saws, and more to help them traverse the game's locales. However, all drawings are affected by gravity and physics so a platform created in mid-air will immediately fall to floor after being drawn.

Executive producer and Press Play co-founder Ole Teglbjærg explained that, "all the worlds were inspired by children's drawings." The first world, for example is populated with numerous drawings of houses and trees, something that young children are prone to draw. The development team likely included canons and skulls in the pirate world after observing their inclusion in drawings made by a group of 2nd graders that visited the game studio. In total, there are three worlds, consisting of five levels each. As player's progress through the game, the levels grow in difficulty and length culminating in the brutally tough robot world.

The game has some very colorful and pleasant looking 2d graphics that are reminiscent of A Boy and His Blob. I especially liked some of the quirky details in the background such as a drunk pirate octopus (Note: the characters inclusion with a empty bottle almost caused the ESRB to give the game a more mature rating). Interestingly, the graphics for the entire game world transform into child-like doodles when the game is paused.

"It's all about creativity and coming up with good ideas," stressed Teglbjærg. "We encourage players to play around and experiment as much as possible." Players have unlimited lives and numerous re-spawn points to encourage thinking outside of the box. The developers found that players were coming up with some crazy solutions that they had never thought of to get past their puzzles.

The magic marker really makes the game a unique experience. Players can pause the game at anytime to erase drawings that aren't working and quickly make a new one. For example, if you are falling to your death, you can pause time, create a line beneath you, and try to quickly jump off it once time resumes to give yourself a chance at survival. The game also has some creative ways to kill enemies. Players can lure one of the purple jelly bean creatures called Gobos onto a newly scribbled platform and then immediately erase it to cause its death or simply drop an anvil on its head.

While it is a lot of fun messing around with the pointer, the game would lose a lot of appeal if the basic platforming controls didn't work. I was pleased to find that Max controls wonderfully and it is very easy to make precise jumps.

During my hands-on with the title, I found myself frequently distracted searching for the game's hidden black orbs. Even once you've found one you will need to be very creative to reach it. In one puzzle, I had to use my marker to slowly lower a black orb through a maze like structure. Trying to reach these hidden secrets was difficult, and definitely a nod to the hardcore gamer. Once players have collected a certain number of secrets they can unlock special modes such as double espresso where the games speed is increased.

With an extremely creative use of the Wii Remote, Max and the Magic Marker will certainly be a positive new addition to WiiWare. Players of all ages should be able to find enjoyment in this innovative and intense new platformer. To get a taste of the game before its North American release, try out the demo over at Press Play’s official website.