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 The story to max and the magic marker is, as with nearly any platform game, kind of weak. Chasing a purple monster with a vacuum cleaner isn't exactly a reason to push on so sometimes playing it was a bit of a slog.
Another major issue I had (and this is in version 1.0 so it's possible it will get patched) were crashes in the second world. One level in particular would crash on a regular basis and took me almost 10 play throughs (which turned into speed runs) just to get past. It was a huge shame because it had some unique puzzles in it, such as a cannon shooting range where you have to drop you own drawn balls into a cannon to hit targets. This in particular crashed three times on me either because the "smart" camera couldn't decide where I was or, even worse there was 2 cases of an un-handled exception (eg, game just stops and closes.)
I wouldn't be fair if I didn't at least try to look past this and throughout the game there are some really great puzzles. Like having to make seesaws and dropping weights on it to propel yourself high into the air and reach distant platforms. The physics engine used was clever enough to recognise edges in the shapes you draw which made some of the puzzles even more accessible in that you could draw steps that Max would climb up.
 Repetition of puzzles was a problem however, there were just too many "build a bridge" type occurrences and too many of a "hook travelling on a wire" puzzles where you have to build yourself a ski-lift type box to be carted around in. On the other hand, some of the puzzle types were under utilised, such as where a creature is constantly blowing up balloons and you have to capture them and create your own hot air balloon contraption to fly upwards. I'm sure I only came upon that once and it was great!
While Max and the Magic Marker feels a bit samey later on, you can't help but realise how much love and effort has gone into the game-play. The central game mechanics work wonderfully and Max himself is fantastically animated. What would have made this even more fun would have been some boss fights (yeah I like boss fights unlike many!) to break up the repetitive game-play that also made clever use of the marker pen. If you need plenty of action in your games this just isn't for you. On the other hand, if you've enjoyed any physics based game before or are a huge platformer fan then this will be a special little treat for you.
Score: 78 out of 100
Final Words: Wonderful physics game but it doesn't give you a reason to keep playing.
Max And The Magic Marker can be downloaded from Gamers Gate!*
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