Bookworm Adventures review
This is a downloadable computer game made by Popcap. It's a deluxe edition based on their original online game. In that one you made words out of a set of letters on the screen, much like scrabble and boggle. This version sets you in a story with the same gameplay objective but with a twist. Every word you make is used as an attack done by Lex on a mythical monster or storybook villain. Unlike most of Popcap's stuff you can play for free online, you have to buy Bookworm Adventures. Is it worth the $20?
(Note: There are many sites online where you can find it cheaper than the official webpage. Some for example have the game available with "club credits". You could sign up to buy games every month at a very discounted price.)
What I loved about the game:
- The graphics in Bookworm Adventures are very cute and don't disappoint. Each individual monster has their own animated sequence of actions.
- The minigames, while short and simple, were still fun.
- There were enough rewards for making large words that I was never tempted to pull out the basics like "sea", "tea" and such. This includes bonuses for using specific letters. All of your best words for the stage are remembered for a high score list.
- You can choose from a variety of power-up items at the start of every level to bring with you. The second edition of the game has friendly companions too.
The negative part of my Bookworm Adventures review:
- The later stages of the game are much different than the first chapter of challenges. Enemies get the abilities to stun your character, and take far more words to defeat. I guess it's the same type of progression as any other game. There's one major difference in Bookworm though: Lex doesn't gain much power to offset the rising challenge.
- It can get quite frustrating when you're faced with a difficult opponent and there aren't any good words to use. This is doubly so when that adventure's missions use negative effects like locked tiles or plagued letters on you.
- Not a lot of replay value. You have to start again from the beginning. There were quite a few levels I enjoyed and would've liked to try again for fun.
While it had some frustrating moments, I had a lot of fun playing as Lex and would buy the game again. I'm looking forward to trying the next downloadable games from Popcap. What did you think of the series? There's a guestbook for this Bookworm Adventures review below.