PN Review: Word Wizard 3D
Word Wizard 3D is an updated version of Letter Challenge, a DSiWare title released a couple of months ago. It doubles the amount of content, by adding four new games with the four originals. The returning games have a minor improvement here or there, but they’re more or less the same, so read my review of Letter Challenge to get an idea of the mixed bag they offer. The new games, like the earlier offerings, are similar insofar as they offer an uneven experience
Alphadoku – Unclear directions and lack of information will make this game a struggle for those not very familiar with Sudoku. Meanwhile fans of the popular game may find this take on it to be simply boring. Clunky control doesn’t help matters, and needing to squint at tiny letters, while trying to cycle through a small area to pick one is cumbersome. It doesn’t do much to instill replay.
Bubbles – This game has you spelling a chosen word by picking the correct bubbled letters from the touch screen. The amount of letters to choose from and the speed at which they move about give the game challenge, and encourage precision. It works fine, though it did tend to give me a headache after a while. One for small burst play.
Hidden Words – While I do think this is a fun word search game, it’s not fun enough that I’d want to play it until my 3DS battery is exhausted! What I mean is, the game’s made ridiculously easy (even on the hardest setting!) due to the copious amount of time given. Every time a letter’s found more time’s added, and the amount of added time is longer than the amount of time it takes to find a word! Encouragement to “Complete as many grids as possible within the time limit!” is well-intentioned, but basically means playing the game until Armageddon! Oversights like this are a clear indication of a lack of play testing. The game still manages to be somewhat enjoyable in spite of this foolish blunder, since you can simply play until your bored and quit manually, but it’s not nearly as satisfying.
Swap Letters – This game sees jumbled words scroll from the top of the screen that need to be unscrambled and put in proper order before reaching the bottom. It succeeds (in large part) by offering genuine challenge, as the speed at which the letters drop increases over time. The ramping difficulty is much appreciated, and the core game isn’t bad either. It’s probably the most enjoyable of the new bunch.
One area where Word Wizard 3D takes a sizable step backwards from its already average predecessor is that, in spite of adding new games, it’s actually cut a lot of original content. Multiple profiles, more difficulty selections, experience points, unlocking new levels, earning medals, winning trophies, different themes, and choices of background graphics and musical tracks are all MIA! My question is, why? Why cut so many of the commendable aspects from a game that’s basically being repackaged? The couple of new features added aren’t nearly enough compensation. ‘Progressions’ lets you see what percentage of words you’ve discovered, and an odd implementation of street pass lets you share these words, but I’d rather have seen these left on the drawing board.
While the game is an improvement thanks to more game content, the improvement is much more drastic on paper than it is in execution. If you haven’t played Letter Challenge, there’s more than enough here to justify the very low $2.99 cost, especially for fans of word games. But when a game makes a move from DSiWare to the 3DS eShop, I rightly expect more. For every step forward this title took with fresh content, it took a step back due to a lack of improvements to the returning games and cut features.
