Bookworm Adventures
From Casual Games Wiki
| Bookworm Adventures | |
|---|---|
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| Developer(s) | PopCap |
| Publisher(s) | PopCap |
| Distributor(s) | PopCap |
| Release date(s) | November 28, 2006 |
| Genre(s) | Category:Puzzle |
| Platform(s) | PC |
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Bookworm Adventures is the second title in the Bookworm series of word-forming puzzle games from PopCap. Released in November 2006, Bookworm Adventures combines the "create words from sets of letters" aspect of its predecessor Bookworm with characteristics of a role-playing game.
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[edit] Description
In Bookworm Adventures, players guide Lex the bookworm through a number of levels, battling mythology creatures along the way. Each battle consists of Lex squaring off against a given foe. Both Lex and his adversary have health meters (represented by a number of hearts), which, when depleted, signal defeat. However, unlike more traditional role-playing games where players might injure their opponents with arms or magic, enemies in Bookworm Adventures are damaged by forming words.
As in the original Bookworm, words are formed from a grid of available letters. Unlike the original, letters used to form the words need not be adjacent to one another. The longer the word, the more damage is done to opponents. Words generated using less common letters do more damage than those using common letters. Each turn, players can form a single word while enemies use one of their available attacks to injure Lex, heal themselves, or otherwise make the battle more difficult. If victorious, Lex automatically recovers all of his health between battles.
Letter tiles usually appear in the grid as standard tiles containing one or two letters. However, tiles of different types, with either positive or negative attributes, can appear during play. These attributes impact game play when the tile is used to form a word. "Gem" tiles have positive attributes which help Lex when battling foes. "Locked," "Plague," and "Smashed" tiles have negative attributes that inhibit the ability to form words and/or attack foes.
The scramble feature from the original title returns in Bookworm Adventures, allowing players to replace their current grid of letters with an entirely new set. The cost of doing this is forfeiting a turn, allowing the enemy a free attack.
After a certain number of battles are won, a "boss" of increased difficulty is encountered. If players defeat the boss, they complete the level and are rewarded with an item. Items provide special abilities to Lex. After the player has accumulated more than three items, he or she must choose which three items to bring along on later levels.
Players can also earn potions that can be used for an immediate benefit. Potions are acquired gradually by defeating foes, and are also awarded for playing interstitial mini-games that involve guessing a secret word (using a Mastermind-like system) or forming as many words as possible from a set of letters.
[edit] Background & History
In contrast to the lower production budgets typical of most casual games, PopCap spent over two and a half years and US$700,000 developing Bookworm Adventures and set a premium purchase price of $30 where most casual games cost US$20.
Bookworm Adventures has won the following awards:
- 2006 Zeebys People's Choice award for "Best Word & Trivia Game"; Craft Awards for "Best Game Design" and "Best Story/Narrative"[1]
- 2007 Interactive Achievement Awards, "Downloadable Game of the Year".[2]
[edit] Tips & Tricks
[edit] Reviews
- Bookworm Adventures Deluxe Review at Gamezebo
- One Hour Review: Bookworm Adventures at Plan B-Log
- Bookworm Adventures Review at Eurogamer
- Bookworm Adventures Deluxe: You Might As Well Face It... at The Escapist
- Casual Friday: Bookworm Adventures Deluxe Review at Monsters and Critics
