XNA CG - Word Soup

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XNA CG – Word Soup

Community Game (CG) under Review: Word Soup
Developed by: Fuzzy Bug Interactive
System: Xbox 360
Genre: Puzzle & Trivia
Version: ?
Cost: 400 Microsoft Points ($5.00)
Download Style: Full Game/Trial Game
Download Size: 23.45 Mb
Learning Curve: 5 Minutes
Overall Rating: 6/10
Main Features:
- Players 1
- HDTV 1080p
- Custom Soundtracks
Other Features:
- Join three or more letters to form words horizontally, vertically, and diagonally.
- Play three game modes (Timed, Brain, Relaxed)
- Track high score by longest word, highest scoring word, highest score in each game mode, and more.
Puzzling:
- No viewable dictionary!?
- The game screen is a little too big for Television parameters (cannot fix either)
- No Multiplayer of any kind (offline or online)
- Moments that will have you saying “is that really a word!?”
Rating:
Violence - 0/3
Sex - 0/3
Mature Content - 0/3

COMMUNITY GAMES INTRO:

Please Note: Unless otherwise specified, I have bought and played all aspects of the games I review.

Downloading Community Games:
1. Turn on Xbox 360 and sign into XBOX Live.
2. Navigate to: Game Marketplace=>Explore Game Content=>Community Games
3. Look around and download games!

Important Community Game Reminders:
1. They are NOT rated by Microsoft or the ESRB.
2. They can only be played while connected to Xbox Live.
3. They can only be played for four or eight minutes before the trial ends (depending on when released).
4. Some features may be locked in the trial mode.

REVIEW INTRO:

Play a classic “Scrabble” like game with the goal of creating long, high scoring words. Only this Scrabble game has you playing Solo.

Note: I did not buy this game because important features can be played and beat before the trial ends.

GRAPHICS: 7/10

The graphics are decent for a game of this type. If they were too elaborate it could make the tiles clutter the screen. Therefore the simple graphics are welcome and help make creating words just that, simple. I really enjoy the title screen and the menus which are created with the letter tiles. It is a creative cliché that helps connect the gameplay with the menus. Unfortunately, the graphics go off the screen (at least on my 27 inch TV) because the game’s screen size is too big.

MUSIC: 5/10

The game contains little music variance, but the music flows continuously and it never just “restarts”. The music flows so well that it feels like one long song. Eventually it can, unfortunately, get somewhat repetitive.

STORY: 0/10

No story.

GAMEPLAY & FEATURES: 6/10

Word Soup requires the player to create words from three or more letters by joining them horizontally, vertically, and diagonally. The three game modes are each interesting, but little sets them apart. Timed mode gives you a preset amount of time (cannot change) to clear the board of the letter tiles. Letter tiles will not be added and the game ends when no more words can be created. Relaxed mode is the same as Time mode except for you now have unlimited time. Brain mode allows letter tiles to be added by “leveling up.” Leveling up requires forming words. The better the word score, the more experience you receive. Once enough experience is received, you level up and get letter tiles based on how many words you created, how many letters are in each word, and how many points the words are worth. Brain mode is easily the most fun (think of it as endless mode).

Throughout all three modes there are four important features. The first is the ability to shuffle letters. This helps when no word is clearly visible and you get frustrated. The second ability is the “help” ability. It can be used three times per game and it scans the board for a word. The third important feature is that high scores get tracked (locally). High scores are tracked based on longest word, highest scoring word, highest score in each game mode, and more. The fourth important feature is that the UI (User Interface) is extremely handy. It displays the longest word created for your current game, time left, how many words made in your current game, score, tile color value (certain tile colors are worth more points than others), and more.

If you feel adventurous and try to create “new” words, you may be surprised. Some letters may combine to form a word that may not be a word at all (according to Webster’s College Dictionary – 100,000+ definitions!) Regrettably, there is no viewable dictionary in the game to check. WHY NOT!? This is a game all about creating words and there is no dictionary for reference? That strikes this game quite a blow.

The other problem with the game is that it lacks Multiplayer (online and/or offline). Even turn-based would have been better than none. It is just another game that sets up the gameplay perfectly, but never executes as much as it should. (I am looking at you Xeno Arena!)

OVERALL: 6/10

This game accomplishes what it sets out to do. It gives decent gameplay with an addicting “Scrabble” feel. The fact that I can create words that are not real words takes away from the experience. Where is the fun in that? That just leads to random letter joining! A viewable dictionary is much needed in a game of this style. Multiplayer (offline and/or online) and more music variance is needed as well. Try the trial a few times and see if it is for you.

Other Games by Fuzzy Bug Interactive (as of 5/4/09):

- Unknown