Nintendo DS

WordJong

One recent cold January night, I decided to forego all of the television shows, movies, magazines, and books that I have lying around waiting to entertain me, and spend hours upon hours playing a word game on my computer. I have seasons of hit TV shows just waiting to be watched on DVD, countless friends I could call to chat with, and a pile of celebrity gossip magazines (admittedly, a somewhat shameful weakness) at my disposal for entertainment purposes. However, my choice was not to rest my brain and give in to these vices, but to sit and form random letter tiles into words.

If you can get behind the concept then this will be one of those Nintendo DS games you keep with you at all times, however those who aren't into spelling or Scrabble-like games will likely not be swayed by WordJong. Even if you're on the fence, the $20 price tag may make experimenting with this casual game a little easier to swallow. Either way, I had a lot of fun with WordJong and can see myself popping it into my DS to keep up with the daily puzzles.

Usually, it's a pretty safe bet that a DS version of a Flash game isn't a good deal. However, WordJong has some new features and comes in at a great budget price. Spelling fans should be happy to add this to their DS collection. Is there a such thing as a fan of spelling? I think so, and this game even stands a chance at creating a few more.

WordJong is a fantastic game that will appeal to any age group, but especially fans of Scrabble. There are no cheesy touch-screen mini-games here either; just solid gameplay. It is the perfect pick-up-and-play title for any book worms this Holiday.

Despite the occasional odd design choice and the unfortunate lack of competition online, WordJong is a solid package and a good investment if you're into games that test your gray matter a bit. The single-player campaign has plenty of puzzles to keep you busy and the multi-player potential is promising if you can talk a few friends into giving you a challenge (an easier task if you meet for a face-to-face, since then you only need a single cartridge). Certainly, there's nothing here that feels like a big-budget game, but the overall product is generally very good at what it's doing. If that's the sort of thing you like, go crazy!

WordJong plays like Upwords in reverse. Assembling Scrabble words with letters uncovers more letters. It's a very addictive puzzler that rewards you for strategy as well as your vocabulary.

Overall, WordJong is a pretty addictive game. And even though it is a budget title, there is plenty here to keep players word-smithing for a long time. As good as this game is, it would have been better with an optional tutorial to get players up to speed, and an in-game hint mode would have alleviated some of the game’s mild frustration. Slight flaws aside, WordJong is a great game to casual and puzzle gamers pleased.

WordJong is definitely one of the more creative variations of the Scrabble-like word game. The game's got a very addictive nature, and there's a good amount of different modes (including two player battle mode) to keep things interesting. It's just a bit of a bummer that the programmers don't wean certain players (i.e. the older casual crowd) into its gameplay mechanics with a tutorial mode. Anyone with Mahjong Solitaire skills won't have a problem…but not everyone has the working knowledge.

All in all, if you're a vocabulary snob and proud of it, you'll probably enjoy WordJong for the Nintendo DS. The basic premise is highly addictive, each mode offers a different take on the concept, and the battle mode offers the competitive edge that previous incarnations were missing.

If you can get behind the concept then this will be one of those Nintendo DS games you keep with you at all times, however those who aren't into spelling or Scrabble-like games will likely not be swayed by WordJong. Even if you're on the fence, the $20 price tag may make experimenting with this casual game a little easier to swallow. Either way, I had a lot of fun with WordJong and can see myself popping it into my DS to keep up with the daily puzzles.

Again, there isn't a whole about WordJong to complain or rave about. The words are spelled by touching the screen with the stylus, and that works fine. The soundtrack is meant to be soothing background noise, and it is... If you're looking for a game that you can pick up once in a while and put down again when you grow tired of spelling words, WordJong is the title for you. And at a bargain price of $20 you can't really go wrong.