Yes!
I finally placed on the highscore table...I had to take a break and then my next games was the one. I also changed the way I was playing. Both in strategy and mode(?).
Bookworm is one of a few games that you play with the DS held sideways - like a book. I hold it in my right hand, with the stylus on the left. As I tap to mark a work I then changed to using my right thumb to press the "submit" button, thus saving a little bit of time (instead of tapping the button with the stylus). It worked much better and reduced the number of times I had a word selected but wasn't able to score it because the tile caught fire or moved - thus rendering the word I had selected no longer valid.
I've had this game for AGES. Since at least 2012...which is what my Steam page showed as the last time I had played the game (for like, 50 minutes or so?).
I was surprised how easy it was to get back in...it's basically jumping and the time rewinding. And, it's obvious how the game is an xbox one... What I was surprised most by though is that the game runs super well despite a weird startup screen with some sort of settings. It looks...well, over 15 years old in terms of system UI elements. BUT, the game itself works. Amazing. I wonder if that's because it's been updated behind the scenes to run on latest windows sort of thing? Or if it's a Steam thing?
I hadn't realized how challenging the game is in terms of the puzzles and how much trial and error there is. It took me a while before I realized that if you're able to jump on an enemy multiple times it boosts your jump height! The fact that you can move on ahead to the end of the levels and such was also surprising - I wonder if you can get to the end that way? I'll have to try...because I'm sure I don't want to spend THAT long puzzling stuff out.
I remember hearing that Jon Blow was disappointed by the (relatively?) poor sales of the remastered version of the game. I'm not that surprised in the sense that the game hasn't aged as well as I thought it had. The time warping, while cool feels less special (obviously) and there seem to be more areas of friction than you'd see in a modern game. Product of its time, for sure. I'm curious what my students will think/say about it....
For a hot minute Pop Cap games had a bunch of hit games - Bejeweled, Zuma, Plants vs Zombies...and this one - Bookworm - is the only I never played. Maybe I didn't play the aquarium one either?
So, I picked this up on the DS and I've been playing it...
...and the "realtime" mode is super hard! I've been trying to place on the high score table (26K points would get me on the bottom, 50K would put be 1st) that's populated with whoever played the game before me. And I have NOT been able to do it! So, you're always making words - but in realtime mode some letters will get hot and then catch fire and then burn the letter beneath them and drop down. If they reach the bottom, game over.
I've been able to do fine on the "turn-based" one - easily playing for 90 minutes.. (and easily placing top on the leaderboard). But the real-time mode is killing me. I do like the fact that you can have a chill relaxing experience or a tense anxiety-filled one...and the game has unlocks and thigns to reward playing over and over a again. You're basically kitting out rooms in a house...I don't think I've even finished the 1st house, and there are like ten of them! So, I could definitely keep this one on a long rotation...
Ha! 5 minutes of sleuthing (aka searching and reading wikipedia) - and yes, there was a TV show and everything. It was an Italo-French production, ran for three seasons and while it saw wider distribution, I'm guessing it wasn't much of a hit in the US? (apparently did really well in Brazil)
