Review: Bookworm Adventures

At a Glance

ESRB Rating: NR - Not Rated
My Rating: Ages 6 and up
Genre: Puzzle / RPG
License: Commercial
Fun-O-Meter:
Release Year: 2009
Review Published On: August 27th, 2016
Played on: Martha

Available on:

Windows

Available from:

No longer available :(

Areas of Concern:
  • Fantasy monsters
  • Hallucination themed level


How to Save and Pause:

Your progress is saved in your profile whenever you leave the game. This includes how far youre progressed in the current battle.

Time needed per session:

While the battles themselves arent terribly long, the time spent in each level does add up. So, in order to give yourself enough time to make progress, plan on playing for at least 15 minutes per session.

Does this game pose issues for Christian players?

Some players may have concerns
The biggest issue found in this game is that many of the enemies Lex encounters are monsters from various mythologies. This includes a trip through the Underworld (ie, Hell).

Additionally, at one point Lex gets lost in the desert, which causes him to battle a hallucination.

Screenshots

[view screenshot]
Meeting a Phantom in the Netherworld

[view screenshot]
That outfit is quite impractical

[view screenshot]
Guess the word, win a prize



Game Overview

Bookworm was one of Popcaps more popular games, so naturally they would give it a sequel. But, instead of an upgraded sequel like they did with the Bejeweled series, they changed it into to a more story-driven adventure and added features to make it more like an RPG.

The story opens with Lex quietly reading in the Grand Library. Suddenly, Codex, the librarian, called him over to see something important. Holding out a book, he showed Lex an alarming sight: the words were vanishing off the pages! Moments later they were replaced by a plea for help, signed by the oracle Cassandra. Using his magic pen, Codex sent Lex into the storybook worlds to save Cassandra, discover what dastardly scheme is afoot, and stop whoever is behind it.

In order to fight the villains of each storybook, the gameplay changed in several ways. True to the RPG style, each battle involves Lex and some enemy trading attacks until one of them runs out of health. After the battle, Lex is completely healed and ready to continue on to the next challenger. There are also a number of buffs and debuffs that both sides can use, and its vital that you plan to either use them yourself or defend against them.

In the meantime, youre still spelling words using tiles from a grid like you did originally. But unlike the way things worked in the first game, the letters dont need to be next to each other or form a line. Being able to select any tile makes it a lot easier to find the larger words, and this becomes very important because the amount of damage Lex can inflict on an enemy is based on the length and complexity of the word you spelt. By the middle of the first book, youll have unlocked the ability to use gem tiles. These special tiles have different effects when they are used to spell a word. For example, emerald tiles will heal Lex a little while amethyst tiles will poison an enemy.

Along the way Lex will acquire magical treasures. Equipping these before entering a level allows them to activate and give Lex an edge. Some protect him from debuffs, while others boost the chances of special tiles appearing or the strength of certain key words. Youre only allowed to use three of them at a time though, so youll need to pick wisely.

Lastly, there are several minigames where you can earn extra potions or special powerful tiles. While the potions remain in your inventory until you use them, the tiles will automatically be placed in the letter grid at the start of the next level. This makes them a little less useful, but with some care they could be very effective.

Overall, I feel that Bookworm Adventures improves on the original Bookworm formula in several ways, but unfortunately, it also introduces a few things that arent really appropriate for the youngest gamers -- things like a level that resembles a drug trip, the revealing costumes worn by several of the female characters and one of the late game characters even uses what some people consider to be a mild swear word.

Of course, the biggest problem with this game is one that currently plagues the entire Bookworm franchise: its been taken off the market. Last I heard, this was due to an intellectual property dispute, so its possible that it will return in the future. Similar games have appeared in the Steam store, though its anybodys guess when Ill get to reviewing those.

Points of Interest

Bookworm adapts to its new genre well

Changing genres can end badly for a series, as the developers are practically starting over again. This often results in a sharp drop in quality, though Bookworm Adventures manages to make the shift from a word-based puzzle game to an adventure game really smoothly. It helps that they didnt stray too far from the original idea.

Failure is treated lightly

If Lex is defeated, hell fall over and an angel form of himself will fly off the screen. However, death is just a tap on the wrist in this game. You can try a stage as many times as you need, and in the meantime, the minigames are usually made available to help you regain any potions you used up in your last attempt.

Searchable Bestiary and bonus minigames

Once you progress far enough in the story, you unlock various bonus features. These include a fully searchable bestiary and the ability to play the minigames whenever you want. Playing the minigames this way doesnt aid you in your quest, but it does let you practice them or just play them for fun.

Comic book cutscenes keep the story moving

At various points the story is told via animated comics. Its a simple way of doing cutscenes, and it works really well. If you want, you can even skip the cutscene and get right into the action.

The story itself takes several unexpected turns and there are a few plot twists that you might not be expecting. Just about everyone has their own agenda in this tale, and while Lex is book-smart, hes also very street stupid. Thus, hes remarkably easy to trick, and often innocently blunders into trouble that couldve been avoided.

Combat feels a little unbalanced some of the time

Theres no real way to properly grind for experience. The best you can do is replay the current stage until you eventually clear it. This becomes tedious at points, and some levels are harder than the levels that follow them.

Some artifacts dont appear to work

Many of the artifacts protect Lex against certain debuffs. However, some of them dont seem to actually work. For example, petrify is annoying, and nothing appears to block it, including the items that are supposedly protecting Lex from being petrified.

The last cutscene is obviously cheap

Developers often take shortcuts when they make a game, and its really only an issue when the shortcut is glaringly obvious and distracts the player. Case in point: the final cutscene uses an image of Cassandra no less than five times on the same screen. Everything else in this final comic was drawn fresh and from various angles, creating a very jarring effect that can ruin the moment.

Concerns and Issues

Classic tales and characters

Since the adventure takes place inside the stories of yore, Lex encounters a lot of famous faces in his travels. Each of the areas is designed after a theme and contains monsters that youd expect for that setting. For example, the area based on Greek/Roman mythology has monsters like harpies, centaurs and a cyclops or three.

Lex visits the Underworld for a bit

Early on Lex takes a detour through the Underworld. As expected, the area is populated by the undead and theres piles of skulls everywhere. Its still taken lightly, and the game even cracks jokes about the situation -- theres a Phantom that enjoys opera, for example.

Mild swearing in one instance

One of the monsters in the third chapter has an incredibly stereotypical Southern manner of speaking, and at one point this includes the use of the word whoopass.

A little more clothing wouldnt hurt

Some of the enemies, nymphs in particular, show a lot of skin. They are still covered and wearing more than a bikini, but it would only take a sudden breeze to change that. In short, I can see parents objecting to characters wearing the same outfits in a movie, so it should be considered objectionable here.

Lex has quite a trip in the desert

At one point in the second chapter, Lex ends up stranded in the desert. He eventually experiences some crazy hallucinations, up to and including his own evil opposite, Xel. This entire level resembles a drug trip, even though its played for humor.