I like word games. Do you? Let us begin with the simple things, not one, not two, but THREE hangman simulations are currently available for your wordplay needs.
I enjoyed Hang 'Em High the most, if only for the poorly animated crackshot sequence at the end. The developers of Hang 'Em High and Simply Hangman have each released another game besides hangman. While Hangman Deluxe seems to be that developers only release. This presents us with a problem.
One of the reasons I enjoy the Indie Channel is because of the fact that a good portion of my dollars are funneled into the pockets of the developers. If a developer doesn't sell enough copies to meet the $150 dollar payout minimum, they might never see a check and MS pockets what the gamer was intending to go to the developer. I believe the Indie Channel audience is large enough that most new games released will see a check or two, but we are now over a year into this thing and I am beginning to wonder about the back catalog. And whether or not a significant portion of the eight hundred and thirty six games currently on the service will be generating any monies for their developers after another year, especially when there is sure to be another eight hundred newer games available.
If you are thinking about purchasing a hangman game, you are aren't you? Then I would suggest Hang 'Em High. The developer just released a new game a few days ago. Payout limits are per developer so Hang 'Em High is the best bet that your 80 points will be sent to the developer and not MS.
It's Anagram time!!
What do you know! Three Anagram Games as well :) They all have their faults but I think Words In A Word is the most polished and fun, not to mention actually playable. I reviewed this game awhile back.
Interestingly, Puzzle was created by the same developer as Simply Hangman. I wonder if there is a secret wordgame project in the works? At any rate, the developers of Words In A Word have four games up on the indie channel so again, if you are looking for an anagram game your best bet is this one.
An Oldie But Goodie!
Word Soup was actually a launch title for the channel, and the novelty factor probably helped the game generate some downloads and sales. I enjoy playing the untimed mode, I play word games to relax most of all. What's interesting about this game is that it began its life as an electronic pub game over in Europe. Arkanoid I can understand but a randomized word search? Maybe the game was a test to see how drunk you were, if you could actually play the game that would mean you need to drink some more.
This is the only game the developer has submitted to the indie channel. I checked out their website and sent them an email but haven't heard back from them. I bought this game on day one, I am sure a lot of people did. The audience for the channel has surely grown and you are all word game fans right? and taking the time to look through the entire catalog? Even so I wonder how many sales Word Soup will get this year, it will be interesting to find out, if we ever can.
I forget what to call this one
But I did review it a bit ago. Actually, I think I peer reviewed this game. If I recall correctly one of the only reviewers to actually give the online portion a test. C'est la vie.
WordSearch
The simplest, but also one of my favorite types of word games. Having said that I had some problems with this game. There is just something about small letters on a big screen that just doesn't seem to work. You should download it and then select the 20x20 grid just for a laugh. Do you see that multicolored thing in the lower right corner? It's supposed to control the media player but guess what? That's right, it doesn't.
WordTris
Which Brings us to the Genesis of this posting.
War Of Words
War Of Words appears to be a randomized free form anagrammer with some RPG elements borrowed heavily from Puzzle Quest. I am really excited about this one but I am a bit worried about the gameplay, namely if the constant stream of randomized letters is going to allow me to make words in any sort of satisfying fashion. The game is currently in peer review and will hopefully be available on the Xbox Indie Channel shortly. Unless someone uncovers a code 4 crash or something which happens about 100% of the time I think. Go check out the developers page, War of Words Blog.
-Darth
Now Darth... That was apost and then some.
ReplyDeleteKeep up the good work. I enjoy reading when you write.
Voodoochief
Thanks! The Word Soup Devs got back to me, they sell one or two copies of Word Soup a day. Enough to receive a check After a few months I think. They see XBLIG as a risk though and are unsure about releasing more games to the channel.
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