Kevin Remhof
01-24-2003, 07:00 PM
Are you a fan of your local newspaper's "Jumble"? Do you have a craving for fast paced word games? If so, check out my review of Astraware's Text Twist 1.01.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/remhof-jan03-texttwist-0.gif" /> <br /><br /><!> <br /><i>Text Twist 1.01 from Astraware is the latest online-gone-offline game from Astraware. The game gives you six letters to see how many 3, 4, 5, and 6 letter words you can make out of them. If you make one or more 6-letter words, you move on to the next level. It’s simple, fast, and a lot of fun.</i> <br /><br /><span><b>Who came up with this?</b></span> <br />Astraware has made a name for themselves by taking popular online games and making handheld versions of them. The first (and my personal favorite) is Bejeweled, which became Diamond Mine for the Pocket PC. If you haven't tried it yet, stop reading this and download it now!<br /><br />One of my favorite new online games is Text Twist on <a href="http://games.yahoo.com/">Yahoo! Games</a>. When I saw that there was a Pocket PC version, I had to try it.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/remhof-jan03-texttwist-1.gif" /> <br /><i>Figure 1: The main screen of the game. This is how it looks before you've "found" any words".</i> <br /> <br /><span><b>How to play</b></span> <br />Text Twist 1.01 is a simple game to learn. You are given 6 letters and have to make 3, 4, 5, and 6 letter words out of them. To help you out, the game shows you how many of each type of word can be made. All you do it tap on the letters to build words and then tap "Enter". If you're stumped, you can tap the "Twist" button and the letters will shuffle, helping you spot words you've missed. Pretty simple, huh?<br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/remhof-jan03-texttwist-2.gif" /> <br /><i>Figure 2: The game in progress. As you can see, I've found ART, CAT, RAT, VAT, and CART. As soon as I hit "Enter", I'll have CRAVAT as well.</i> <br /><br />There are some differences between the online and offline versions though. In the online version, you can choose letters with the mouse or keyboard. The keyboard is much faster for me. With the handheld version, you tap the letters with your stylus. It’s not quite as fast as the keyboard but is faster than with the mouse. The only other difference is the order of the words as you find them. Online, they're grouped by first letter, but not necessarily alphabetically. On the Pocket PC, they are in alphabetical order. This is a great advantage for when you can't find the words you missed.<br /><br /><span><b>Gameplay</b></span><br />At first, the game is just plain fun. But once you get the hang of it, you really get hooked. I don't think it’s as addictive as Diamond Mine, but it gets you. Finding the 6 letter word is the challenge. If you don't find it, the game is over. You have 2 minutes to find as many words as you can. I usually start by trying to find the 6 letter word and then moving on. Once in a while, I can't find it and lose.<br /><br /><b><span>Gotchas</span></b> <br /><ul><li>This game may become your new best friend.</ul><span><b>Where To Buy</b></span> <br />Text Twist 1.01 is available <a href="http://www.astraware.com/games/gamehouse/texttwist/ppc.php">directly from Astraware</a> for $14.95 for Palm OS or Pocket PC. A demo version is also available.<br /><br /><b><span>Conclusions</span></b> <br />A solid word puzzle game from a reputable game maker that’s only 350KB. Simple, fast, and addictive. Great for when you want to waste a few minutes or half an hour.