Bookworm Adventures Volume 2 in Software

The first Bookworm Adventures was a wry journey through the legends of literature, built around what was essentially a glorified game of Boggle. As the intellectually curious green worm of the title, you had to make words from a four-by-four grid of letters to slay your enemies; the longer and more complex the word, the greater the damage inflicted.

Described like that, it sounds rubbish. But the beauty of Popcap's gem was all in the execution, and Volume 2 knows better than to mess with that too much, keeping the same structure, coloured gem tiles, potions and power-ups - as well as the levelling and boss battles that indicated progression.

But it needs a new theme, so, after travelling through Books 1, 2 and 3 last time, this game gets right into Books 4, 5 and 6, beginning with the world of Fractured Fairy Tales - complete with the game's twisted sense of humour. The first few encounters ease you in gently and show you the ropes, with fights against the Cat and the Fiddle, and the delightfully named Space Cow. But each enemy has an accompanying text description, and when the Moon duly arrives next it hits you with:

"Eeny, meeny, miney, moon,

Catch a tiger by the tune,

If he hollers let him swoon,

Because the moon is the Earth's only natural satellite."

The rest of the game carries on in a similar vein. You'll fight a Little Pig with a special move called Demoralizing Squeal, a Grandma who'll use the Cheek Pincher on you, and a variety of literary companions who'll join your quest and provide you with lovely bonus abilities.

To keep things fresh, you're rewarded for themed words - spell out BACON when fighting a pig for a damage bonus - and against all odds you'll soon find yourself immensely proud of some of your finer 10-letter efforts. The little worm even talks to you as you spell, his encouragement rising as you add letters; you'll want to please him.

It's cute as anything, but it's not perfect - the second book of the three isn't so interesting, and the first half of the game is just too easy, even if it does become more challenging later.

It's also not really one you'll play through again and again, but with the great MasterMind-style word-guessing mini-games and the endless supply of deliriously silly humour, who cares. For £15 it's a delightful demonstration of casual gaming at its best.

Author: David Bayon