Are you a fan of Text Twist on Yahoo Games? Do you like to find hidden words in other words? Are you the type of person who likes any and every word game? If so, then the new word game from EeeenMachine is the one for you.
Textropolis is a basic word-finding game. You are presented with cities from around the world and have a goal of finding the hidden words that are in each of their names. Cities like Kingston and Amsterdam are just a few of the over 30 cities with nine-letter names that are featured in Textropolis. Take the city name, find as many words in it as you can, and grow your points (population). That is the goal of Textropolis, plain and simple.
There is something about the iPhone that makes it perfect for word and letter games. The touch controls and the overall layout of the phone makes the iPhone the perfect device for this sort of game. There is something right in just tapping a letter, as opposed to typing it, that makes these games feel so good. Plus, as they are highly addictive (you always want to find harder and harder words), they are perfect for your bus ride to work.
Textropolis starts you with just a single unlocked city, which has 95 four (or more) letter words hidden in its name. Just start to type out a word, hit submit, and grow your city. As you complete words, your city grows, and your population (score) increases. Each time you complete a word, its definition is pulled across the screen by a small animated plane. This is a nice little touch to the game, though some of the definitions are incorrect. After you find and submit, just 10% of the words you are given a new city, and can start playing over there. If you get stuck, Textropolis allows you to sacrifice 1000 people to get a hint. I wonder how that works morally.
Textropolis has several things going from it. For starters, the simplicity of the game is exceptionally nice. I love it when I can just get into a game, no pressure, no stress. The lack of a time clock, or any of the other usual suspects in word games, makes this game nice to play. The fact that I can play for as short or long as possible also makes the game nice. The interface, which is simply touching letters, is well done and makes Textropolis one of the better word games currently out for the iPhone.
Another reason that Textropolis stands out from the pack is the fact that it has little touches that are unique and interesting. From the definition being pulled by an animated plane, to the points being represented by populations, the game seems to be full of these little quirks. They even have a new skyscraper built every 10% of the words you get. These little things make the game feel polished and well thought out. Plus, they go with the city theme quite well.
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Article comments
1 - Ian Marsh
Thanks for the review!
Delete word button: Hold down the backspace key, and the entire word is deleted.
High Score Boards: The game is unfortunately too easy to cheat at to support high score boards.
2 - Robert M. Barga
thanks for letting us know about the auto delete built in
that said, I still think a high score type system would work. Say you let two people play against each other on wifi, or something like that. They are friends (and probably not cheating therefore) and you can have it timed then. Something fun like that