Xanagrams

Copyright : Amsoft | Reviewed by : Ritchardo

Xanagrams is an educational word game which, in it?s simplest form, can be played by the youngest school child and, at the highest level, will be a challenge to the most literate adult.

Xanagrams combines the fun of hangman with the mental stimulation of anagrams and crosswords.

Xanagrams contains over 4000 different words, the number of permutations is therefore incalculable!

Graphics

As it is such a simple game, in terms of looks and design, Xanagrams is far from a graphical marvel. The player is presented with the standard blue background upon which sit a series of red squares which indicate the number of letters in the word you are trying to guess. The flashing cursor selects which space you are attempting to fill and this is replaced with the correct letter once you?ve guessed it... Have you noticed that less than a paragraph in, I have already started to pad. That?s because there is nothing else to the graphics. At all. Not even a menu screen. Or a high score table. Even the cover looks basic...

Sound

Only two sounds punctuate the game, a bleep to indicate a wrong guess and a series of tones (that could be loosely described as a tune) which accompany a correct one. Defenders of the Amstrad?s sound capabilities from marauding, smug Commodore users are well advised to stare at their feet and mumble...

Gameplay

A cross between perennial pen and paper favourite Hangman and UK TV?s Countdown (arguably the only show to ever simultaneously aim for the student and pensioner markets at the same time?), Xanagrams tasks the player with attempting to complete a clueless crossword grid with only the letters used in the puzzle to help you.

More a case of trial and error than skill, Xanagrams is an extremely easy game to get to grips with and, as an educational tool, is excellent for boosting a youngster?s vocabulary. As a game, however, Xanagrams is a little short in variety and without any other graphical distractions or anything to distract you from the one-dimensionalism of the puzzle, you?ll soon find yourself tiring of it.

Never to be mistaken for a classic, this early Amsoft freebie probably deserved it?s place in the early release packs as it did fuse learning with gaming very well but it?s too much blind luck and button jabbing to provide any challenge of intellect for older gamers.