I have been a fan of the Bookworm series of casual games for a few years. The DS version stays true to the basic format of the original while adding a few new twists.

For those who are unfamiliar with Bookworm, your task is to create words from a set of letters on a tile board. You can create words only from letters adjacent to one another on the tile board, so the game can be quite the challenge. Some letter tiles are worth more points than others, and forming longer words naturally results in higher scores. Sometimes tiles will change color and end up being more points than they are in their original state. The game continues indefinitely unless a "burning tile" drops to the bottom of the tile board. Burning tiles form periodically at the top of the board, and you must always make it a priority to put them into a word so you can get rid of them before they drop to the bottom and cause you to lose.

The DS version of Bookworm is played with the DS tilted to the side. This feels slightly awkward at first, but I got used to it quickly. The stylus is used throughout the game when connecting the tiles and navigating through menu screens.

You're asked to create a user profile to start (there are three slots for up to three profiles). The original childlike and whimsical Bookworm theme plays on the first menu. After creating a profile, you are given a "word of the day" which, if you form it during a game, will result in bonus points, so be on the lookout for tiles adjacent to one another that can form this word.

There are three game modes: classic, action, and multiplayer. Classic is the version I described earlier. Action forces you to act more quickly to create words as burning tiles can result in a hurry if you idle around too much. I have not used the multiplayer mode, but if you want to compete against someone else for points, apparently you can do that, too.

You can also look at the library or options choices from the menu screen. Library, as one might expect, keeps a host of special achievements, records, and stats you've accumulated throughout your playing time. One new feature to the DS version of Bookworm is a list of 20 books. In these books, you have different categories of related words that you can look to match in the game. For example, vegetables is a book that includes pea, bean, yam, leek, carrot, celery, beet, corn, okra, onion, garlic, and potato. I have yet to complete a book - it is very difficult, especially with words that are five or more letters long - but it's another goal you can set while playing this game. As for the options screen, you can adjust the music and sound volume here, go through a tutorial on how to play if you are new, or check out the credits.

Control-wise, the game is pretty responsive, although there is an annoying lag between pressing the stylus down on a letter tile and getting a response in the action game mode. I tend not to like feeling "rushed" anyway, so I typically just play the classic mode where there is no timer and no lag between using the stylus and seeing its result in the game.

The music and sounds are very fitting and endearing. In contrast to the original version, the playful main theme does not play during the course of the game, only during the introduction, as I mentioned. It's been replaced with a jazzier, nuanced, and more atmospheric sort of tune that helps you concentrate and reflect better. Sound-wise, the bespectacled worm known as Lex still talks to you on occasion, such as praising you when you've created a particularly spectacular word, and the famous "chomp" noise still plays when you've created a word and Lex ends up "eating" all the letter tiles used to make the word.

This is not the sort of game where graphics matter a great deal. They basically just do their job - Lex is drawn in a cartoonish, cute way, the yellowish letter tiles are visible and easy enough to see, and there are some animations here and there, such as the chomping animation when you create different words.

Though Bookworm is a simple game, the replay value is high, and it can very addictive to create words and get new scores, records, etc. (consider - how many of us get addicted to Scrabble and Words with Friends?). This is the kind of game that can appeal to children and adults alike - children will really like Lex and learn new words (occasionally, definitions are even provided off to the side when you make a word), and adults will find it challenging enough to return to just as they do other word-matching games. Other than the lag issue with the controls in the action mode of the game, I really have no serious complaints about Bookworm for the DS. The franchise has once again done a nice job with this game.

Recommended: Yes