Epic Word Search Collection 2 Review

Epic Word Search Collection 2

Release: January 1, 1970
Publisher: Lightwood Games
Developer: Lightwood Games
Genre: Indie, Nintendo 3DS Reviews, Other
PEGI: E
Comments:

 

Comment

Lightwood Games is one of my favorite developers. Word search games are probably a niche category of gaming, but I enjoy them a lot. Not every game Lightwood has done has been perfect, but they have a high quality to their games overall. Their newest game, Epic Word Search Collection 2, came out recently for the 3DS. Is it another winner for the developer or have they finally found a bad word?

Epic Word Search Collection 2 is a lot like the first game. In fact, this game is more like an expansion pack to the first game than a true sequel where there are new gameplay elements added. Even so, that doesn’t make this second Epic Word Search Collection a bad game and, as noted later, there is one element in particular that is better than the first game. Epic Word Search Collection 2 is a really good game and if you love word searching and you are very good at it, you’ll want this game.

I stress that you should be really good at word searching because just the first game, Epic Word Search Collection 2 is a game for expert word searchers and not novices. I would say that the game might be a little harder than the first game too. The words can be pretty hard to find, but if you’re up for a challenge, you’ll like this game a lot.

Epic Word Search Collection 2 presents all new categories and tons of sub-categories for each subject. There’s a lot of content here and some of the words are very hard to find. Even as an English major, I was a bit scared of the Shakespeare category. Its not the only troubling category, but its definitely a major undertaking. Thankfully, the games controls are really good and your struggle is limited to the word finding. These controls are actually better than the first game.

With Epic Word Search Collection 2, Lightwood Games added an option to invert the controls for scrolling to the normal left is left and right is right. This is really great because the first game had completely inverted controls (meaning that left was right and right was left and up was down). This control method was confusing and didn’t work very well for me. But with the second game, you can go into the menu and make the directions normal.

You use the analog stick or the D-pad to scroll. I would recommend using the D-pad because it goes a lot slower. The analog stick can really push you into the next category if you don’t take it slowly. Of course, the game uses the touch screen to highlight words and that works perfect!  Overall, I’m really pleased with the updated control option and the controls overall.  I also like how both 3DS screens are used here. The top screen is used for the words you need to find and the bottom for searching out the words.

I do, however, wish that streetpass was used for more than just sharing data with friends and its too bad amiibo, miiverse, or other 3DS features couldn’t have been used with this game. That all said, Epic Word Search Collection 2 is a really good game. I even think the game looks good too!

Of course you shouldn’t go into Epic Word Search Collection 2 expecting great graphics. The game is a word searching game afterall! That said, I love how Lightwood Games lays out the game’s menus and the graphics for each categories are nice looking.

I wish I could say that I liked the game’s music though. Just like the first game, the piano based soundtrack gets really annoying after awhile and I had to turn it off. Still, its not the worse soundtrack I’ve ever heard. And the game’s sound effects are good. You should definitely leave them on. The truth is that there isn’t much to not like about Epic Word Search Collection 2.

Epic Word Search Collection 2 is a really good game. If you love searching for words and you’re very good at it, this game is a must download. The second game will definitely challenge you even more than the first game in fact. Would I have liked to have seen some new features, like amiibo support or a better use for street pass?

Absolutely, but the game is an excellent “expansion pack” of the first game and the updated controls, harder difficulty, and new categories make it worth downloading if you liked the first game. Word searching novices should avoid this game, but word hounds will want to grab Epic Word Search Collection 2 as soon as possible and dive right in.

Thank you to Lightwood Games for providing a review copy of this game. Epic Word Search Collection 2 is currently available on the 3DS eshop.

Positives

• Great content
• Excellent controls
• Nice visuals/layout

Negatives

• Not for novices
• Music could be better
• Could Have Used More 3DS features

Trailer