WordPops

Android is undeniably proving to be a challenge for game developers, considering the limitations the system imposes in comparison to the iPhone: the smaller screen (on the G1, at least), no multi-touch, reduced graphical abilities and so forth.

But these limitations can prove very inspirational, and force devs to come up with some fascinatingly unique gaming concepts - like WordPops. Reading the Market description, which suggests WordPops is a cross between Scrabble and Tetris, it’s not easy to imagine how on earth the game will play.

Once it’s on the screen, of course, it’s remarkably simple. The game begins with a row of bubbles, each with a letter inside. Gradually, more and more bubbles float up the screen (also with letters inside them) and it’s your job to pop them before you run out of room.

The game uses a simple touch interface, requiring you to draw an unbroken line around a series of bubbles and spell out a word. The bubbles have to be touching (or your line would be broken, of course) though you can move in any direction, including diagonally.

It’s also worth pointing out that the developer, Larva Labs, has taken it ever so slightly easy on you by accompanying every ‘Q’ with a ‘U’, so there’s no need to worry about essentially unmatchable letters ruining your game.

The rest of the letters are quite random, however, so the timed game mode is pretty intense as you scour the screen looking for even the smallest words just to shed a few bubbles. These games don’t last long at all, but they’re surprisingly animated as those bottom rows fill up faster than you can empty them out.

You can also play a more casual game, which works more like a kind of random wordsearch puzzle. This is much more relaxed and offers quite a different style of gameplay, as the challenge lies not in a quick finger but an analytical eye, as you attempt to string together the longest words (as opposed to the fastest ones).

Special bubbles are also thrown into the mix, which have a different effect when they’re eliminated. Mutate bubbles, for instance, change the letters in the bubbles around them, while fire ones explode and take their neighbours with them. Ice bubbles are very useful, as they briefly freeze the game board, while multiplier bubbles help to shore up the big scores.

Graphically WordPops doesn’t really ask much of the Android system, but that hasn’t stopped the developer from including some very nice looking visuals. The bubbles themselves would benefit from a little animation, but they still look pretty splendid, with an oily, soapy sheen to their reflective surfaces and a superb ice effect when the screen is frozen with a special bubble.

You can't accuse WordPops of being a deep gaming experience, and its longevity is probably quite limited, but crossword and wordsearch puzzle fans will enjoy having their letter arranging skills put to test against the timer.

There’s a Lite version so you can test it out before committing, though it’s worth nothing that the full version’s two player mode does add an extra dimension to the gameplay that will help keep WordPops alive a little while longer.