Word Rescue

Word Rescue is an educational platform DOS game written by Karen Crowther (Chun) of Redwood Games and released by Apogee Software in March, 1992. It was re-released in 2015 for Steam with support for Windows and Mac OS. The game can also allow the player interact with a pair of Stereoscopic Vision Glasses.[1]

Word Rescue
Developer(s)Redwood Games
Publisher(s)Apogee Software
Programmer(s)Genus Microprogramming
Artist(s)Bud Pembroke
Composer(s)Voyetra Technologies (Original)
Bobby Prince (Plus)
Platform(s)DOS, Windows, Mac OS
ReleaseMarch 18, 1992
Genre(s)platform game, educational
Mode(s)Single-player

Like many Apogee games of the time, Word Rescue includes 3 episodes, with only the first episode playable in the shareware version.

  • Episode 1 - Visit Gruzzleville and the Castle
  • Episode 2 - Explore GruzzleBad Caverns
  • Episode 3 - See the spooky Haunted House

Apogee still sells the registered version of this game.

The game is followed by Word Rescue Plus.

Plot

The story centers on creatures called "The Gruzzles". Because the Gruzzles cannot read, they steal words out of books, preventing others from reading as well. Playing as a boy or girl, the player must help Benny Bookworm take back all the stolen words and match them with their meanings so he may put them back in the books.

Gameplay

The player moves around the screen in a platform shooter style environment. He/she tries to match words with their corresponding pictures, located randomly in the level. In addition, the player must avoid both Gruzzles and dangers. Touching them will result in having to start the level over. Once all 7 words are matched, Benny Bookworm magically turns the player's collected words into a key, which is used to open the door in the level which takes the player to the next level.

If the player matches a word with the wrong picture, a "Gruzzle" appears. To deal with a Gruzzle the player must press the Space bar to order Benny the Bookworm to pour slime on it. The player only has a limited supply of slime but slime can be replenished by collecting slime buckets or completing the mystery word.

One word from the level is randomly chosen at the beginning of each level to be the mystery word, and the letters of that word are placed in a random order around the level, despite the fact that they are in the same places every time. If the player completes the word by collecting the letters of that word in order, bonus points and full slime are awarded. Bonus points can also be earned by collecting books, sliming Gruzzles and matching words with their pictures.

Depending on the difficulty level, there are also a set number of Gruzzles on each level. The Easy difficulty is easy for young players, as there is only one predetermined Gruzzle in the level. The Hard difficulty, however, often has as many or more Gruzzles as there are words to find and 20 books must be collected to reveal the mystery word. This makes the game challenging even for adults.

Reception
Reception
Review score
PublicationScore
AllGame[2]

Computer Gaming World called Word Rescue and Math Rescue "excellent choices for younger children ... though us older 'kids' will still find them entertaining. They are difficult to keep playing".[3]

gollark: .goose unreal engine
gollark: .goose trending on artstation
gollark: .goose non-easter egg
gollark: .goose easter egg
gollark: .goose meme

References
  1. "Aero the Acro-Bat - UK Review". 3D World. Vol. 1 no. 8. Future Publishing. October 1997. p. 17.
  2. "Word Rescue - Review - allgame". Allgame. Archived from the original on November 15, 2014. Retrieved February 1, 2018.
  3. Miller, Chuck (July 1993). "Edutainment 101". Computer Gaming World. p. 116. Retrieved 12 July 2014.
  1. ^ Word Rescue page at Classic DOS Games
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.