GamersInfo.net

I've always enjoyed doing a leisurely crossword puzzle, so I was looking forward to seeing what Merv Griffin's Crosswords had to offer. I've found crossword puzzles all right, but leisurely, not so much.

Apparently the late Merv Griffin was a great fan of crossword puzzles. He created the show and had just finished the first week's production at the time of his death. The video game, as you might guess, is based on this game show.

The game allows you to create up to 10 character profiles. You get to customize your name and then pick either a male or female silhouette. There's only one mode of play, so once you've named yourself, it's time to get started.

You begin by seeing the entire grid of the blank puzzle. The few seconds you spend looking at the grid wondering if the game is going to get started are probably the last few seconds you'll have to ponder anything during the course of the game.

Merv Griffin's Crosswords is divided into three rounds of play with a final stage in which you try to complete the puzzle. With each word, you're shown the number of letters and any letters that have already been solved, and then, you're given a clue. You have 8 seconds to hit the space bar to ring in, 10 seconds to start typing and 10 seconds to finish typing. If you know the answer, you can just start typing without ringing in.

There are other miscellaneous things thrown in — beyond the harsh time limit — to further capture the feel of the game show. You'll have spoilers, such as the computer trying to steal your cash or prizes if you answer wrong. Sometimes if you get a word right, you'll be shown a picture of a vacation destination — the Crosswords Getaway. Some words trigger the Crosswords Extra. This gives you the chance to wager anything from $50 to all of your current winnings against getting the next word right. Your cash can go up fast with this option — but only if you're good.

The cash and trips won are the points you'll earn in the game. Reaching a higher total unlocks different player rankings but doesn't appear to do much else. There also are “prizes” you can unlock — like for getting combinations of words correct in a row, for example.

I've found that giving a wrong answer is actually worse than no answer. If you don't respond at all, the computer fills in the answer and the game goes on. A wrong answer (or spelling the correct answer wrong) gets cash subtracted from your total. Your downfall won't stop at zero either — the game has no problem dropping you into negative winnings. Ouch. Because of the penalty for a wrong answer, lack of penalty for no answer and the fact that I'm not competing against anyone, if I'm not sure, I just let it go.

I do enjoy crossword puzzles, but not against the clock. I was slightly annoyed that the clue given (unlike my usual printed puzzle) doesn't indicate if the answer contained multiple words. You could guess it would be an abbreviation if one of the words in the clue was abbreviated, but there was nothing to indicate multiple words. The graphics are basic at best. You'll see the puzzle, silhouettes of you and the host, and that's it. The soundtrack is just nondescript game show music, and the host repeatedly tells me here's my next clue. (You can turn off the host talking in options if you want.)

For fans of the game show, you'll probably enjoy Merv Griffin's Crosswords. It wasn't really my cup of tea. I'd much rather curl up with a pencil and a printed puzzle, but that's me.