The classic word/board game has arrived on the Sony handheld. Should you buy it, rent it or pass on it altogether? We "spell" it out for you in this review.
The word famous Scrabble board game, which has players constructing words out of letter tiles, has been converted into video game form countless times, with varying degrees of success. In March 2009, Electronic Arts produced a version for the Sony PSP, and while it may not be perfect, it is a solid product that should appeal to fans of the board game.
| Controls | Rating  |
As someone who typically plays Scrabble and other word-puzzle style video games on the PC or the Nintendo DS, I have to admit that I miss the ease of mouse or stylus controls. That said, the controls do work about as well as one could expect. You use the control pad to move a cursor around the board, then push the X button to pull up your tiles. Then you select one with the d-pad, hit X again to choose a tile and build your word. Afterwards, if you're happy with the word, you hit square and select the option to submit it. If you want to edit the word, the circle button can remove tiles from the board.
| Gameplay | Rating |
Of course, the core Scrabble gameplay is as strong as ever. Building words, testing your vocabulary and trying to outscore your opponent are as enjoyable and addictive as ever, and sitting a double or triple word score is undeniably satisfying. In the PSP version, in addition to traditional Scrabble, you get a host of other modes as well, including a training mode that resembles the Jumble anagram game and the Scrabble Slam card game variant. Still, they're minor diversions at most, and the majority of players will be focusing on the core gameplay. The game is single or multiplayer, with both online and hotseat modes available, and there's a great deal of skill and stat tracking done as you play.
| Graphics and Sound | Rating  |
The game looks exceptional visually, as the board and the tiles are quite easy to see and the graphics are immensely sharp. On the other hand, I have to admit that there's little in the way of sound effects, and the music becomes quite irritating after a while. This is the rare PSP game that I preferred to play with the sound turned down.
| Overall Rating | Rating |
Scrabble for the PSP earns a four out of five, based largely on the strength of the core gameplay. However, don't discount the depth either, because there are some unlockables that can be earned, some excellent stat-keeping, and a fairly strong dictionary. The control scheme isn't as strong as you'd find in similar games on other systems, but they work well enough to make this an excellent way to enjoy a game of Scrabble on the go.