SpellTower Spells Success With Upcoming Multiplayer Update
April 6, 2012
Since its release in November 2011, SpellTower has been a single-player game. But that's about to change next week when a much-requested multiplayer mode is finally introduced in the game.
A clever iOS hybrid of Boggle and Tetris, SpellTower lets you play on your own as you form words within a tower of letter tiles. The upcoming update will effectively make the game less like Solitaire and more like Scrabble in that it will enable you to play against an opponent. The multiplayer setup will not be asynchronous, though, as you might expect. It will not involve you and another player playing on a single iPad and taking turns in making words. Rather, it will involve a synchronous gameplay between two iPads connected over Bluetooth.
Highlighted in the launch trailer for SpellTower 3.0 below, the multiplayer mode or, as it is called in the game, debate mode is a variation of the existing rush mode, in which new rows of letters are added to the tower over time. Notice that whenever you score a word in debate mode, a corresponding number of letters is added to your opponent's tower, and vice versa. A gray outline of your opponent's tower is also added to your board to let you know how far ahead or behind you are with respect to your opponent's progress. Both gameplay enhancements are quite smart, and I can't wait to give them a whirl.
If you can't see the video embedded above, please click here.
Of course, support for the new iPad's Retina display will also be included in the update. In addition, an optional night mode will be made available, which should make the game's graphics more comfortable to behold under dark lighting conditions. Notice, too, in the video that the update will supposedly make the tiles of formed words fall off instead of just plainly disappearing from the board. It's the little touches such as this, as well as the big ones, that make SpellTower a great word game. Make that a great game, period.
As reported by Touch Arcade, SpellTower 3.0 was scheduled to come out as early as tomorrow. But an unexpected "misspelling" in the update's approval process pushed its release back to April 12. No matter, I'm pretty sure it'll be worth the longer wait.
Designed for both iPhone and iPad, SpellTower is available in the App Store for $1.99.
