One thing that I look for in a game is replay value. And one of the best titles of last year, in terms of replay, was Destineer's WordJong for the DS. It took all the fun of Scrabble, added some animal avatars, for a product that was much greater than the sum of its parts. Its daily puzzles certainly helped me wile away many an hour on my morning train commute. This year, they'll be bringing all the fun of the handheld version to the Wii with WordJong Party, and this morning I got to get a look at it on the floor of PAX.

The game has added some new features; including an enhanced single player mode, all new multi-player modes, and much more impressive graphics. I had a chance to watch the developers playing a four player match which highlighted some of the new power-ups that Party will incorporate. Earning power-ups serve to either help your own game, or hinder your opponents'. I got to watch some of the power-ups in action, including one that flipped all the tiles backwards, forcing the player to spell words in a mirror. 

The single player modes have also been enhanced for Party. The Daily Mode returns from the DS version, but with new themes (e.g. ice puzzles, jade puzzles, et al).  The Battle Mode has also been upgraded for the Wii version. You'll still be fighting various animals of the Zodiac as you make your way up Zodiac Mountain, but now there is the possibility of facing off against more than one enemy.

WordJong Party looks like it will be a solid addition to the Wii's seemingly endless library of get-together social games. I doubt it will be named game of the year by anyone, but it certainly meets the criteria of replay value.

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