The graphics and sound effects are unremarkable, and even crude. In fact, the activities are quite intelligent and surprisingly fun, even for a tester accustomed to many of the latest edutainment titles on the market. Though Word Way was developed to run directly from the CD-ROM, the program can be copied to the hard drive for easy accessibility, requiring a mere 20 MB of hard drive space. Mac users require a Power PC with 12 MB of available RAM, System 7.5.3 or later, and a CD-ROM drive. The exercises provide excellent and age-appropriate practice with language arts skills.
Activities are just the right length to be thoroughly digestible.
Though this title is not flashy or sophisticated on a technological level, the activities are really quite engaging. Different themes for activities were not felt to be especially exciting by testers, but accumulating points for correct answers was considered to be fun. Design Straightforward navigation and a non-linear design allow students to work independently at their own pace. Replayability Randomized content, digestible exercises, and a good variety and number of activities provide some longevity to the program. The words students work with are drawn from a large pool and are randomly-generated, creating a new experience each time a child uses the program.