There is a far off island called Pogo.com. It is a place of adventure, of triumph, and of a few too many clones. Underneath the rubble were games like Word Whomp, a word scrambler that challenges you to form a given number of words, and Tri-Peaks Solitaire, a newer take on a classic card game that’s three times the fun.

Wouldn’t it be great if islands could be shrunk into one tiny, Nintendo DS-sized game card? Jack, Kate, and Sawyer may not like the idea of being extra small, but it’s unlikely that a Web game is going to complain. (Though you never know, so keep your lawyers handy just incase.) If such a feat could be reached, the conclusion would be a game called Pogo Island. It’d be a compilation of Pogo.com’s best offerings. Each game would be of the highest quality, containing more challenging goodness than any other version available.

Dreams do come true on occasion. But while Pogo Island fulfills the wish of a Pogo.com collection, it does not contain the best of what the Web site has to offer.

Game 1 – Word Whomp

Six letters are given: N-O-B-R-O-C. Seven three-letter words are to be formed out of the jumble, along with two four-letter words, one five-letter word, and one six-letter word. “Corn” and “born” were easy finds. “Con,” “croon,” and “rob” weren’t too difficult either. But my mind went blank after that.

I hit the mix up button to change the letter formation to N-O-B-O-R-C, then O-B-O-R-N-C. It still wasn’t making any sense. There’s an obvious three-letter word in there: orb. For whatever the reason, I did not see it. That word only appeared on screen after I tapped the hint button. It’s helpful, but hints come at a price: six seconds are shaved off the time limit for every hint received. One hint = one letter.

The time quickly ran out, revealing the six-letter secret: bronco. The word was right under my nose the entire time! Previous experiences should’ve made this one an easy score. (My uncle collects Ford Broncos; I thoroughly enjoyed the white bronco chase scene in Shrek 2, etc.) But it’s those moments of disbelief in defeat that turn Word Whomp into a fun word game.

 
Word Whomp in action.

Other than what you already know, there isn’t much to say about Word Whomp. The touch screen was programmed well for this game, ensuring that the gameplay stays simple and mainstream-approved.

There is one point of concern though: this version is not as intelligent as the PC edition. Word Whomp can be played online for free, but there is a more advanced PC version for sale. That one contains more than 10,000 puzzles. Its dictionary isn’t perfect but it is pretty big. However, you will find words that appear in the PC edition that do not appear here, but not vice versa. You will be stumped as words as simple as “rile” are, as the game likes to remind you, “Not in our dictionary!”

Also, would it have been so wrong for the game to acknowledge a few game-oriented words? I couldn’t believe that “poly” was not in its dictionary. That was a word long before video games came around.

Casual gamers are going to be very frustrated by this aspect of the game. I know this for certain because I allowed a friend (who is a casual gamer that loves Word Whomp) to try this version. “I don’t like that I can’t enter the same words as the PC game,” she said. “It’s confusing.”

 
Poppit!

Game 2 – Poppit!

Poppit! is an interesting, 8x13 playing field of balloons. When two or more of the same-colored balloons are touching each other, touch one of those balloons to pop the linked cluster. Do this repeatedly until all balloons have been eliminated.

In any normal circumstance, this would have "easy" written all over it. But Poppit! isn't normal. As balloons are eliminated, the remaining helium-holders gather together. You can't create a chain reaction, but it is possible to set up a pop that will lead to other elimination opportunities.

In your quest to get the biggest pop, you might wind up with a few stray balloons -- one blue, one yellow, one purple, etc. If there are no other blue, yellow, or purple balloons in the game, there is no way that the stray balloons can be popped. And even if there are other matching balloons available, you have to make two or more touch before they can be popped.

 
Fish are puzzle pieces in Squelchies

Game 3 – Squelchies

Six rows of fish appear on the top screen and are pushed down to the bottom screen as additional fish are added to the game. It looks like any basic puzzler but has a unique control element. Instead of pushing or stacking fish as you'd expect, players align the sea creatures by touching the bottom screen. Fish are then thrust to the point of your stylus. Lift the stylus to release the fish, which will float to the top of whichever row they are closest to. Connect three or more fish of the same color to make them disappear.

 
Solitaire at its best.

Game 4 – Tri-Peaks Solitaire

Ten cards in front with three pyramids of six cards in back. Tap the cards to match them up with the appropriate hand.

 
A puzzler at its worst.

Game 5 – Phlinx

A boring knock-off of Bust-a-Move with a pirate theme. Nothing more worth saying.

Board Games and Tokens

You’ll earn Pogo.com tokens for every successful win. I don’t use them, but for those who do this isn’t a bad way to earn a few extra.

Since the game is called Pogo Island and not simply Pogo.com Collection, EA included a board game feature that lets you spin a wheel (using a stylus), move across a 2D board, and play the designated game. There isn’t any purpose of this feature other than to give you a different way to play the five included games (which can also be accessed at any time via the Quick Play option).

Though it probably goes without saying, Pogo Island doesn’t deliver the Pogo.com experience I was hoping for. It’s a solid collection that is all but killed by low-quality versions of each game.

Gameplay: 5.9
Solitaire, a word scrambler, a balloon popper, a Bust-a-Move knock-off, and a drag-‘n-pull puzzler all rolled into one. The results are not what they could’ve been. Pogo Island’s version of Word Whomp is much less expansive than the PC edition, which can be purchased in a three-pack with Phlinx and Poppit! for $20. Word Whomp may also be purchased solo for $10. I wasn’t expecting Pogo Island to be a revolutionary product. But each of these games can be played online for free. Why shouldn’t this version – which must be purchased – be several times better?

Graphics: 4.0
Generic Web game imagery.

Sound: 4.0
Generic Web game sounds. (Oh no…a pattern!)

Difficulty: Easy
None of the five games are very challenging, but you can increase the difficulty and keep your fingers crossed.

Concept: 7.3
Compilations barely classify as a concept. Pogo Island tries to offer a little bit more in the form of a board game layout. Spin a wheel, move the specified number of spaces, and play whichever game you land on.

Multiplayer: 5.0
Single-card download for demo play, but you’ll need two game cards for multiplayer.

Overall: 5.9
Diehard Pogo.com fans will love having five of the site’s top games in one DS collection. They’ll love its portability, its accurate touch-screen features, and they’re likely to enjoy the board game portion. But the love and enjoyment ends there. At the very least, Pogo Island should be PC-perfect. In other words, equal to the quality of the version you buy for PC. Word Whomp was the primary reason I wanted this game, and it’s disappointing to see puzzles repeat themselves. It’s also disappointing to see the game say, “That word is not in our dictionary,” when the PC version finds it every time. These are things to remember before making a purchase.