Nobody enjoyed English class during school. Nobody except the teacher’s pets and nerds. But truthfully, all the world of gaming is a plethora of nerds anyway. To each their own, I always say. Well, Ubisoft decided to bring together the bookworms and gaming gurus with the magic of one single, interesting Wii title called “My Word Coach”.

The idea revolves around the same basic principle as Brain Age, with a primary goal of teaching players important aspects of language while maintaining a certain pace of enjoyment. This concept actually involves a series of four games, each with its own special emphasis on language or grammar. “My Word Coach” is the basis of all four games, but Ubisoft also created a DS version of the Wii iteration, as well as DS versions entitled “My Spanish Coach” and “My French Coach."

“My Word Coach” places an obvious focus on learning as much as possible in a short time frame, but does well in creating a fun environment to learn in. Every aspect of the game is simple, from navigating the menus by tilting the Wiimote left or right, to the basic point-and-click gameplay. No matter what mini-game you decide to take part in, you can bet that most of your focus will be on figuring out the words in front of you. The ease of use is great for a younger audience, as well as those spelling bee types that would prefer to focus on the game instead of the controller.

Upon diving into the game, you will be prompted to make a profile. Eight profiles can be created in all, and even if you demand every profile, like the family from the T.V. show “Jon and Kate plus 8”, you can still let people play as guests. After profile creation, you will select between four different teachers. Each one has a unique personality, but that is basically the only difference between them.

A unique scoring system is used to record progress and decipher just how well the player is doing during each session of playing and learning. As you progress, the game will remind you of what you’ve accomplished, and will continue to challenge you accordingly. This aspect creates a nice mild slide of difficulty that works for any age of gamer.

After swimming through the basics, the game will toss you into the first of a number of puzzles available to test your grammar mettle. Split Decision asks players to match a word to a definition or vice versa. Word Shuffle provides a group of words to match up with a group of definitions, building on the one word concept of Split Decision. Missing Letter tosses randomly selected words onto the screen with a single letter missing. You as the player must “spray-paint” the letter onto the screen. The game rarely misreads your scribbling, but if it does, you simply shake the Wiimote to erase and redraw the correct letter again. Pasta Letters is a play on alphabet soup. A word is presented on screen, and the player must grab letters from the pasta bowl to recreate the word. The catch is that the letters are slowly sinking, so you must think fast. You can imagine how this could not only be mildly fun and entertaining, but also aid your brain in reflex and spelling.

Block Letters is a bit reminiscent of Scrabble, simply because it uses block letters as pieces of the puzzle. You must view the letters on the chalkboard and then select them from the blocks available. If you select in the wrong order, some words might remain unfinished, so wits are welcome with this mini-game. Finally, Safecracker allows the player to tilt the Wiimote to select letters on a dial in order to crack a safe.

From a multiplayer standpoint, the game can become very competitive and fun, especially when playing a mini-game such as Safecracker. Each of you is attempting to spell a word, but each opponent’s dial is visible. Because of this, you can easily take hints from the opponent and use them to your advantage. But on the other hand, your opponent can do just the same. This gameplay mechanic creates a constant flow of close word battles. The DS version of the game can also be paired with the Wii version, which allows for some intuitive controls and a different take on the typical gameplay. For example, instead of drawing the letter in during the Missing Letter mini-game, you can draw it on your DS touch screen with the stylus. This can eliminate any confusion in letter recognition.

Visually, there is nothing special about “My Word Coach.” In fact, the game uses monotonous color schemes, and could’ve really kept attention with more striking visuals. Imagine the flair of Geometry Wars mixed into a learning experience. This is the visual that could’ve set “My Word Coach” on a mainstream level. Acoustically, the game does nothing groundbreaking or noticeable either. In fact, the sound is almost not worth noting.

Overall, “My Word Coach” provides yet another learning experience via video games that not only works, but works well. Although nothing is overdone visually or acoustically, the game does everything you’d expect from a teaching product. If you have children, or enjoy playing word games, “My Word Coach” might be a right fit for you.

Gameplay: 6.5
Solid mechanics paired with a simple, yet intuitive control scheme create a pleasant experience on the Wii. The mini-games are lacking in depth and difference, but each one is fun, even if only for a few minutes a day.  

Graphics: 5.0
Nothing about “My Word Coach” will jump out and impress you, but nothing is so bland and ugly that you want to just turn the game off. My only complaint is that the game could’ve benefited so much more with a more visual experience.

Sound: 5.0
Unfortunately I don’t even recall the sound aspects of “My Word Coach.” Obviously, nothing about the acoustics caught my attention.

Difficulty: Medium
Because of the scoring scheme implemented, difficulty will range depending on the skill and knowledge levels of the players. Nothing will ever be too difficult, and you will slowly find yourself improve as time progresses.  

Concept: 7.0
Conceptually, “My Word Coach” is a valid idea with a decent effort put behind it. Many things could’ve been improved, or even overhauled, to make the overall experience more enjoyable, such as the bland visuals, but unfortunately none of these things stood out like they should have.

Multiplayer: 7.5
Multiplayer is a definite highlight for this game. Competitive spelling and grammar has never been better than with a Wiimote in hand and an opponent to spell against. Much of the game’s replay value will lie in the multiplayer aspects.

Overall: 6.5
“My Word Coach” is an average title with a purposeful concept and not-so-stellar performance. Children will enjoy the game, but only for a short time, and adults who know how to speak English already need not apply.