Review | Worms Reloaded
Incoming!
Format: PC | Genre: Strategy | Publisher: Team 17 | Developer: Team 17 | Release date: 26/08/10 | Price: £17.99
Daniel Lipscombe heads down to the bottom of the garden and plays with the wildlife with WORMS RELOADED
IT’S DIFFICULT to know how much more can be said about Worms. Much like Lemmings, practically everyone who’s even glanced at a PC or console in the last fifteen years has likely swung on a ninja rope. For seemingly the 343rd time, the Inglourious Bastards are back and this time, they’re reloaded. One has to wonder how many more times Team 17 can release the same game, which isn’t really a complaint but the words “Horse”, “Dead” and “Flogging” spring to mind.
In fact this release, Worms Reloaded, is basically Worms Armageddon from XBLA but with the DLC included. Not such an issue as now PC gamers get their grubby mits on the holy hand grenade and they can frag the little invertebrates into squeaky voiced hell. But is it any good? Well, of course it is, it’s Worms for crying out loud.
It looks and sounds delicious. The colours are eye popping and the sound is irritatingly reminiscent of a 14 year old’s mobile phone ringtone “INCOMING”. After naming your team of pink hermaphrodites, it’s time for war in one of the many modes on offer. The campaign is a simple affair but one that will challenge many a Worms player. With over 30 different challenges, they range from killing the other team to crossing a map with a ninja rope against the clock.
Opposable Thumbs FTW
Actually while on the subject of the ninja rope mission, it’s worth noting that it’s in the control of this item and a few others where the mouse and keyboard can let you down. Using a controller is almost a must, particularly when your turn only last 30 seconds and you’re fed up of fumbling buttons just to move your worm.
But back to the game modes, there’s obviously a smattering of multiplayer for squishing other worms over the internets. But if you’re a bit of a loner and are scared of the anonymous Steam users then there’s still bucketloads of stuff to do.
A particular favourite is body count, on paper it’s a survival mode. Controlling a single worm you must take down continually tougher opponents. I spent more time on this mode than any other, mainly due to the self competitive aspect. There are points earned with each match and you’ll soon be despising your own fingers as you strive to beat your own scores and then the others on the leaderboards.
Groundhog Day
It’s utterly enjoyable but there’s a constant nagging of deja vu throughout. With each banana bomb thrown I tended to mutter something about “where in the name of all that is holy, is Worms 3?” No matter how many times I dragon punched a worm into the briny blue, I tutted about how unoriginal it all feels now. That’s not to say this is a bad game, but it does strike up the thought of whether you could just get away with playing Worms Armageddon on the Dreamcast.
As I’ve noted elsewhere, one tends to forgive a lack of originality when one gets full Steam integration with the game, especially if you think about it properly and realize that the last version of the game on the PC was a decade ago, and not everyone has or likes consoles.
(You’ll note from my comment that Worms 3D doesn’t exist, which is the way it should be.)
Dude, I should just copy and paste this article for my Worms 2: Armageddon review for the PS3.