Finally, after over a year on XBLA Worms 2: Armageddon comes to the PS3, but was the wait worth it? Read on and find out.
To those not in the know, Worms is a series of turn based 2D war games where players destroy each other’s worms with a variety of weapons across a fully destructible environment normally littered with mines and exploding lanterns. The series has been praised in the past for its addictive multiplayer and pick up and play controls culminating into a series where little has changed but lots has been added.
With W2: Armageddon you get thirty single player challenges across three different ‘themes,’ a personal favorite being the Alien levels where the entire level is made from cheese. The challenges are split between those where you have to destroy all of the enemies on the map and those where you test the skills you’ve gained, be it using a ninja rope to get to point A or B or use a series of items to get to the goal. As you would expect the challenges get harder as you progress through the game, you will at no point feel overwhelmed by what you are up against though twelve CPU controlled worms VS your two may seem a little daunting at first. The game is not trying to be unfair, these are challenges after all. An Extra five challenges can be bought from the shop.
That’s right, there’s an in game shop but don’t worry your wallet won’t feel a thing. As you complete single player challenges you will earn some gold and depending on how well you completed the level you can be rewarded anything from twenty to one hundred pieces all of which can be used in the shop to unlock a multitude of things such as landscapes, weapons, hats etc.
A staple in the Worm’s series has always been your Team, when you first boot the game you are encouraged to form a Team and complete a quick tutorial. In the past the only customization you could have for your team was the name and type of gravestone a dead worm leaves behind. Here however Team17 have expanded the customization to include not only a multitude of hilarious voices and the ability to change the worms colour but also the ability to wear hats. As almost gimmicky as it sounds to put a hat on a worm to change its appearance it works surprisingly well to help solidify your individual team from the rest. In the traditional humour of the series the hats cover a range of themes and other video games, world war helmets to baseball caps are covered and for the PS3 version the Helghast helmets from Killzone and Sackboy from little big planet are available right from the start.
Game play wise the controls are tight and responsive though the turn based nature of the game can slow the action down a little, this is especially noticeable during the skill based challenges which are timed so if you make a mistake and fall you have to wait as the game starts the next turn and then you can proceed, it can get a little frustrating at times.
Having played and enjoyed the series for a long time now certain tactics people use such as burrowing their way underground if they start to lose can really drag out a game, thankfully Team17 have addressed this with the inclusion of a ‘Bunk Buster’ a weapon that drops from the sky and drills its way down through the map to the enemy. The ‘Bunk Buster’ and other weapons such as the Electro Magnets which either attract or repel weapons and the Emergency Transporter add another level of strategy to the game and can turn the tide in a time of need.
As fun as the challenge of the AI can be nothing beats going up against friends in an all out war! This is where Worms 2: Armageddon both shines and fails. Local and online multiplayer can both be played with up to four players with a variety of modes from standard kill everyone to crazy crates where item drops spawn constantly throughout the game. Local multiplayer is smooth allowing you to mingle CPU players in with your friends to maximize the carnage. Online multiplayer can be a little hit or miss as in a four player game the waiting time between turns can really slow a fight down to sheer boredom in some cases. Online does support leader boards and voice chat so you can compare your scores to your friends and co-ordinate attacks if you are playing with a friend.
Worms in HD proves that 2D games can look just as gorgeous as some of the 3D games coming out today, the landscapes are colourful and the backgrounds are always animated and keeping the unused parts of the screen busy and bringing the whole level to life, weapons have lovely new effects most notably the transporter and the holy hand grenade really show the attention to detail the developers were aiming for.
Each type of level layout has its own background music track be it the crowd cheering at a football game or a SciFi inspired melody, all of these tracks are mainly forgettable and does not detract from the overall experience. What does detract however is the worms voices, as cool as that ‘football game announcer’ voice was when you first selected it you’ll be sick of the constantly repeated one liners by the time you finish the single player campaign. Sound effects particularly the explosions have a really bass thud to them and give them a true feeling of destruction, perfect for the bomb freaks among us.
The single player campaign can be completed in an afternoon making the main selling point of the game the multiplayer, if you have lots of friends to play local multiplayer with then you will have a blast for at least a few weeks, but if you have to rely on online multiplayer the long delays during turns may be enough to drive you away.
8.0/10
A solid title and a credit to the franchise W2: Armageddon adds new customization and weapons while keeping the core game play the same, perfect for having the friends around.
