|
Worms: The Next Generation
By Martin
Kingsley
Bullets, bombs, explosive
grannies, banana-bombs, cluster grenades, homing missiles, homing
pigeons, Indian nuclear tests and annelids.
What do these things have in common? Well, they all
feature in the enormously popular Worms series from Team 17, and
nowhere more so than in the latest incarnation of the Little Game
That Could, aptly titled Worms 3D because (you guessed it) it's
the first game in the series to be rendered in full 3D.
Talk about obscure!
Ages ago, there was nothing as addictive as sitting around a glowing
monitor with two or three mates as the clock struck 3.00am, taking
turns blasting the absolute shite out of anything looking even remotely
wormish, if indeed that is the word.
Sure, the graphics were pixellated, the music was MIDI (if strangely
endearing at that) and there was something very Scorched Earth about
the gameplay. And yet....
Team 17 didn't reinvent the war game with Worms; they just took
the best elements of genre-defining titles like the abovementioned
Scorched Earth, turned them on their heads and let the mayhem begin.
It was a simple idea that captivated thousands upon thousands of
gamers, and four sequels (and an expansion pack) later, we have
the biggest evolution in Worms gameplay since the invention of DirectX.
For those who haven't feasted their eyes on the wonders of annelid
annihilation before today, let me explain to you how the previous
games in the series worked: Taking place on a 2D landscape with
a side-scrolling camera, two teams do battle. Each player has sixty
seconds to move one worm from his team.
 |
Graphically, it's not pushing
any boundaries,but
Worms has always been about the gameplay
|
He can use the time to build barricades, attack, or simply maneuver.
When that sixty seconds is up, the other player takes over with
his worms, and so on.
Some weapons, like bazookas and grenades, are trajectory based
(select the angle and the power of the shot, and let the bombs fly),
while others are simply point-and-shoot, the shotgun and the Uzi
being the best examples of this. There are also drop-and-run items,
like mines and sticks of dynamite.
The terrain is deformable and many a feisty Wormer has been a little
too free with the dynamite, the ground literally disappearing beneath
his feet, resulting in an untimely death. That's Worms 3D, basically.
With its new game, Team 17 has made the jump to three dimensions
whilst retaining the core gameplay that made everything so much
fun in previous iterations of the series.
Tactically, a whole new range of manoeuvres are made possible by
the extra dimension, and visually there is something fresh about
the simply rendered worms and their cartoon environs.
However, some might prefer the cartoon styling which featured in
Worms games gone by, and I have a feeling this new artistic direction
might drive away some veteran Wormers. Oh well, you can't win 'em
all.
Game modes range from the Single Player campaign to skirmishes,
hotseat play (taking turns on the one computer) and LAN mode. No
true Internet play on the PC version, which is a bit unfortunate,
but Team 17 have attempted to compensate by focusing on the improvement
of what has been a traditionally lackluster Worms gametype: the
campaign.
 |
Classic pose: Worm with bazooka
|
Missions now range from assassinations to Saving Private Ryan-styled
sieges at Wormaha Beach (groan) and everything in between and while
it still feels like training for multiplayer, at least Team 17 have
made a definite effort in this area, unlike some people I could
mention (Quake 3 *cough* Id *choke*).
As always, sound is a factor that does nothing but impress.
Worm voice-overs range from the traditional 'falsetto/squeak' to
Lock, Stock gangsters, Cockney salesmen, aliens, Terminator robots
and, continuing with a running joke that is as old as the hills
(or, at least, as old as Worms Armageddon), Angry Scotsmen.
If there are any criticisms to be laid at Worms 3D's door, then
they would be that the camera needs some definite work, as it has
a tendency to wander, and also that the controls for both PS2 and
PC are a bit…odd.
They take some getting used to, but eventually you get the hang
of it and can wield your Uzi like a pro.Not a revolution, not bursting
at the seams with new ideas, just an old classic brought up to date
in a long-overdue evolution, Worms 3D is excellent for a laugh and
truly great as a party game.
Game: Worms 3D
System: PC
Players: 1-4
Online: No
Developer: Team
17
Distributor: Atari
Rating: 80%
(Ratings
Key/Explanation)
Worms 3D is on the shelves now.
|
