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Worms Review
Xbox 360 Review by Tom Bramwell
When I got back from holiday and Kristan asked me to review Worms, my shoulders slumped a bit. "I expect I know why that is," he said. "It's because you think that - having slaved half to death while you sunned yourself on a beach somewhere - I am deliberately punishing you with a game that a) everyone has played, b) the two people who haven't can download off Xbox Live and try out anyway, and c) that is probably exactly the same as it always used to be."
"Correct," he added.
Worms' longevity is, of course, tremendous - even by the standards of an industry that continues to support Mega Man, Trip Hawkins and whoever it is that accidentally uploads all Ubisoft's product information to a public FTP once a month. It was 1994 when it first popped up, if Wikipedia remembers correctly, and won plaudits for its delightfully surreal premise, daft weapons and funny accents. Since then it's become something of a national institution, a bit like Terry Wogan or Babs Windsor, at least in the sense - if we're prepared to dispense with the usual games industry standard of "is it ripping off enough films" - that it's failed to do anything particularly inspired in the last ten years and now just sits there reciting the same punchlines while we all applaud like an audience of poorly medicated Kilroy disciples.
Levels are randomly generated before each round, but you can regenerate if you're not keen - and writing down the level code will allow you to relive them later.
Worms is, as everyone knows, a strategy game where teams of up to four spineless pink cartoons batter one another across a 2D landscape, having to overcome severe movement restrictions, proximity mines and harsh terrain in their attempts to sling explosives at one another or dispense rougher justice hand to hand. Often described simply as turn-based, in effect it's still an action game, with players taking it in turns to wiggle, hop, swing and jetpack their way around each randomly generated level in real-time, trying to cause as much damage to the enemy as possible within a time-limit.
Reviewers continue to pay tribute to Worms' "British sense of humour", but it's not as witty and irreverent as seems to be its reputation - really it's just a lot of high-pitched squeaking and silly names. The animation system's often pegged as delightfully expressive, and the big eyes with moving pupils were definitely a good idea, but most of what counts for comedy is icons in thought bubbles and a lot of expressions that suggest the worms are as weary of my company as I've become of theirs. Sometimes they get a bit het up by the action, but they'll be pleased to learn I'm here to maintain their frowning vigil as the AI takes 20 seconds to decide whether it wants to skip its turn or, more likely, fire at me in an unplannably precise, wind-assisted arc of perfect, incredibly unfair exploding death. What was I saying again? Oh yes - after staring at roughly the same thing for the best part of a decade, it occurs to me that it hasn't really done much more than blink and wear a sign on its head that says "Willy".
Levels are sprinkled with barrels, but sadly there's no napalm to spill.
One possible response here is that Worms on Xbox Live Arcade was simply intended as a restrained port rather than a new game, with the mechanics and weapons already set in place. But that would simply beg the question, where have all the weapons gone? Someone on our forums compiled a helpful list of the FORTY-EIGHT that aren't included here, and while some of them were hardly indispensable, others - the Holy Hand Grenade, the bungee rope, the petrol bomb and the napalm strike to name a handful - are sadly missed. All we've got left is the bazooka, grenade, cluster bomb, uzi, shotgun, fire punch, airstrike, sheep, banana bomb, prod and fireball. At least you can still place girders, blowtorch your way into hillsides and swing around with the ninja rope - although the latter is harder on a console pad than with the PC's three-finger d-pad, and, come to think of it, people placing girders and tunnelling are quite irritating to compete against.
The other possible response is that Worms was the lantern but YOU were the light. When you threw a grenade and it trickled down a hill at just the right speed to blow somebody into a stack of mines, killing them when your best hope was a wound, you'd be left hooting at your own good fortune. That still happens now and then, and it's certainly funnier when it happens to a real person.
Graphically it's all very similar to Worms Open Warfare on the PSP, which is to say not as clear as some of the PC versions, but still quite sharp.
Indeed, played with a couple of friends sharing a controller, it will happen enough to ensure GOOD TIMES, and since the game only costs about the same as three pints, it's ideal to slump giggling onto the couch with. Then again, you probably own one of the previous versions capable of supporting round-the-computer gameplay, so perhaps it's the online multiplayer bit you'll be interested in. In which case, you'll need to know that games with lag are annoying, but that you should be alright once you stop people downloading legally obtained media in the other room. Admittedly you're reliant on the good, non-quitting nature of your opponent if you want to see out a round that becomes one-sided, but it certainly does what it needs to do. Beyond the online, you've got random games against the AI, or 20 "Challenge" levels, but these only really earn the name when the opposition starts behaving impossibly.
But for a few missing weapons, then (sorry - a few dozen missing weapons), this is as close to the series' peak as we've been since the days when the novelty hadn't worn off on the PC, and given the right company you'll find it quite approachable, with simple controls and the usual potential for comedy failure. Whether that's enough though is debatable - and it's a safe bet you already own plenty of games less reliant on fluke and pratfalls to entertain.
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Der_tolle_Emil
14/03/07 @ 11:10
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For me Worms is already worn out. I played several Worms sequels to death and I really don't need yet another one. I guess though this will be the first title that people will play online because it's quite accessible.
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KingOfSpain
14/03/07 @ 11:14
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I thought this was a bang on 8....great game.
I will say one thing, it looks bloody fantastic on a HD setup. |
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i like it for a diversion, there again i got it free cos of the stupid DRM that M$ have in place, so I cant complain. I prefer the back to basics of worms anyway except i do miss the "haaaaaallelujah" of the holy hand grenade. I am sure the ninja rope was 4x originally and no infinite so I would have preferred that. It has problems online though with people dropping and when the host drops it does not switch to an another player or punish the host. Saying that to punish the host would be harsh seeing as there are connection issues.
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most recently on 14/03/07 @ 11:15
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dirigiblebill
14/03/07 @ 11:17
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Used to love this when I had the old monochrome Gameboy version. Perfect train fodder.
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theidiotsarewinning
14/03/07 @ 11:20
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really liked this...but then i always thought the most fun bit about worms was coming up with the best team/character names anyway.
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most recently on 14/03/07 @ 11:21
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ostrasized
14/03/07 @ 11:20
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I always thought most of the 'missing' weapons were just gimmicks, anyway.
This goes back to the start of the series, Worms on the Amiga - and every weapon that's there is useful and balanced - unlike the ludicrous ones that have been thankfully removed. That said, if you're not a die-hard wormhead (grins, waves) you won't get the amazing kick out of playing this in ranked matches that I do, so I think the score is harsh but fair. |
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Actually, I'd not even have given it a six. Was really looking forward to the game, but the demo came across as a loveless port of an ageing game.
I'm sure that's not the case, and I have a lot of respect for Team 17, but this just didn't push the right buttons for me at all. It didn't even use the full 50MB file allocation which, for a game like this, could have been used for an extra visual theme, more weapons, or whatever. For me, a missed opportunity. But if you absolutely must have more Worms I'm sure it does the job. It didn't for me. :( /edit: actually, I'm being harsh. A six is a fair score - especially given some of the really shit titles on XBLA. Worms didn't do it for me, but it's far from the worst game on there.
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most recently on 14/03/07 @ 11:22
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quantumsheep
14/03/07 @ 11:25
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It's flawed, yes, but I haven't really played Worms since the original version my friend had on the PC.
The games can take a while, even the single player ones (as pointed out, the worms take ages to 'think') so it's not really a 'go on for a quick go' kinda game. However, find a good bunch of people online and it's good enough, and certainly worth the MS Points just to hear the cries and laughs of your opponent! Always thought a lot of the later weapons seemed a bit *too* much anyway.
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most recently on 14/03/07 @ 11:26
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DanWhitehead
14/03/07 @ 11:29
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The ludicrously accurate AI all but killed the single player challenges stone dead for me. Playing against an opponent that continually lobs cluster bombs across the map, bouncing off scenery so it lands RIGHT ON YOUR HEAD is a chore rather than a challenge. Coupled with the fact that in a three team match the two AI teams will simply join forces against you, solo play is just no fun. Multiplayer against friends is still a blast though, so I certainly don't regret the download as I'm sure it'll get months of play on that front.
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"the AI takes 20 seconds to decide whether it wants to skip its turn or, more likely, fire at me in an unplannably precise, wind-assisted arc of perfect, incredibly unfair exploding death."
Honestly, which pillock at Team17 thought it'd be fun to introduce a pointless 20 second wait for every AI turn, at the end of which the AI usually skips a turn or gets a perfect shot??? |
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Yeah Napalm should have been in, I like the tactical oppourtunities itopens up. But then I guess everyone will have a favourite weapon that 'should have gone in'.
It did feel a bit more cut-down than I was expecting though, only 3 landscape types and not many weapons, I know a lot of them are gimmicks, but thats what makes them fun to use every so often and lessens the monotony of grenade, grenade, bazooka, grenade, cluster grenade etc. etc. Still good fun though, although I upset my gf when I took an unlikely win and she won't play now :) |
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@DDevil - sshh they will charge for it and splinter the group between haves and havenots and encourage more partial releases
@DanWhitehead totally agree but this has been the same since the amiga days. these worms have phds in avionics or something like that but sometimes can't jump for shit. Single player has always been shit to the point of a 2/10 score for me. It is a bit of a lazy port being very close to (if not exact) the psp one that i already have. they could have put extra options in to reduce round time and turn time like previous versions, unless i missed these. i think you can increase the damage inflicted to quicken a game. Sometimes tighter time limits create panic in the tactics. I also miss the option to choose the worm you will use. the count down before your turn is there so i may have missed that too. the maps are too narrow and flat. This cuts down on the epic artillary exchanges and limits the darkside tactics. like I said before though i prefer this weapon set, although a few others could have been included. can spadge give some feedback on our comments? |
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Grenade!
/squeaky voice Worms on the ps1 was one of the few games I've been able to get my Mrs to play, and that was largely because of the squeaky lunacy, and the fact that you could turn off the timer in that version, so she could spend as long as she liked lining up the blowtorch/pneumatic drill/girders to make it harder for me to blow her pink squealers up. Am going to dust it off, I think |
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repairmanjack
14/03/07 @ 12:03
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When you look at some of the tired shite, the direct port of 20+ years old stuff, that has scored higher than this you just want to shake your head in disbelief. Horses for courses, and all that, but this is without question an eight for me. It embarrasses much of the drek on XBLA (/glares at Pacman).
Still one of the best multiplayer games ever. |
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This is ~£6 isn't it? What did you want for £6, the moon on a stick?
Seems perfectly weighted to me. Nice limited selection of weapons and options - sometimes less is more. Only minor criticism is lack of control on explosion strength. Seems there is not so much power in the explosions - or is this improved with different schemes? |
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homerramone
14/03/07 @ 12:19
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Its worms as it should be - only it works online. Easily worth more than 6/10.
As for moans about hosts dropping out and missing weapons. Pish and tish. Hosts drop out of all games now and then - play it with people you know then you know there not idiots who will drop out when they are losing. Missing weapons - all the weapons you need are there. No theres no SUPER sheep, or carpet bombs, or armageddon. But the original worms didnt need them..... And as someone says - hours of fun for less the the price of a few pints of beer. Cracking value gromit. |
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Had a good session on this last night with mates, and while we all had a laugh, they all seemed to think I'd been ripped off. Personally I didn't feel hard done by at all - its only £6 for christ's sake. I might already own 3 different versions of Worms on several systems, but I'd pay this entry fee for the convenience of having it on Live Arcade alone.
Admittedly, it should REALLY have included more visual themes (the 3 on offer are lovely, but 3 is never enough), but hopefully they'll appear as downloadable content. What I really would have liked would have been more options for generating levels, as at the moment I seem to continually get almost identical levels. Options for how much "furniture" to add after the basic form had been generated, for example, or the number of mines. What about allowing worms to be placed in teams, rather than just random placement (random IS better, but options and variety are good)? Or good old Banzai mode from the original game, where every explosion was the maximum size and banana bombs became even more devastating? I'm quite happy with the limited weapon set, but some of those on offer are kinda gimped from their original worms potency (the two punches being prime examples). |
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Feedback from us (me, really) - my views and not always the view of the board :)
At the price of 2.5 of your London pints, it's a bit hard to get excited about a 6/10 (consumer average scores are meta-scoring around 8.3* in comparison). It depends what people's expectations are/were. The game does what it says on the tin, it's a very playable, accessible multiplayer-focused game. XBLA needed something like Worms really - hence being chased by MS to do it. The suggestion that we've cynically stripped weapons to provide them as DLC is contemptible. [Update: The user score here on EG is 8/10, even with the "1" that someone gave it] As ever, we've no choice but to stomach subjective reviews wether good, bad, indifferent or uninformed. At the end of the day, people can decide for themselves on XBLA due to the trial/purchase deal. I don't think a lot of the reviews "get" what we've done with it (i.e. casual space, low price - and low data size) but c'est la vie. We take on board the lack of weapons, but this is an update of the original - streamlined for a more casual experience, hence it being called "Worms" not "Worms Armageddon 2" (or similar). We appreciate people may like to see "Worms Armageddon 2" but this isn't it. The lack of voices and themes was purely due to a 50mb limit (high def art and localised audio bumped us almost to the 50mb). We didn't have the luxury of the new 150mb limit when we were wrapping this up last year and just because it's recently gone up, doesn't mean we could benefit immediately. Voices and themes are coming via DLC and before you all shout "rip off!" - there'll be a ton of freebies even though MS control the pricing policies, not us. The themes in HD are like 9-10mb each btw, so we couldn't squeeze another in. Two more voice banks (out of the 30 or so on the way) wouldn't have made a great deal of difference to comments about that either - actually they'd just piss people off because it wasn't THEIR favourite. We've had great feedback from players, yes the title does look great on a HD rig, but anything other than that and we'd have been tear-gassed by angry remonstrators. Whatever we do, we're dammned by one section or another. This one rolls back the years and dives into strategy - and it's actually very good fun abusing people over live and chasing the leaderboards. It's doing rather well, sales wise, so any questions about the longevity & appeal of this (or other long running franchises) are null and void. BTW There will be a UT (update) to fix a couple of minor lobby problems only noticed when tens of thousands were trying to play, generally speaking everything has been pretty good - (/Smug on) I shudder to think how many games of Worms have been played in the last week, we were no.7 most popular Live title (including full price games) and no.1 on XBLA by some way. (/Smug off) Specific responses to user comments: Weapon "packs" are very, very unlikely. This would only fragment the community online for the haves and have-nots. The game plays very srategically due to the balance in the weapon set and certain features (like select worm) totally screw that up. Should the title be a success (cough!) then we'll very likely look at doing something else with a different feel & feature set once we have heard people's thoughts about the game (our forum is pretty lively right now). (/Rant on) A "loveless port" and "a bit of a lazy port" are, to be fair, pretty shitty and uninformed comments and as such, well wide of the mark. I'd suggest you come to our local on a Friday night and suggest this to the very people who worked hard on this title - and to the very same people who are piling in their personal hours playing and chatting to the XBLA community. Disgusting, really. Easy to say lads, not so easy to do. Email me and let me know what job you do and I'll blindy suggest you're a lazy so and so too, without grounds obviously. If you don't like what you see, then don't bloody buy it! We totally get that it's not everyone's cup of tea. (/rant off) AI. Always something of a bugbear. It's an extremly tough title to do good AI for, it takes a while because it's given time to calculate tens of thousands of moves - unlike a human, it can't "read" the landscape as such (especially given the random and destructable terrain) and it can't really get too emotional about it. Strategically this game is very advanced. I admit that we do resort to levelling up this by occasionally allowing the CPU to throw in a good shot or two, but other than wait a very long time, that's the rub. We make no bones about it, this edition is multiplayer centric (on or offline). The AI does have 5 flavours though and does use all the weapons. Before anyone suggests the AI is more "lazy programming" I'd suggest they see shots of the AI "thinking" and firing thousands of trajectory arcs, movement decision points and more besides whilst it contemplates it's surroundings, worm positions and what weapons are available. I'll check back later if there are any more questions or whatever, but most is being covered on our own forums (http://forum.team17.com) As for us doing original stuff, this is just one of the things we've been doing of late and whilst not much can be discussed on that stuff, Worms remains a key IP for us - and gamers in general if the 360 XBLA take-up is anything to go by. New IP and exciting updates to games of our past are on the agenda. You're likely to see more of us on digital platforms in the future, it should be pretty interesting in terms of our existing and also new IP. However, we're still in the mainstream retail area of the market and some announcements will be forthcoming about those titles. Cheers. (And be easy on me, am jet-lagged from GDC excesses)
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most recently on 14/03/07 @ 13:05
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ostrasized
14/03/07 @ 12:30
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people would try to claim that a developer cynically stripping weapons out of a game to potentially sell them to you later in DLC
Except they've stated time and time again that there will not be new weapons in DLC. New sounds, new level themes, but no new weapons. A smaller, better balanced weapon set does make the game better. Of the 'missing' weapons about 5 were actually useful, if overpowered (the baseball bat, for example, was pretty much an insta-kill. Gee, I'm sad that's gone) and the remaining 30+ were just f'in stupid incidental rubbish. Carpet bombs? Indian nuclear test? Mad french sheep? The in-jokes these represented are 5+ years old! |
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> firing thousands of trajectory arcs, movement decision points and more
My problem with it is that it only ever picks either an awesome result or a terrible one. I've never seen it do one somewhere in between, as most human turns are, and which it must get quite a few of returned in its thousands of calculations. |
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In fairness, Spadge, I did say it 'felt' like a loveless port - but was unlikely to be one. I was trying to communicate how it didn't hit the mark for me - obviously very badly. As I said in the original post: I have a lot of respect for Team 17. This didn't work for me at all (which is annoying as it was number one on my list of things I wanted on XBLA) , but clearly it is working for a lot of other people.
My opinion is a fair way from uninformed and I'd be happy to discuss further (email in profile) if you feel I'm unduly harsh - either way, congratulations on the success. Hopefully some of the DLC and/or a future release will be able to hit the mark for me. |
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@homerramone the host dropping problem is two fold.
1 the game has problems holding games. you have no indication as to the connection quality of the match so perhaps the games that drop are rubbish connections. 2 if the host leaves on purpose or not, why not just hand it to another player. not everyone has a mate online who wants to play worms every time they want to play. i hate it when people say play with people you know. its not always possible and defeats the purpose of ranked matches.
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most recently on 14/03/07 @ 12:50
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"Before anyone suggests the AI is more "lazy programming" I'd suggest they see shots of the AI "thinking" and firing thousands of trajectory arcs, movement decision points and more besides whilst it contemplates it's surroundings, worm positions and what weapons are available. "
This may have washed on the Amiga etc versions of Worms but we're talking about an Xbox 360 here with its considerably greater processing power, so I fail to believe it takes 20 seconds to work out trajectory arcs on a 2D game, at the end of which it simply decides not to do anything (skip a turn) or fire a perfect shot (which is zero fun.) |
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Thought the conversion was great. Only thing I hate is the never changing music.
I just have the opening music throughout the entire game, unlike the PSP which has music for the different scenario's. Probably going to be released as an add-on, which is a bit of a rip-off even though the game was cheap. I went straight ahead and bought it without getting the trial first... could that be why the music never changes? |
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The online side is working pretty well. There's one issue when a 4 player game is joined (by one or more, not sure yet) at the same time that the host hits START. If the host waits until people have stopped trying to join (the beeping stops) then it'll play ok. 2P/3P games play fine. There are very few disconnects in games - at least that's my experience in the 30 or so I've had - the guy at the top of the boards had over 100 games since wednesday... I'm not sure he sleeps.
Septimus: No, it's because music is fairly expensive, data-wise. There was space for just 2 pieces (ambience and sudden death). More music will be available by DLC. You can also get hold of other music and use that.
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most recently on 14/03/07 @ 13:01
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ostrasized
14/03/07 @ 13:00
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ostra - If you were better at worms, you'd know that some of what we've lost was vital for game balance.
Heh. I'd play you anytime, I'm currently around 140th online (as 'myrmican'). I've been playing since the first version (although I liked the 'director's cut' better) I disagree that the extra weapons are vital - they're not. Dark side has never been unbeatable, even back on the Amiga when it was first called darkside because it was on the second side of the weapons loadout. Dark side is eeevil strategy, that's for sure, but everything you need to beat it is already there. For example, how are mad cows different from sheep, exactly? I assume you mean running one down a tunnel, but if you're that close then you can probably get closer and do the job properly. Mole bombs - you might be right, but I always found them unreliable - and like all the 'special' weapons, hard to practice with. I like the way that the strategy of the current version is reliable and predictable - it does make for a better game, although I confess - I'm not in the least bit worried about the last few rounds being darkside dominated. It's part of the endgame to a really intense battle, just like it always was. |
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Compared to the way EG have treated other XBLA games, this was a pretty piss-poor review. You could tell right from the start that Tom didn't want to like the game. Spadge's response is spot on.
As for the weapons, I'm firmly in the "Amiga weapon set is god" camp. Things like the concrete donkey and homing clusters broke the game, and it's nice to see that T17 went back to basics. Edit: And anyone who claims that the later weapons were needed, then take any weapon set you want, and I'll still be able to kick your wormy little butt around the map with just a ninja rope, shotgun and blow torch.
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most recently on 14/03/07 @ 13:08
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ostrasized
14/03/07 @ 13:13
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Regarding the music - personally, I turn it off then stream my MP3 collection to the 360 using http://www.tversity.com ;-)
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Sorry perhaps lazy was strong but it is a clone of the PSP version with no real additions for the main intent which is Live! play. Perhaps lazy should read "unimaginative"
Where are: the team options - 2vs2 or even 2vs1 goliath match clan options design a emblem connection speed feedback. host switch time limit changes one hit kill matches allow cpu in match rising sea level option smaller girder option counter darkside tactics decent lobby system (this one sucks so bad.) Record your own voice pack design worm skins. i could go on and on. yes its only £6...but i am sick of this only £6 on xbla excuse. At the end of the day you get no physical media, i cant hire it, i cant buy it used, i cant sell it on - therefore it has no value, the is no merchandise, no box, no manual, no marketing as such the only middleman is Microsoft. there is no (the big red herring) piracy. So because its only £6 should we have a limited MP game, which is after all what it is all about. I just think that extra could have been done to allow us to decide how to play worms....such as the decision to allow us to select which worm goes next. Saying all that I like it lots for MP, it just could have had a bit more polish added considering how many versions there are out there for cheap. By the way i am lazy so you can call me that if you like. I automate all my work and sit on these forums ranting.
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