PlayStation 2

Worms 3D

Worms. Talk about going back in time. Oh my goodness, when you talk about game series that reach way back in time, the game Worms comes mind. Anyone remember the game company Ocean? Yep, we're talking back that far. Ocean was the publisher that got the series started back in 1994; 10 years ago!! This was back in what I like to call the "Lemmings Years". You gotta be real old school to remember Lemmings. Well, for those that do, you remember Worms. Worms went though a number of different games, and covered a number of systems; PC where it started, Apple, Amiga, Playstation One, GameBoy, SNES, Nintendo 64, Dreamcast (with online gameplay), Playstation 2, and GameCube.

That said, Worms 3D is just as addictive as its predecessors, but features more thoughtful challenges and conquests. Pick this up, and you'll be throwing down with your friends for years to come, and it's not often that you can say that about a console strategy title.

Who knew that back in 1995, when Worms was first released to the public, it would be such a massive hit? Equally, who cares when the series is still going strong with this, the next generation of Worms, finally bringing it into the third dimension. For those who don’t know, Worms was based on the cleverly addictive Tank, which placed two tanks on opposite sides of some terrain and asked you to adjust the power and angle of your gunfire to destroy the opponent in a turn based dinosaur of entertainment.

Tapping the memory banks, I recall a time that I sat in my parent’s basement chugging through game after game of a shareware title called Scorched Earth on an IBM 386 PS. Its simple gameplay yet extremely addictive “destroy before you get destroyed” style made it one of those unique little titles that you just couldn’t get enough of. Years and years later on the Dreamcast (for anyone who remembers how long it’s been since the IBM 386 PS was out … that’s how long I’m fast forwarding), I got hooked on a title which became popular with many of you reading this review called Worms … which had the same overall 2-D gameplay style as Scorched Earth but obviously with a lot more to show for it. Now, the Worms series has been reincarnated once more, only this time in a 3-D setting.

Worms 3D is a pretty good strategy game, but taking the game into full 3D seems to have actually detracted from some of the depth found in the 2D games. Team 17 understands the value of juxtaposition. It's the crux of the Yorkshire-based developer's flagship series, Worms, where cute, squeaky-voiced cartoon earthworms have been gleefully knocking the tar out of each other with bazookas, grenades, land mines, baseball bats, flying sheep, and just about anything else they can get their hands on for the better part of a decade now. But underneath all the absurdist violence, Team 17 has cleverly been sneaking in some high-quality strategy action that can be enjoyed by novice and expert players alike.

Le passage à la 3D ne dénature pas complètement l'oeuvre d'origine mais quelques soucis de gameplay relatifs à cette évolution pourront décourager certains joueurs. L'un dans l'autre, Worms 3D n'innove pas le concept, profite d'une réalisation honorable mais garde heureusement le fun et l'humour de la série. Pari à demi réussi.

If you're hungry for Worms-related mayhem, this game is adequate; but if you want one with all of the fun and none of the fat, leave Worms 3D alone and pick up Worms Armageddon for the PC.

Amidst a sea of technologically advanced shovel-ware and software popularized based purely on theme, a few franchises still cling to the past and prioritize good old-fashioned pick-up-and-love-it fun over everything else. The Worms series, which encapsulates a number of well-received multiplayer titles across a wide range of consoles, falls into the latter group. A simple premise mixes with a spectacular amount of gameplay options for an end experience that is intuitive, filled with strategic elements and extraordinarily satisfying.

Icky... Gross... Wrinkly...things! The wrigglers, the wigglers, the nightcrawlers of the, well...the night! WORMS! An insect who has no eyes and no real defense or offense for the betterment of their species, has only been granted both for the past ten years now. Since Worms' initial appearance on the Amiga computer in early 1994, the popular turn-based strategy title to be had been seeding and sprouting its name in a game on every major platform released over that lapse of time. Worms' publishers have varied from Ocean, Titus, Activision, Ubisoft, and even Sega. The torch has now been passed onto Acclaim, who with the franchise's first deviating effort from Worms' longtime UK-based developer Team17 Software, enhances the gameplay formula into a bulgier, bigger, and blatantly more essential format from 2D into 3D.

Ballistics. Setting shot power and trajectory has been a staple of console gameplay ever since Human Cannonball on the Atari 2600. If you've ever felt the thrill of a bull's-eye and the agony of a near miss, you've probably played an incarnation of Worms. Now, Team 17 brings the series into the third dimension. Does Worms work in 3D? The answer: yes. What does it add? A little bit of extra depth for the expert player and a little bit of a learning curve for a beginner. While it's no longer a game that immediately rewards new players, the excellent tutorial makes it just a few minutes away from being a great party game.