XBLA Review: Worms 2: Armageddon

The Worms series has been around for a long time. This series has tried to change the formula once or twice but ultimately they always go back to what made it so popular. Two years ago Xbox Live Arcade saw its first Worms game, which was an updated version of the classic. It was what everyone expected it to be but with the absence of some fan favorite weapons. Now Team 17 has brought us Worms 2: Armageddon, a new game that seems to be just an updated version of another older Worms title. With the new title they have added some improvements, which include a new campaign mode, better online multiplayer and leaderboards, updated graphics, new levels and new weapons. This might sound great to those who are veterans to Worms games but at some point you have to ask for more innovation and I can’t be satisfied with just the same game over and over again.

For those that never played a Worms game before, it’s basically a 2D turn-based strategy game where you control little worms. You control your worms on various battlefields/levels and use a variety of weapons and gadgets to take out the enemy worms. You can customize your worms to add some personality to them. You can select form a ton of crazy hats and voices that range from German to French to Grandpa voice to football announcers voice. As you go through a match you will have a certain amount of weapons to use to destroy the enemy. The weapons can be normal or can be pretty crazy. You will be able to use weapons like a grenade, bazooka, sentry gun, dynamite, air strikes and crazy weapons like an exploding sheep, a concrete donkey that smashes everyone underneath it, an Armageddon weapon to rain asteroids all over the level and my favorite weapon the Holy Hand Grenade (hallelujah!). Maneuvering your little worm can take some time to get used to as they move slowly and they can’t jump very high or far. To help you in moving around the map you can use tools like a jet pack, teleporter and a ninja rope.

Using these weapons and gadgets will take some time to get used to. Each weapon controls differently and some can be affected by the wind. There is a tutorial but you can’t really figure out how each weapon works from just the tutorial. My suggestion is to go to the firing range mode where you can select different weapons and test them out on AI worms. If that is too boring the single player campaign is a great way to learn how to play and to learn different strategies as well. The campaign is really expansive, with 35 levels to go through. In between the Deathmatch challenges there will be puzzle challenges that require some thinking. A few of the challenges will have you pulling out your hair but get through them and you can get a lot of cash. The money can be used to unlock weapons, different levels and more customizable options for your worms.

After you figure out how to play the game comes alive in multiplayer. The game supports up to 4 players online or off. Finding someone online might be tough but when you do find someone lag is not an issue. The only issue I came across was if someone had a bad connection the time between turns was longer but it never affected gameplay. Offline the experience is much better just because trash talking is always better when you can see the player. The way the levels are designed they work best for 1v1 but it can work for a 4 player free for all as well. The levels can now be vertical instead of just horizontal and with the random level generator you can choose to have a roof or an open map with tons of water underneath. Water is a worms worst nightmare, knocking them into the water is instant death. With the new Fort and Crazy Crate mode you have to be more aware of falling into the water than in other modes. Crazy Crates is the standard Deathmatch but you start off with limited weapons and have to collect crates scattered across the map in order to get new weapons. The crates will drop after the end of every turn so you have to make sure you can gather crates and position yourself to attack all while making sure your timer doesn’t run out. Fort is what it sounds like; each team will have a base that they can’t leave and have to shoot from their base to the other in order to take out the enemy. This requires long range accuracy and a lot of strategy in terms of where you position yourself. If you are too close to an edge you can easily fall off from an attack right into water. I enjoyed this mode more so than the others especially when it’s 2v2 and you are strategizing with your partner on ways to attack the enemy fort. The only issue I had with this mode is some forts have better defensive areas and others will always leave your worms out in the open.

Worms 2: Armageddon has brought a lot to the table, especially when compared to the previous XBLA title. The graphics are really good with a nice cell-shaded touch to it and the effects of the weapons are more detailed than they were in last Worms game. The music is actually really good and of course the Alvin and the Chipmunk voices of the worms remains the same. But this is were my problems with the title comes up. The voices can be funny at times, especially when they scream, but they can also be incredibly annoying and surprisingly racist. Yes that’s right Worms 2 on XBLA has the most stereotypical racist character I’ve seen since Transformers 2. It’s almost laughable how racist this character is. It’s the pre-made character called “The Bizz” and it has the voice set to “Poor Rappers”. You can imagine how they talk and I want to say you could imagine the things they say but I don’t think you could ever guess how terribly racist their lines are. That being said, some of the other voices of the worms aren’t as racist but they are incredibly annoying. This is because at the end and beginning of every turn your worm will say the same 3 lines over and over again. With 4 worms per team it can get old real quick. I found myself shutting off the sound effects completely even though I like the sound effects of the weapons. The other issue I had was the time in between attacks, I don’t want to have to watch my XBL avatar every time a turn ends, even if I can press “a” to bypass that I just want to be able to go right to my worm as soon as it’s my turn without having to press anything.

The other issues I had with the game was not being able to choose which weapons can be used in multiplayer and having the puzzle challenges incorporated into the campaign. Some puzzles were fun but others were annoying, especially the ones where you just fly through a map with the jet pack or where you have to control a weapon that you never used before. I don’t really see a reason to have the puzzle games in between the much better Deathmatch levels. Not being able to choose which weapons you can use in multiplayer really just doesn’t make sense either. To begin with the “cool weapons” like the Holy Hand Grenade are few and far between and for the most part your games will revolve around your ability to use dynamite, grenades and bazookas. Think of how much fun it would be to play a match with only the Armageddon weapon or the Holy Hand Grenade.

My biggest issue is the fact that it is the same formula from the old school Worms games. Seeing as it’s been so long you think they could have made jumping easier, moving your worm easier and aiming your weapon a whole lot easier too. The controls have always been a little clunky but why not take this chance to improve them. Having to turn and double tap the jump button just to jump up to another platform is just a huge pain. It’s already a good party game but in order to be a great party game it has to be able to be easy to pick up and play. It is a strategy game at heart but what’s wrong with it being an all out worms war game too?

For Worms fans out there this game might just be a great update to an older title but for me I really feel that Team 17 missed out on an opportunity to refine some of the controls and gameplay, and really bring this title up to date. We already saw the retro update of the Worms title on XBLA two years ago so this should have been the time where they can take Worms 2 and make it different from the old PC game, which could probably be download for free at this point. Like I said for die hard Worms fans you’ll probably love this game but as a casual Worms gamer I need more than just the same old gameplay. This isn’t a terrible game, it can be fun at times but they haven’t given me a reason to want to come back and essentially play the same game I played over a decade ago.

Doin’ It RIGHT: - Great graphics and sound effects. - Got to love the crazy hats.- Some voices of the worms are funny. - Good level design in campaign and Deathmatch modes. - Gaining cash to unlock items is a reason to play the campaign mode. - Lots of customization. - Awesome weapons as always. - Fort mode is a lot of fun.

Doin’ It RONG: - A lot of the voices are annoying with repetitive dialogue. - Cool weapons but you often don’t use them in a match. - Some forts are better to use than others and can also be the key to victory. - Fort mode has some bugs where only one team will get weapon crates and health packs. - “The Bizz” is a racist character, and they said RE5 was racist! - Formula hasn’t changed from the original. - Might have to wait a long time to find someone to play online with.

FINAL SCORE: 6.5 / 10