Villordsutch reviews Worms W.M.D…
Worms! You wouldn’t actually believe that for over 20 years these wiggling pink things could have kept warfare raging across so many gaming platforms. For two decades I’ve been engaging in some serious battles with the tiny voiced beasties, so much so, “I’ll get you!” is now part of my own minor revenge chant. Now here years down the line we have Worms W.M.D and for anyone that hasn’t yet met a Concrete Donkey this is a good time to start.
Before we go any further let us take a step back, to explain what the game of Worms actually is, just in case anyone has just stepped from their caves. This Team17 game involves you taking control of a team of Worms (the garden variety) and at your disposal is a whole heap of dangerous arsenal from hand grenades, bazookas, shotguns, exploding sheep, banana bombs, concrete donkeys etc. (granted the final few may not be seen on the normal battlefield, but then again you also wouldn’t expect to find bad rapping worms taking control of a mech-droid). You then face an opposing team and you fight to the squirmy death. This team can be either the CPU or human player controlled – it’s recommended to be a human player as it’s far more fun dropping a TNT primed-sheep on a loved one and to be glib about it all…that’s it.
Though as said, that is being very glib about Worms W.M.D, the core elements are still firmly in place. The landscapes and worms are still there, however they now have a truly fantastic cartoon-cell look to them along with the worlds they occupy. Though the worlds do still look bizarre and are tricky to traverse – on occasion – they are fiendishly designed and perfect for this new page in the Worms catalogue.
Then we have the addition of the big guns and vehicles, I’m sure you’ve seen all of the updates littered through Flickering Myth over the past few months, however to physically glide in a mech-suit, take control of a tank, and aim your turret along with all the rest of the new weapons is a true blast. You also don’t have to worry about blundering through the game, wondering what you should be doing with all of these new fangled weapons of mass destruction. Going into “Single Player Campaign” you’re instantly met with training and wisely going through these will not only give you World Rankings, but give you Trophies and points towards in-game unlocks which include customisation items for your Worms.
If you were lucky enough to get the All-Star Edition then you already have a massive amount of customisation items from Payday2 to Goat Simulator, however don’t be downhearted if you didn’t, as playing and winning equals voices, masks and gravestones. So as well as renaming your individual Worms – as well as their team names – you’ll have a truly personalised squad to take into battle when you get online.
There is a multiplayer option for ranked and unranked players, however this is where I found my only real negative to the game. Selecting an unranked match, due to not having much faith in myself, I clicked for a game and was met with a loading screen as it attempted to find a match. A minute or so later I got bored, however there was no way of dropping out of this matchmaking screen, I had to wait until the game came back and told me it could find anyone. This may have been two and half minutes, but as any gamer knows this is a lifetime in our world.
Not only do you have the campaign with numerous bonus requirements for extra points within, but you’re given Challenge levels and Bonus levels too, and each require a certain element of smarts to complete. Again as said above Worms W.M.D comes into its element when it’s played against another human being, so while the campaign is going to net you a fair few items to customise your worm, you may on occasion notice a pattern in the opposing worms’ attack, which can make the game feel slightly samey. When possible look for a friend or family member to instantly re-energise this game.
Finally we see the introduction of crafting, this is a new one and you’ll find items openly on some maps and others stashed in buildings (you’ll only see them when you enter a building). On your weapon select screen, moving the tab you’ll see crafting here you can stock up on lost weapons if you have the materials or you can construct some new ones. The choice is yours…if you have the mats.
Worms W.M.D is an excellent addition to the ever-expanding Worms catalogue, and to let this go by would be a crying shame for any Worms fan. If however you’ve never played Worms then this is the place to start. It introduces you to the weapons, the play style and you won’t feel like you need to catch up on over twenty years worth of history.
Pros
- It looks excellent
- It’s the Worms we know and love, plus with that added extra brilliance.
- You don’t have to be an original Worms fan to pick it up
Cons
- The Multiplayer matchmaking screen could do with a cancel button.
- Perhaps make the Tank training screen a wee bit more forgiving.
- The campaign can become slightly stale (grab a human to fix this)
Rating:- 9/10
This review was completed on the PS4.
Worms W.M.D is also available on the Xbox One and PC from Team17 now.
Originally published August 26, 2016. Updated November 30, 2022.
