#destructable environment

Worms Armageddon

At a casual glance, Armageddon won’t seem terribly different from the game that preceded it. Ask around, however, and you’ll find many fans who consider this particular Worms game to be the peak of the series. It’s often considered the gold standard of the series, the game to which all other entries are compared. Given that it has the extremely solid Worms 2 as a base and only adds further polish and content on top of that, it’s not difficult to see why. If there’s any point to enter the franchise for the first time, it’d certainly be a smart decision to choose this one.

Worms

For those of us who live outside of Europe, the region where it reigned supreme, the Commodore Amiga is a land of mysteries. With a much smaller user base, players in the United States only got the occasional glimpse at its unique titles. There’s one clear exception, however, a series that not only managed to break free from Commodore’s sinking ship, but managed to carve a respectable niche for itself that persists to this game. While never quite as iconic as the likes of Pac-Man or Space Invaders, the Worms series somehow manages to remain near omnipresent enough to stand with the likes of those far more well-known franchises. 

Worms: Open Warfare

With Mayhem having seen a rather tepid reception at launch, the series would never be fully realized in 3D again. Indeed, this game in particular comes off as somewhat of a kneejerk reaction, an attempt to focus on what Worms fans had already come to accept and nothing else. While a port would eventually reach home consoles, its initial handheld stats also makes sense. Sony & Nintendo’s handhelds finally had the power to tackle a Worms game without compromise, the game’s pick and play nature suited such systems nicely, and the lower budget required must have seemed appealing to Team 17. In the end, while it’s the Worms gameplay fans have come to know and love, it makes for a rather large step backwards. 

Worms 4: Mayhem

After the sudden detour Forts would take with the series, Mayhem just as sharply returns things to the status quo. All except for the series remaining in the third dimension, at least – for whatever reason, Team 17 saw fit to give 3D one more try. The result is actually far more playable than the last couple of attempts, but is still unlikely to change the mind of anybody who felt the Worms games worked best from a 2D perspective. What Mayhem really does is improve on what 3D introduced, albeit not quite to the extent some might have hoped. After the innovative but somewhat misguided Forts, however, some might appreciate the familiarity. 

Worms 3D

After the odd detour that was Worms Blast, one could only wonder what else Team 17 could do with the series. Surely the irreverent nature of the series would have opened it to many more spinoffs, each of its branching into even more divergent genres. The next game, however, would be a return to form, with one major exception. The series would make that great leap almost all long running series take, sooner or later. The worms would finally enter the third dimension… and would unfortunately find the difficulties so many other games encountered on the way there. 

Worms Revolution

Worms Crazy Golf was somewhat of a break in a series that had seemed to lose its focus and creativity alike, one dull release at a time. Entries like Open Warfare 2 were acceptable for handhelds, while releases like Worms 2: Armageddon felt more like obligations from Team 17 than real passion works. While Revolution still never really struck the spark Armageddon did, those many long years ago, it does feel, at the very least, like an attempt at doing something new and fresh with the brand. Unfortunately, few, if any of its shotgun blast of ideas really manage to hit the mark. Credit has to be given for effort, at least. 

Worms: A Space Oddity

When Nintendo’s Wii hit the scene with its family-friendly appeal and highly-marketed motion controls, it would be no surprise that a lot of smaller developers would leap onto the opportunity that provided. Team 17 would be no exception to that particular craze, bringing out an entirely new Worms game with a deeper focus on the local multiplayer wackiness that the system excelled at so well. This particular game takes on a “pulp sci-fi” theme, with new environment themes and a coat of paint over the traditional weaponry to match. The biggest new addition, however, is undoubtedly the motion control you’ll now use to make use of every weapon and tool in the game. The motion controls that, of course, can’t be set aside for another control method at all. 

Worms: Battle Islands

An entirely forgettable release, it’s difficult to determine exactly who Battle Islands is for. The game apparently started life on both its PSP and Wii releases and a downloadable title, which would certainly explain what feels like a critical lack of budget. On Nintendo’s system, however, it saw release on shelves, making it stand out even more in terms of just how cut down it is compared to previous releases. While the game did attempt some new things with its multiplayer mechanics, the death of the online capabilities of both systems leaves nothing but a pared down version of Open Warfare 2 with little else to recommend it.