Worms Review

A few weeks ago, Worms, the famous turn-based artillery game, was released for the App Store. And I'll admit, it was a complete flop. The entire game was laggy, the controls were horrible, and there wasn't online multiplayer. While the 1.1 update didn't add multiplayer, what it did add was a setting for less powerful devices, and now the game is actually possible to play, and incredibly fun.

Worms, $4.99, by Team 17 Software Ltd, is a game where you control a team of worms through randomly generated maps, in any of 6 different types of environments, and must kill enemy worms, using many different weapons and either knocking them into the water, or depleting their health to below zero. There is a multiplayer mode, where you can play against your friends by passing the device, and a single player mode, which has challenges and quick play. There are 50 challenges, and there are item unlockables, which allow you to change the language your team of worms speak in, what their tombstone looks like when they die, and other tweaks. 

To control a worm, you can tap and hold on either side of the screen to move in that direction. You can tap on the worm to jump, and double tap to backflip. 

Once you are where you want to be, you tap the button in the bottom left corner, then choose a weapon. You then drag a crosshair in a circle around you, and press and hold fire, for the amount of power you want. You cannot switch between the worms, it switches every turn.

The graphics do not look amazing, but they look good. There is a high graphic quality setting, and a low quality setting, but the difference isn't noticeable. You can zoom in and out relatively close and far, respectively, but if you zoom in all the way, the land gets slightly grainy.

I don't know what it is about shooting tiny, helpless wiggly creatures from underground, but it's extremely entertaining! Whether you're playing for a few minutes, or an hour, it doesn't get boring. Also, with the random map generator, the game has almost infinite replayability.

Even though the game is so fun, a few things could be done to make the game completely perfect. First, add online multiplayer. Multiplayer and Worms is like bread and butter. They mix. The console versions of Worms would be nothing without online multiplayer, why shouldn't the iPhone users be in on the fun? Second, make jumping a bit more accurate. Sometimes jumping doesn't work how you would want, you do a double tap to backflip, but instead, it jumps you forward, hurtling off a cliff. You're a worm, not a lemming! Maybe just add buttons for forward jump and backwards jump.

Pros:

Randomized Levels

Extremely Fun

50 Challenges

Cons:

Controls Are a Bit Iffy

No Online Multiplayer

Bottom Line:

Even if you think you wouldn't be entertained by worms shooting weapons at eachother, you probably still will. And if you think you would like it, what are you waiting for?! Go and buy Worms, and watch as you get mesmerized and can't get yourself off a screen.

Scores:

Graphics: 4.5/5

Gameplay: 4.5/5

Controls: 3.5/5

Replay Value: 4.75/5

Overall: 9/10 (not an average)

Link: Worms, $4.99