Sunday, 04 September 2016 00:00

Worms W.M.D Review

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This game ruined my week.

I had so many plans this week. Responsibilities like mowing the lawn, getting some reports done for work, and you know, writing this review. But all of those were late. Why? Well, I suppose the reason is a very good one… I could not stop playing Worms.

I have been a fan of Worms since ‘back in the day’ when they came on a 3.5” disk. I’m not kidding, which depresses me. I have played Worms since the first ever version. That, along with Lemmings, were the coolest PC games of that time. OH and there’s Scorched Earth, which was the precursor to Worms as far as game style. Now, I’m clearly old, and the genre has not changed, but the newest iteration of Worms does not seem old at all. On the contrary, it’s just flat-out amazing.

For starters, even before you play, the disk space required is sizeable. I remember (back when we had to walk 5 miles to school uphill both ways etc., etc.) when Worms would fit on 3 or 4 3.5” floppy disks. So, you know, a total of 10mb. This time, however, a whopping 4gb of space is required. Sure it’s no GTA V that needs 56 gigs, but still, for a single panel, 2D game where tiny invertebrate throw grenades at each other, it’s a bit.

I was instantly pleased with the quality of the graphics.

I played this on a 1080 box (read: work computer), my 4K gaming box, and a Mac, and the graphics were exquisite on all. Worms WMD is not heading in the direction of simulated 8-bit distorted art. The design and lines are really on point.

Gameplay with W.M.D is as you would expect from the aim-and-lob style of play. You aim, you estimate, account for the wind, and hope you don’t stink. Well, almost. I suppose this is where the W.M.D of the title comes in. Other than your standard fare of grenades, bazookas, etc., which has been in the franchise since day one, there are a large variety of extras that will allow you to pummel your opponents. For starters, your worm can commandeer a war mech. A WAR MECH. You climb in, jump and use rockets to float, and then slam the ground like an angry gorilla (rip Harambe) to cause damage. You can jump into a tank and launch a barrage of six shells across the map, though it’s considerably harder to aim than the hand-held weapons. You can also get to ze choppa like Arnold would scream at you, hover above your foes and rain 50cal machine gun shells down in a spray-and-pray style.

There are turrets too. Generic gun turrets that shoot projectiles as you’d expect, and mortar turrets that lob a nice wallop on top of your enemies. Oh, and there’s a dubstep gun. A WHAT?! Yep. I actually found this beauty on the last match that I played before writing this review. What does it do? Well for most people, just listening to dubstep while sober would be enough to knock off 75hp. This gun, however, is like a very direct machine gun, but that also shoots some wobble wobble across the map in a straight line. It’s super awesome.

I always preach that attention to detail is extremely important in any game, and Team 17 did not disappoint.

There are now destructible structures that you can get into with their own chests, mines, and obstacles. Super cool! Also, often after something drops in the water in a game, the devs don’t take the time to animate the underwater stuff, it just sort of disappears after going under. Not here, though. That thing will slowly and accurately drift past the edge of the screen. I suppose it’s a silly thing to notice, but remember, some person spent an hour of their precious time to make sure this was here. A lesser studio would skip out on tiny stuff like this, but it makes a difference.

Another interesting twist is that there’s a crafting section, in which you can now collect various ingredients from chests scattered around the map, or deconstruct some of your current stock, to build cool variations that will provide some unexpected punishment to your slithering foes. But be aware, if you spend too much time trying to craft, you may lose sight of your enemy and not have an opportunity to use it!

10

The Verdict

You would think that a game involving lobbing things back and forth at each other would get old pretty quickly, but if you’ve ever been a fan of the genre, you’ll realize quickly that you had better clear your calendar because Team 17 did not disappoint. Even if you’ve never tried this type of game, be prepared to get addicted, and inviting some friends. Not one single point deduction for this thoughtful, well produced, and timeless game.

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Dizzyjuice

Most widely known for never suppressing his impulse control disorder, and his stubborn position on the jet fuel vs. steel beams argument, Dizzyjuice is your typical renaissance man. An avid photographer, chef, classically trained musician, meme addict, philanthropist, and IT geek, he spends most of his spare time watching hours upon hours of ‘related videos’ on YouTube, and then purchasing random things to try and recreate them. Most notably, however, is that he hates it when biographies don’t end the way you octopus.

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