Review – Worms: Battle Islands (Wii)

12 Dec, 2010

There’s been no escaping the Worms franchise since it first launched on the Amiga back in 1995. Developed by Yorkshire-based company Team17 Software, the original was Scorched Earth meets Lemmings, a winning combination and an instant hit. Before Worms: Battle Islands the last worms game I played was Worms Armageddon on the PSOne. Battle Islands has left me torn between both relief and disappointment that the game remains largely the same; this is a game which will both frustrate and entertain you.

First things first. The basic game premise remains the same as ever: each player controls a team of earthworms. Through a turn based system, you must use whatever tools and weapons you can lay your hands on to attack and kill your opponents’ worms. The last team standing is the winner.

Battle Islands boasts 30 single-player campaign mode missions, 30 challenging single-player games and five different multiplayer game modes as you fight to take control of a secret island worms base. The game comes with more than 40 different in-game weapons and utilities, plus you can also customise your worms’ appearance, rename them, and create your own weapons. Unlike the last game in the series, Battle Islands comes with an online mode which should please a lot of fans.

My own major gripe with Battle Islands became apparent very early on: the controls. The D-pad mode is the standard set-up and is functional if slightly awkward at times – I found it tricky to use and control the zoom feature, which is something you will find yourself utilising a lot as your worms really are tiny. Wanting to try out the other set-ups, especially the motion sensor mode, I attempted to change the control settings – this was much easier said than done. This should be a very simple task but I cannot stress enough how irritating and time-consuming Battle Islands makes it to do so.

It all boils down to the fact Battle Islands is overly keen for individual players to create their own in-game profiles. Considering a lot of players tend to play worms with their mates after a few drinks down their local this doesn’t pan out very well. I was sober as a nun and concentrating solely on the task at hand and yet it still took me more than five minutes to find and change the control setting for both players despite choosing to play under guest profiles to speed things up.

Once I finally managed to change the control settings I found the Nunchuck the more user friendly mode although the motion sensor setting was a close second and surprisingly accurate.

The menu and in-game graphics are very easy on the eye and retain the old school charm worms fans will associate with the games, as do the worms themselves. Thankfully they still have their humour and cartoon style animation. The background music is best descried as inoffensive in that it doesn’t distract the player from the game.

I found the actual game play fairly satisfying. Battle Islands is best enjoyed with another player but the single player modes are also agreeable. The armoury will look familiar to seasoned players with a few new additions. For newbies, there is a well-crafted guide that will tell you all you need to know.

If you’re wondering whether or not to buy the game my advice would depend on your circumstances:

- If you’re a die-hard worms fan let’s face it, you’re going to buy this no matter what you read in any review and you’ll probably love it.

- Players like me, who have played worms in the past but haven’t enjoyed the third generation versions, I would on balance tell you to sit this one out. The exception to this would be if you really enjoy playing online, in which case Battle Islands could be a good match for you.

- For people with very limited worms experience or those who’ve never played before: Battle Islands provides a good introduction to the world of worms. If you’re keen to try worms, go for it.

Overall I found Battle Islands to be a fun, charming game but a little stale with some frustrating menu based flaws. Agree or disagree? Let us know by commenting below.