Preview: Worms: Revolution

Title: Worms: Revolution
Platform: PC, PS3, Xbox 360 (Reviewed on PC)
Developer: Team 17
Publisher: Team 17
TL;DR: Old school Worms fun with water and Matt Berry
Family Friendly?: Click here for more info

Did you like Worms? How about Worms 2? Or any other 2D worms game? Well, then here’s the same thing again only this time there’s water and some amazing voice acting. That’s about the gist of Worms: Revolution. There’s nothing much wrong with that. Worms is a great game, so with the help of some improved graphics and the ability to play your friends over the internet this game should be really popular. It’s polished, the sounds are great, customisation is fantastic, the music isn’t too intrusive, and the gameplay is just as delightful as ever. There you have it.

Okay, so there’s a little more to it. For one there’s water which really serves well to set up some huge explosions thanks to dangerous objects laying around the battlefield. Just shuffle your enemies using the water gun next to a bottle of lighter fluid and watch the pain-train roll in. Also, there’s Matt Berry. If you’ve not seen Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace or The IT Crowd then go and google him now. I’ll wait…Okay, you know him now? Good. He’s hilarious. He has a delightful voice and his delivery is just peculiar enough to make you ponder his sanity. He plays Don Keystone, a ridiculed wildlife “expert”, who studies these worms in their natural destructive environment. His cutscene commentaries are easily the star of the show, I only wish he piped up during the battles.

Why exactly does he watch the worms in action? I’m not really sure, he’s some kind of sadist it seems who enjoys animals killing one another, and I’m complicit in his bizarre games. By blowing up the other teams I’m contributing to the creepy way that this guy gets off. Gross. Don Keystone: you’re a sick man. As for the worms themselves? Well, I don’t know what their problem is, but from the looks of the campaign mode I seem to be invading the territory of other worms. I’m the bad guy here: taking over land that doesn’t belong to me, pillaging and burning my way through the underground world. My four worm team is the Third Reich at the bottom of the garden.

Speaking of the team: there are different classes this time around. That’s the “Revolution” part. Heavies do more damage and provide some tank work but they’re slow, soldiers are standard, scouts are weak and fast, and scientists are somewhere between scout and soldier except at the start of their turn every worm on the team gets +5 health. The campaign mode will cause you to build a team of heavies and scientists because you’re so unfairly outnumbered after the first few missions that your only strategy is to survive as long as possible.

The campaign mode is truly cruel. Difficulty curves should be just that: a smooth upwards curve. But after the first ten missions of easy boredom it spikes to near impossible. It only comes down on the boss missions which are tiresomely easy. Surely they’ve got that one backwards? Obviously I played a pre-release version so maybe this will get altered, but the AI is accurate beyond belief. They’ll calculate grenade ricochets to a nanometre and blow you into the sinker when you were hidden in the tiniest crevice behind five layers of walls.

Having said all that, Worms: Revolution is turn based perfection just like every other Worms game. It’s best with friends (especially the forts mode), but still enjoyable on your own. The additions work perfectly, and forcing enemy worms into situations where they slowly drown to death is worryingly enjoyable. The costumes, voices, and other customisable trinkets are delightful and suit the cartoon style perfectly. The attention to detail is marvellous and the four different zones have a distinct feel. While the tutorial does bang on a bit this game is great for new players and old alike. If you don’t mind committing a little mass genocide for the whims of a superior being who watches your petty charades and laughs petulantly at your efforts to please him, then there’s a whole lot of fun to be had with Worms: Revolution.

“Watch This!”

• Turn based perfection
• Don Keystone: hilarious overlord
• So many customisation permutations

“You’ll Regret That!”

• Cruel difficulty spike
• Not that much of a “revolution”
• Tutorial is tedious for veteran Worms players

Family Focus

Worms has always been on the friendly side of wrong. It’s a violent game that most parents are okay with their kids playing because it’s so far removed from reality. There’s guns and explosions galore, but it’s all very cartoony and fun. If you feel like erring on the safe side then 12+. But there’s plenty of room for leeway.