I’ve played a few Worms games over the years, but the one I spent the most time with, by far, was Worms Armageddon, which came out in 1999. When I first started playing the demo of this most recent release, Worms 2: Armageddon, I thought it was an update of that game. In fact, Worms 2: Armageddon has nothing to do with either Worms 2 or Worms Armageddon, other than being in the same series. The Worms formula has just changed so little in the past 11 years, it’s hard to tell the difference at a glance. (Well, figuratively speaking, anyway. The graphics in this newest installment are in full 1080p HD.)
Still, that tried and tested gameplay holds up well. If you’re unfamiliar with Worms, it’s a turn-based strategy game that takes place on a 2D plane with destructible environments and weapons that can often be described as “insane.” For every bazooka or grenade, there’s a flying sheep or bunch of exploding mortar bananas. Most of these weapons are affected by the wind and gravity. For example, if your opponent is on the other side of a hill, you’ll have to factor in the power of your shot, the trajectory of your aim, and the strength and direction of the wind if you want to hit your target. (It sounds complicated, but a bit of trial and error is all you need to get used to it.)
The real appeal of Worms 2: Armageddon, though, is the level of customization. You can create your own team, assigning their individual names, and changing their skin color, hats (the PlayStation version even includes a few exclusive hats based on games like Killzone and LittleBigPlanet), and voices as a group. There are a few preset game setups to choose from in multiplayer mode, or you can create your own. You can customize everything from your starting arsenals to the ability to move without the assistance of the grappling hook-like ninja rope.
The single player mode includes 35 missions, most of which are straight forward combat missions, with a few puzzle or obstacle course style missions thrown in for good measure. Once you’re finished with the campaign mode (and have earned enough money to unlock all of the extra weapons and other items in the shop), you can move on to the multiplayer mode. Local multiplayer can be played with any combination of 2 to 4 human or non-human players. Since it’s a turn based strategy game, all human players can share one controller. It’s fun alone or with a friend, and the inclusion of online multiplayer and the randomly generated stages mean you never have to stop playing. I hesitate to use the word “addictive” since it’s thrown around way too much these days, but it’s the perfect word to describe the 2D Worms games, Worms 2: Armageddon included.
I do have a few gripes, though. Team sizes are mysteriously limited to 4 worms each. The basic gameplay is simple enough, but some things are still a matter of trial and error. It would be nice if there were tutorials for more of the weapons. For example, if you don’t know what a Super Sheep does in advance, you might not realize that you can control its direction once it launches into the air and starts flying. Some of the options when creating a multiplayer game scenario are a little confusing, too. My first attempt at creating a scenario resulted in two stationary worms sitting right next to each other, and I couldn’t figure out how to fix it so I just scrapped it and started over. (My second attempt resulted in gaming bliss, if you’re curious.)
One particular bit of ridiculousness is the fact that the PSN version costs $15 while the XBLA version, released over a year ago, only cost $10. What do you get for the extra $5? No, not the DLC that was eventually released for the XBLA version. You get five hats and more Trophies than the XBLA version had Achievements. It’s nice that there’s a Platinum trophy available in this version, I guess, but, the fact that I’m never going to be able to unlock it aside, I would rather not pay $5 for the thing.
Still, Worms 2: Armageddon is about as good a game as Worms has ever been. There’s a demo available in the PSN Store, so it’s easy enough to try before you buy. Even with the inflated price, it has enough customization options to stay fresh for a long time, and addictive enough to keep you playing. And honestly, What other game lets you create a team of Sackboy-headed Sean Connery-accented annelids that can summon giant breying donkey statues from the sky?
