Review: Worms Reloaded

I’ve had a rather tumultuous relationship with Worms over the past decade. The first (and last) Worms game that I played to death and absolutely adored was Worms Armageddon for the Nintendo 64. I would bring my friends over after school and we would hunt each other down with sheep, holy hand grenades, and banana bombs until my dad would wrestle a controller from me so he could play. Like most games growing up, it was a family thing.

ESRB: Unknown
Players: Single & Multiplayer
Genre: Turn-Based Strategy
Publisher: Team17
Developer: Team17
Release Date: August 26, 2010

BUY

I was sorely disappointed with each and every one of the last Worms games as they attempted to reboot a series that, in this gamer’s humble opinion, didn’t need anything more than updated graphics and a few more customization options in the Team menu.

Thankfully, Team17 gave their classic 2D turn-based shoot-em-up strategy whatchamacallit a much needed facelift without detracting from the game’s original charm. As soon as I booted up Steam and started the game, I felt like I was fourteen again, sitting in my parents’ basement. Scratch that, I’m twenty-four and sitting in my parents’ basement loading up the game for the first time sitting next to my dad. His first comment was, “Now this is the game we’ve been waiting for.”

I couldn’t have said it any better myself.

The menu system is elegant, which will translate well to the console versions of the game, without being overly simplistic. The different modes of play include a single player campaign, training missions to learn the controls, body count and warzone (two shiny new game modes that I still haven’t had the chance to dive into), and the option to play local or networked multiplayer matches.

The customization system is robust, giving players the ability to really make their teams (and landscapes) awesome and really unique. My team, The Muffin Men, are a ragtag bunch whose dialect runs strangely to the L337 with phrases like, “I pwned you” or “I suxx0r!”. Sadly, when I first started the game, there was a lot of suxx0ring while I got used to playing the game on a computer instead of on a console. Warning: if you’re a console monkey, it will take some time to get used to controlling your worms with keys and it’s not because it’s difficult, it’s just because it’s different.

The single-player campaign is much more challenging than its predecessor’s, with puzzles and wild maps. Although in many levels you do have to defeat a bunch of enemy worms, you’re often limited in the arsenal of weaponry. Players have to get creative with how they go about defeating the enemy otherwise you run out of weapons before you run out of enemy worms (or you run out of time). There are thirty-five (35) different campaign missions, each more trying than the last. You’ll learn the controls quickly or you’ll sacrifice worms trying.

Worms games have always shone in multiplayer and Worms Reloaded is no exception. I sat down with various family members and proceeded to pwn or be pwned; if it was my brother playing, it was The Muffin Men that suffered great losses. Although it was a bit of a learning curve for the N64 Worms players, it was a lot of fun to sit back and frag enemy worms. In addition to the game providing my family with an entertaining distraction during a rather difficult time, it’s one of those games that you can pick up and put down at any time without the control structure becoming unfamiliar.

I recommend this game for fans of the 1990s series, up to and including the second generation games like Worms Armageddon. Team17′s updates to the game provide us with better game-play and graphics without detracting from the quirky charm that made us fall in love with the series in the first place. Even if you’re new to the series, there will be something for every level of gamer in Worms Reloaded.

Go forth and frag.