At a glance...

Worms 3D review

Team 17's Worms series has long established itself as a classic. I remember getting a copy of the game with my new PC back in early 1996 (the game came out at the end of 1995), and have been a fan of the series ever since. Since the original we've seen Worms 3, Worms Armageddon, and Worms World Party - the latter two being updates on Worms 2 featuring new weapons and missions. We also had two spin-off titles which didn't follow the usual formula: Worms Pinball and puzzler Worms Blast (PS2 review and PC review). The series has even been popular enough to spawn clones such as the excellent PocketPC/Smartphone game, Snails. However, many of us have been awaiting the true sequel for some time, and when Worms 3 was announced in summer last year, there was a mix of hope and worry inside me. Could Team 17 bring the title into the third dimension and still retain the humour and enjoyment, or would they do what Lemmings 3D did to its respective series and ruin it?

Thankfully, despite the change of the name to Worms 3D (which itself strikes up fear of a Lemmings 3D repeat) and the Sega logo on the pack, the game is still developed by the original Team 17, and having given the title plenty of development time, Worms 3D is the excellent true sequel we were all hoping for. Despite the classic humour and enjoyment, Worms 3D's third dimension certainly adds a new perspective to the gameplay. If you aren't familiar with the Worms series, then you have a treat in store. The games involves controlling a team of Worms who go to war against other teams of Worms. But what stops this being a mindless (if highly enjoyable) collection of deathmatches is the missions. These are entertaining, and full of variety; they each present different situations, such as beating your enemy while starting with limited health, or even situations away from the usual 'destroy all your enemies', such as collecting certain items, while of course, under attack from your enemies. Had enough of the missions? Well, there's still single-player fun to be had with the Challenge mode. Here you are presented with tasks requiring even more skill, such as parachuting, set within strict time limits. Both the missions and the challenges allow you to unlock extra weapons and levels.

Despite all this enjoyment, the main mode of play, as it has always been for the Worms series, is multiplayer. Unfortunately, unlike the PC version, there's no online play in Worms 3D (despite Xbox Live being around for just over a year) or even System Link support, however, there is an excellent four player share-screen mode that is definitely worth getting your mates round for. One thing that you will instantly notice is the sheer level of customisation. Take game settings; you can choose a preset combination, create your own preset, or just customise with a huge range of options, from the amount of each weapon, to the amount of health each worms starts with. There's also the 'Worm Pot', which is a one-armed bandit, that can randomly choose features such as X2 damage for you. And then there's the levels you can fight on. When entering multiplayer, a random level is generated, but entering the Landscape Selection Screen allows you to choose special deathmatch and mission levels or customise settings from the amount of bridges to land height in order to randomly generate your own level. Even generating with the same settings will provide for another almost unique experience. The Random Code feature allows you to return to your favourites at a later date, or you can enter a string of numbers and generate a level without a care in the world about what comes up. Simply put, Worms 3D is highly customisable - of course, so were previous games, but generating an entirely 3D landscape randomly to your own specifications is certainly impressive. And I haven't even mention team customisation, including headstone, flag, voices, and of course, names.

How has the 3D update fared on the graphics? Well, quite obviously, they certainly bring the series up-to-date. The cartoon-like feel of the 2D originals is certainly felt throughout the game's colourful graphics and 'cutsie' Worms, as well as the explosions. The engine also allows for the fully-destructible environment so famous in previous games to remain intact. You can now dig 3D craters, while your worms can still balance on just a few pixels. Animation is also used often and well, giving you the impression that the worms on screen really are alive (if only for a short time). The camera does provide the occasional problem, which can make getting the job done in 60 seconds sometimes a fiddly task. However, despite the appealing look to the game, and the great destruction you can create, the game still does not take full advantage of the Xbox. Like most multi-console games, the graphics are only marginally better on the Xbox than the other two machines, and full optimisation for the Xbox's superior capabilities has not been accounted for. This is not true for the audio, where the Xbox version receives full Dolby Digital 5.1 support. The sound effects are alright, but the game's audio shines with the voices, which are both witty, and of high quality. There's a huge range of them, and the different accents allow you to customise the attitude of your worm team to your needs.

Reviewed by Matt Bailey

Ratings

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