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Worms 4: Mayhem Mini Review
Jon Wilcox
05/08/2005
Team 17`s iconic Worms return with a new publisher in tow...
After the somewhat disappointing Worms: Forts Under Siege in 2004, Team17 has resurrected the classic gameplay of Worms 3D for their latest invertebrate combat franchise. Offering a wide selection of gametypes from Story Mode and Quick Matches to online play on PC and Xbox Live, together with the new Weapons Factory and Create Game Style options, the Worms appear to be back on top form.
Worms has always been a series that has been more fun as a multiplayer game rather than a single-player experience, but Team17 has attempted to create a stronger balance in Mayhem with the addition of an multi-objective based Story Mode across several missions and areas. Where the variety comes into this mode is that it doesnāt rely on putting two or more teams of worms into a situation where their only goal is to blast their opponents into next week; instead there are missions where main objectives include collecting objects to destroying buildings with TNT (thanks to the destructible environments)ā¦and then obliterating your opponents. Players have to complete four base missions to unlock a final mission, which they have to complete in order to progress with the story. The game also features a Quick Match option for single players to battle against up to three AI controlled teams, or two to four human controlled teams to fight each other to the death. Multiplayer options include online play for the Xbox and PC versions of the game, which will surely increase the longevity of the title, although PlayStation2 owners are set to be disappointed at the lack of online gameplay for their version.
There is a respectable amount of customisation for players to build their own team of worms from changing the voice sampling, to a variety of accessories such as hats, glasses, gloves and comedy moustaches. Worms 4: Mayhem goes further than just adding a āCreate-a-Wormā option, and includes the Weapons Factory and Create Game Style options. There is certainly very little chance of getting confused between the teams, especially when one team sports a military hat and pink star sunglassesā¦nice. This level of variety offers a strong foundation for future iterations of the franchise to build upon (worm accessories as micro-transactions over Xbox 360 Live, anybody?) and also gives a player a strong and hopefully relatively unique team of worms when Live play is initiated.
Besides dressing the worms up into various comedy items, players can also tailor a special weapon for their team thanks to the newly added Weapons Factory and like the customisation of the worms themselves, offers a strong foundation for future titles in the series. Gamers begin by choosing one of three weapon types: Launched, Thrown, or AirStrike before selecting a series of options including the type of projectile to be used, cue snowglobes, skulls, and āspecialā bananas to name but three of the possibilities. Of course a system is in place to limit to actual strength of the customised weapon, after all it would be difficult to otherwise stop players from building the most powerful weapons known to worm-kind, so Team17 has implemented a gauge that increases and decreases as more and more options are tweaked. It ahs to be said that the Weapons Factory idea is a great addition to the game, and once again should act as a stepping stone for future versions of the series. Besides the ability build new weapons, Worms 4: Mayhem also includes all of the old favourites such as Bazookas and Shotguns, as well as several new ones including the Sniper Rifle and the Inflatable Scouser, which grabs one of the opponentās worms before inflating and floating and finally bursting, sending the worm back to earth with a bang...literally.
As if the ability to create their own teams and super-weapons, Team17 has enabled gamers to create their own gametype or put their faith into a fruit machine that decides the various attributes of the future battle, taking into account (amongst other things) the number of weapons drops during the duration of the fight ā“ and as with all fruit machines, the game allows players to ānudgeā options if the random selection proves to be unattractive to themā¦
So far as gameplay is concerned, this is classic Worms - Team17 has brought the franchise back to where it should be. Tightening the controls has had a major effect on gameplay and precarious ledges are easier to navigate than in earlier incarnations, and the subtle improvements such as faster turning circles, and less wind resistance (something that has always been a criticism of the franchise since it went 3D) further adds to a more enjoyable experience. Every option is close at hand, and is highly accessible and intuitive for all levels of players from maps to powering-up weapons, and that the screen is uncluttered with only essential guides (such as the power meter, timer, and wind speed) only adds to the importance of a smooth and streamlined control system ā“ something that Team17 has accomplished to a high standard.
Visually the game is a feast of over-saturated colour and cartoon-like visual effects, making players all the more grateful for that uncluttered HUD. The expressions on all of the worms as they shy away from a shotgun barrel or as they become literally green with poison add both humour and personality to the characters, once again capturing the slapstick atmosphere of the previous games.
The Weapons Factory and the Worm Customisation aside, Mayhem is not a game about originality. Instead itās been an attempt to lift the franchise back onto the tracks after the lacklustre performance of the previous title. If you donāt like any of the Worms games of the past, then itās very unlikely that youāll enjoy this latest instalment, but for fans of the series itās good to see it back on the consoles with such style. Improvements have been made throughout the game and it retains a strong sense of fun throughout, something that has only been accentuated by the inclusion of the various customisations.
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