PSN Review - Worms

Developer Team17’s hit Worms series had its humble beginnings on the Amiga way back in 1995. It has since been updated and ported to…well, everything really. The series has finally made its way over to the PlayStation 3. So, how well does the game fair in this port? Read on to find out!

The core mechanic behind Worms is a turn-based strategy game on a 2-dimensional playfield. You have a variety of weapons at your disposal, each with their own advantages as well as disadvantages. There are also a handful of utilities, such as the Ninja Rope and Jetpack, which add to the strategy you can use in each turn. The main charm in any of the Worms games has always lied in the varied weapons, and you get all the classics here: the Bazooka, Grenade, Mine, Baseball Bat, and other basic weapons are all here, as well as the great Holy Hand Grenade, Banana Bomb, Sheep and Super Sheep (though sadly no Aqua Sheep), the devastating Concrete Donkey, and more worm-slaying weapons.

Now then, how did the transition to our beloved PlayStation 3 go? Well, you’ll be happy to know that everything went incredibly smoothly – the game is presented in glorious 1080p. Add to this a rock-solid framerate that I never saw dip, and you have yourself the prettiest Worms game ever released. The audio is also decent, though some of the worms’ voices sound as though they were ripped straight from earlier versions of the game, in 22KHz or worse quality. More of the voices are of acceptable quality than the few that sound dated, however, so this issue is negligible. Unfortunately, there is no support for custom soundtracks. This further convinces me that Sony should have made such a needed feature mandatory as well as trophies, as blowing up worms to a customized soundtrack is gratifying and I could see the soundtrack becoming a bit repetitive. Also, while there are plenty of weapons, more of the crazier ones such as the Sheep Launcher and Homing Pigeon would have been nice.

This game takes advantage of the PlayStation Network in more ways than the obvious multiplayer. Voice chat is supported, as is support for custom game modes and maps. When you find a map layout that you like, you can write down a series of numbers to generate the same thing later. Custom teams of worms can also be created. It’s also worth noting that because there is no filesize limit on the PSN that this version has considerably more content than its XBLA counterpart released back in 2007.

So what does $12.99 get you? A nearly-perfect port of the beloved Worms series. It has weapons from many of the previous entries in the series. There are custom team, map, and multiplayer options. Trophies and voice chat are both supported as well. The only thing missing from this port is custom soundtracks. But if you like/love the Worms series, then you will not be disappointed! New players of the series should also consider this game as it provides for countless hours of worm-shooting/exploding/drowning/general maiming fun!