Worms iPhone Review

When I was a young gamer, virtually every game I played was single player. As I progressed through from my Atari 2600 onto the Vic 20, Commodore 64, Mega Drive and so on, virtually every game I played was done so on my own. Sure, I would play sports games with friends, but I was definitely a single-player kinda guy. That changed in 1996 when I had my Sega Saturn and I picked up a game called Worms. I’d heard about it from my Amiga owning friends, and decided to give it a try. In virtually no time at all, gaming nights at my house became a regular occurrence with several friends huddled around the TV, passing the controller between each other, each trying to kill the other with grenades, bazookas and exploding sheep. Laughter and expletives were in great supply as the little worms were killed in a variety of ways. The game opened my eyes to the joys of multiplayer gaming, and the series itself has remained a firm favourite of mine ever since. When I was offered the chance to review Worms for the iPhone and iPod Touch, it’ll come to no surprise to hear I jumped at the chance.

In case any of the readers here have yet to sample the delights of the Worms franchise, here is a quick overview of the game. At its heart it is a fairly simple strategy game, with each player in the game (either human or AI) controlling a team of worms. Your goal is very simple – be the last team standing. To assist in that simple goal is a variety of killing devices, from normal weapons like bazookas, grenades and shotguns, to more outrageous weaponry like Holy Hand Grenades (which explode with a cry of ‘Hallelujah’), exploding Sheep which bound across the landscape, and Banana Bombs which are filled with so much destruction you could easily wipe out an opposition team with one well placed shot. Each weapon does a set amount of damage, and each worm has a set amount of health, so picking the right weapon for the job becomes very important, especially as the wind can play a part which firing weapons like the bazooka. If your enemy happens to be standing near the edge of the landscape, use the baseball bat, Fireball or the deadly Prod to send them over the edge and into the water (killing them instantly, as we all know worms can’t swim). It’s the range and variety of ways to kill your opponent that has proven to be one of the main attractions of the Worms franchise and players will be happy to know that the large majority of weaponry from the more recent Worms games make an appearance here.

To go along with the various weaponry, you have various modes in which to use them. You can play a standard single player mode, where you can play a quick game, a practise match, or work your way through the 50 challenges on offer. You can also create your own multiplayer game for up to 4 players, mixing in various human teams with AI controlled opponents. One mode which is sadly absent however is the option for Internet play. One of the joys of the Worms series has always been the ability to play against and humiliate random people around the world with your bazooka skills, and it’s a great shame the option to do that is missing here.

Unfortunately, one thing that hasn’t transitioned quite so well is the control system. Long time Worms players will know that one of the biggest joys in the game is using something like the Ninja Rope or Jetpack to quickly move from one part of the landscape to the other, depositing a stick of dynamite at the feet of your unsuspecting enemy, and disappearing with laughter as the dynamite blows the worm into an early grave. With the touch screen system used here, such intricate controls are a thing of the past to all but the most dedicated of players who are willing to spend countless hours perfecting their touch. Jumping can also be an issue, requiring you to tap the screen or double-tapping it to instigate a jump or backwards flip. As this isn’t always accurate you may sometimes find your worm leaping towards a mine instead of backflipping away from it, which is understandably frustrating. It must be said though that for the main part the controls work very well, with general movement and firing being no problem at all. New players to the series won’t miss the pixel perfect controls of the home versions that veterans are used to.

Graphically Worms is a great title, with its unique art style carried over here very well. Explosions aren’t quite as big as on other handheld systems, which is perhaps to be expected given the relative power of the other handheld gaming systems. The worms themselves all animate and move well, though the game does suffer from some slowdown on my iPod Touch. If you’re lucky enough to own one of the new iPhone 3Gs phones then this slowdown is reported to be much less pronounced and something you’d hardly notice at all.

The great audio from the Worms franchise has also been retained, with its usual high quality voices and sound effects. You can customise your worms with one of 18 vocal banks, ranging from Scouser to Angry Scots and many more, each with their own unique phrases and sayings. The background music is also very good here, remaining light and unobtrusive, though you also have the option to play your own music should you not like the audio on offer.

As an overall package, Worms scores very highly with me. Yes there are issues with the control scheme, and yes there are some technical issues with slowdown. To me this is all offset by the fact that the game is still immensely fun to play, and you still get the same buzz when you drop a perfectly placed Holy Hand Grenade as you did in previous games. If you’re a fan of the Worms series, and a fan of fun games in general, then you definitely need to check it out.

If you enjoyed this review, read more of Davey Pitch’s work at his blog here.