Worms
| Developer: Andy Davidson | Graphics: |
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| Publisher: Team 17 | Sound: |
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| Year: 1995 | Difficulty: |
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| Genre: Strategy | Lastability: |
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| Number of players: 32 alternating | Rating: |
9/10 | |
Few people remember that Worms was originally an Amiga game. It was later adapted to every possible platform, but the original recipe, the one worth savouring, is found on Amiga, for once!
The creator imagined it as a mix between Lemmings and an artillery game (Artillery [Apple II, 1980], Artillery Duel [Atari 2600, 1983], Scorched Earth [PC, 1991], Tanx [Amiga, 1991], pick the one you like).
The same type of rugged terrain is kept, along with the same gameplay mechanics: exchanging shells over a hill, after calculating the angle and firing power, taking the direction and strength of the wind into account. Simply replace the two somewhat austere tanks with cartoonish worm squads, who hurl insults at each other between shots. Of course, it would be too silly to limit it to mortars, so a dozen or so wacky weapons (bazooka, grenades, dynamite, explosive sheep…) and various “utility” gadgets, like a teleporter or ninja rope, were added. This results in a terribly addictive game, while also being much more complex than it seems for anyone wanting to master it.
Solo play does get repetitive quickly, but this game is primarily intended for multiplayer (the Worms nights with friends are legendary!). The levels, randomly generated, are in the millions and offer a degree of customisation. It is also possible to create our own maps using a drawing tool.
Worms: The Director’s Cut, released in 1997 on Amiga, introduces new gameplay options, weapons, bonus levels, and most importantly, finally makes use of the AGA chips (displaying more colours on screen).
Later, many sequels followed, some more mercantile than others. Among them, Worms 2 (PC, 1998), Worms Armageddon (PC and consoles, 1999), and Worms 3D (PC and consoles, 2003).
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