Worms Armageddon

by Micro Prose / Team17

Product Features

• Also compatible with Windows XP & Media Center editions.

Product Details

• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B00000K4DE
• Media: CD-ROM
• Release Date: August 5, 1999
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (51 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #11,255 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games)
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes

Product Description

Platform: PC

GameSpot Review

The spineless and unassuming critters that star in Worms Armageddon epitomize the game itself. You'll quickly notice that the worms in this game are not as meek as they appear and instead are funny, ill-tempered, and wickedly clever. At about the same time, you'll find that while this game may look cute, it is in fact as sophisticated and enjoyable as the very best strategy games out there. It's also highly polished, easily customizable, accessible to all ages, and perfectly suited for quick spells and marathon sessions alike.

That said, it's true that Worms Armageddon isn't all that different from Worms 2. Though it includes an all-new single-player campaign and fully integrated online play, as well as over a dozen new weapons and gadgets for the worms to use, Armageddon looks, sounds, and plays similarly to the last episode, which means veterans of the series expecting something totally new will not find what they're looking for. And everyone else will wish Worms Armageddon offered even more, if only because it's as good as it is.

Worms Armageddon is easy to play and control, two factors that contribute immensely to the game's success. The typical skirmish pits teams of worms against each other, all randomly interspersed throughout some sort of exaggerated landscape ranging from garbage dumps to stacks of books. You take turns with your opponents, inching your forces into position one by one and firing upon enemy worms with an arsenal of weapons, from traditional (grenade, shotgun) to makeshift (baseball bat, blowtorch) to unorthodox (exploding old woman, skunk). The worms even know a few famous martial arts moves for good measure. Most worm weapons are absurd and amusing, and effectively serve specific functions. But since many do overlap in functionality, you can be selective and creative with your arsenal rather than feel restricted by it. You'll witness the events that transpire as the worms duel to the death via a traditional 2D platform-game side view, lending Worms Armageddon a readily approachable if misleadingly simple appearance.

So although it may appear as if that one worm over there just fired a bazooka at his enemy across the screen, aiming that shot was anything but trivial. A worm, not unlike a golfer, needs to take into account such elements as trajectory, wind direction, and power, and although shooting simply involves arrow keys and the space bar, hitting the target won't be quite so simple. Even seemingly fail-safe weapons, like homing missiles and napalm strikes, require skill and foresight to be used effectively. What's more, explosive attacks, such as the bazooka, vaporize the terrain around the targeted area, likely causing the worms in the vicinity to be flung about. It's often to your advantage to try to destroy the earth from under the feet of your enemies rather than target them directly, in an effort to send them careening into the water below, since worms can't swim.

Thanks to the game's sophisticated physics and damage modeling, the results of your attacks will often prove surprising no matter how accurate you think you are. Since maps tend to be strewn with explosives, and the worms themselves explode when they die, oftentimes the results of a successful strike are anything but predictable as an incredible chain reaction ensues. This tightly controlled chaos, together with the precise targeting system and plausible physics, is also essential to this game's success. And the automatic instant replay on especially unbelievable chains of events is a nice touch.

Great graphics and sound don't hurt, either. Worms Armageddon includes a seemingly endless assortment of beautiful and surreal backdrops, which lend most every skirmish a unique challenge, since these landscapes are randomly generated each time. The worms themselves are animated beautifully, and their articulate expressions and bizarre arsenals make these some of the most endearing computer game characters in a long time. Meanwhile, special effects such as fire and explosions all look equally good, lending the game a perfectly consistent and always bright and attractive appearance.

The sound effects that accentuate the firefights, while somewhat repetitive, are as over-the-top and amusing as the graphics, while a rather remarkably grandiose militaristic soundtrack enhances the game's tongue-in-cheek half-seriousness. More remarkable still is to what extent you can customize your worms: As a holdover from its predecessor, Worms Armageddon includes dozens upon dozens of sound schemes for the little guys, most of which are high-pitched, angry squeals. You can make your worms speak Russian, Greek, Afrikaans, around a dozen dialects of English, French, Spanish, German, you name it. Or you can import your own sound effects, just as you can also select a team anthem, an insignia, a tombstone, and customize just about everything else about your team, giving it a unique style that will distinguish you among your peers in a grueling multiplayer match.

Those custom features aptly suggest that Worms Armageddon lends itself perfectly to multiplayer competition. The fully integrated Worms.net Internet play server (though not ideally fast or reliable at all hours as of press time) lets you easily join a game with rival worm commanders from across the world, and the server even maintains your ranking and status based on your wins and losses. Because battles are highly customizable, such that starting conditions for health and ammunition can be easily adjusted, you can join games that emphasize the style of play you prefer, either in favor of mass-destructive or more strategic weaponry. In between multiplayer sessions, you can play against the computer in quick matches or deathmatch battles that become progressively more challenging, just as you can learn the ropes through a convenient if somewhat difficult training mode, then apply them in the single-player campaign. The campaign missions, which must be played through linearly, are mostly puzzle-oriented and recall Psygnosis' classic Lemmings in that they tend to force you to make precise use of a limited supply of tools in order to accomplish your objectives. The puzzle elements of these missions oftentimes prove frustrating, since many of these missions are very difficult, and while the campaign provides an enjoyable diversion from the rest of the game, it doesn't really hold up on its own, nor does it seem intended to do so.

Likewise, although the computer opponent is realistically fallible except at the highest skill levels, it tends to neglect the more obscure or sophisticated weapons available, resorting to mundane explosives nine times out of ten. For this reason alone, the computer cannot ever hope to provide the sort of unique competition that is practically assured with even the most inexperienced human opponent, whose foibles and follies in combat will likely be worth the price of admission if he isn't good enough to fight back in earnest.

It's too bad that the computer opponent doesn't make full use of its full arsenal, and as you play Armageddon more and more, invariably you'll also wish the game had even more weapons, even more diversity in graphics and sound, and even more of pretty much everything. There's no mistaking that Worms Armageddon is both highly polished and totally complete, with far more features and variety and options than just about any other game out there. Nevertheless, the design and execution are so great and so open-ended that you'll know, even as you log more and more hours with the game, that in fact you can't have too much of a good thing. --Greg Kasavin
--Copyright ©1998 GameSpot Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission of GameSpot is prohibited.

Product Description

Have fun with the Worms double pack together on one disc! Enter the bizarre and fantastic cartoon world where you wreak havoc on your rivals in a game of revenge and petty-minded cruelty. Get ready for an all out strategy game...are you up for the challenge for Worms Armageddon and Worms 2?

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars For those who want a fun and non-stressing game, April 19, 2000

By 

Mistaken Missive "MM_5" (Richardson, TX USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Worms Armageddon (CD-ROM)

Too many games are hyper button jittering stressful things. (kill kill kill - game over) This is not. With worms you can create teams, change options, and make your own ways to play the game as you go. Play with friends (with even odds) or by yourself, or over the net. This game is FULL OF HUMOR - it will keep you laughing throughout. The weapons are hilarious, and while you still "kill kill kill" these cute little worms, there really isn't the whole "I have to hurry or else." feel of other killing games. You'll laugh at your own demise and come back for more. (none of that sighing with relief when it's over) Only one warning - don't get offened by the British v/s American worms. The British honestly think we all sound like John Wayne, so all of the American worms sound like they belong in westerns. I've bought the original "Worms", "Worms 2" and now this one. They all keep me comeing back for more and are utterly charming.

16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sleeper of the year!, November 15, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Worms Armageddon (CD-ROM)

I love this game! It's easy to learn but hard to master ! Customizing your own team of players makes it feel personal. The multiplayer play is great! Funny! Original! Simple (and yet really complex!) Play a quick game or go for a series of wins. Don't let the cute worms fool you! This is a great game!

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Ultimate Party Game, December 30, 1999

By 

Dane Weber (Front Royal, Virginia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Worms Armageddon (CD-ROM)

This game is a terrific investment. Because the whole point of the game is to play with other people, it doesn't get old. What makes Worms so great is that it can be played "hotseat", that is on one computer. I've introduced many of my friends to this game. Once they've made it past the cute exterior, they're hooked. This game is incredibly approachable and addicting. I've probably played well over a thousand games of it. This is one game that is fun to play, not just win.

I'd like to respond to two criticisms of this game:

1. The interface is too simple. It doesn't allow much customization.

The interface is designed to get you into a game as soon as possible. If you just want to have some fun games with your friends, there are more than enough custom settings. In fact, some of my friends complain about all of the settings that I play around with.

2. The rope is down-graded.

This is a pretty specific complaint. What I've seen in most of the changes from Worms2 to Worms:Armageddon is that the game has put new players on a more level playing field with veterans. The ability to handicap players is obvious. Reducing the utility of the rope, however, makes the game a better test of strategy rather than dexterity.

I beg you, if you want to have a good time with your friends on the computer, buy Worms. You have the immediate face-to-face interaction as well as a rediculously fun, simple, and deep computer game.

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