Worms: Open Warfare

Set in a 2D, side-scrolling world, Worms is a game where you need more than the best strategy to win. You're given an army; a tiny, sluggish army that has an unusual fondness for high-powered explosives. 

The main goal is one of destruction. It's not about picking your best man (worm) as much as it is about picking your best weapon. Picking the best weapon(s), you'll soon find out, isn't enough either. While the gameplay is turn-based, actions occur in real-time. Dotted crosshairs indicate the potential reach for your weapon – how high and how far it can be shot. But to nail the target exactly where you want, you have to be precise when activating the weapon's charge meter. The more the meter has been charged, the further the weapon will be shot.

This version doesn't stray from that concept, featuring all the loony (and sometimes hilarious) antics that helped make the series famous. The worms have a sense of humor, laughing at the pain of others while screaming when faced with pain themselves.

Open Warfare's combat is made addictive for the same reason as its predecessors – the opportunity for new strategies is endless. Most environments are destructible, a rarity for the genre. Another unique feature is being able to aim your weapon. Most strategy games let you select an enemy unit, click a button, and the attack occurs automatically. In this game you don't get to select units with all weapons. The bazooka is a wonderful, fun-to-use weapon with a lot of power. And if your charge meter is off the mark, it'll take a dive and miss the enemy, or fly completely off the screen.

The shotgun is a little easier to land a hit, but it's weaker and only affects close-range targets. Dynamite sticks drop wherever you're standing. Let one go and run! Unfortunately worms can't run, so slither out of there as fast as you can. The explosion that follows is a large blast that destroys most environments. Any nearby worm, enemy or ally, will be knocked back and depleted of most of its health.  

There are several other weapons, like the air strike, which releases a series of missiles in the area you've selected. You'll get to lay mines, use warp devices (transport one of your worms to a new location), shoot homing missiles, etc. There's also a ninja rope that lets you swing from one platform to the next.

Deadly green barrels are dispersed throughout the game, adding further strategic options. Target a barrel instead of the enemy standing next to it and the payoff will be huge. Conversely, enemies can do the same, and if you're not careful, you might even get stuck underneath a barrel!  As environments are destroyed, small pathways are formed that appear to be safe. In reality they may not be large enough to fit through. Once you're in, you might not be able to get out. This only happened to me a couple of times – one of which seemed like a glitch. Either way it's another difficulty that you'll have to overcome. If you get stuck, the only way out is to blast the green barrel, and that's suicide.

For most weapons, aim is controlled with the top and bottom directional buttons. You hold one of those buttons to move the crosshairs around your worm. Crosshair movement is circular, and stays close to the worm for most weapons. To hit far away enemies you must make some predictions, which would be impossible if it were not for the ability to scroll across the entire level to see exactly where your enemies are. The DS makes it easier (and faster) than ever by allowing you to touch the part of the map you wish to view. The game jumps to that part of the level the instant you touch it. This, unfortunately, is the only part of Open Warfare that feels like a DS game – the touch screen is also used for weapon selection, but that's hardly an interesting way to take advantage of a unique feature.

Worm movement is the same as its always been. It's like a platformer but slower. You can jump, perform backflips (to reach higher areas), grab crates for additional weapons and health items, etc. If this were a platformer I'd be rolling my eyes I'm sure, but it's a strategy game, and this is another gameplay mechanic that sets it apart from the rest.

As unique as the series is, Worms: Open Warfare isn't that different from its predecessors. If this is your first Worms game, you'll be in love with it as much as I was with my first. But if it's your second or third, you might not get as much out of it. The series hasn't stopped being fun, not even with its four or fifth rehash. It's still clever and addictive. So while I wouldn't call this a "new" Worms game, it's definitely worth checking out, especially if you love strategy games but have yet to get your hands on one of these slimy little buggers.

Gameplay: 7.5
Deep turn-based strategic gameplay…that was innovative a decade ago. Worms: Open Warfare is a blast, but it’s primarily for those who haven’t played through one or more of the series predecessors. Having full control over each worm, being able to attack freely and destroy your environments – these are things you can’t get from any other series. Newcomers will turn into diehard addicts overnight, while old-timers will find this to be the best version released on a Nintendo system.

Graphics: 4
Not much to them. You should be able to make out a few 3D textures if you squint. You might also notice that the worms have facial expressions. The game looks pretty good on a television screen, but the worms, environments, etc., look way too small on the DS.

Sound: 5.5
Quirky music topped with equally quirky (and somewhat annoying) sound effects. Thankfully this is one of those games where you’ll get so focused on defeating your enemy that you’ll barely notice the music, lack of visuals, or anything else that doesn’t relate directly to your success.

Difficulty: Medium
Fairly easy to learn, moderately difficult to master. Worms: Open Warfare is a great game for newcomers, having a simple, easy-to-follow tutorial and a lot of great battles to enter. The quick mode lets you enter a random battle almost immediately. In fact it would be immediate if there weren’t any load times. The Nintendo DS uses game cards and should be without load times, yet this game has a 5-7 second wait.

Concept: 5
The base idea is brilliant, but it’s several years old. In its current form, Worms is an entertaining game that doesn’t do much that it hasn’t done before. It would have been awesome if the touch screen was utilized in a special way, but all we get is item/weapon selection and map scrolling.

Multiplayer: 8
There are many reasons to praise Worms: Open Warfare’s multiplayer mode. The engrossing gameplay and severe addictiveness makes it an instant winner. Up to four players can compete using just one game card – a major plus. This enabled me to enjoy the game with family and friends without having to wait for them to buy a copy (something they were unlikely to do without trying the multiplayer mode first).

Overall: 7.4
A must-buy for strategy lovers who haven’t played the Worms series to death. Is it a must-buy for anyone else? That depends. If you pull out an old version every now and then just because you can’t get enough, then it’s unlikely that you’d lose interest in Open Warfare. It’s a great game, no question, but it’s not that different from the others in the series. If that doesn’t bother you, go ahead and add this to your collection – and if you’ve never played the series before, this is the place to start.