Worms Revolution Extreme Review

For a series that has arguably undergone little change in its core mechanics or gameplay over the years, it’s quite frankly outstanding that the Worms franchise has been around since 1995. Standing the test of time really goes to show how strong this franchise really is, and this strength certainly shines through Team 17’s latest release: Worms Revolution Extreme for the Playstation Vita. Being a direct port of the original Worms Revolution release and combined with all previously released downloadable content, this is a cheap package that is as varied and fun as Worms has ever been.

Worms Revolution Extreme is played in a stylish 2.5D style, incorporating 3d graphics into the traditional side-on gameplay. The environments and characters are rendered nicely in this format, though they appear lacking in a lot of detail unlike its PS3 counterpart. The performance of the title is also rather disjointed due to performance issues that result in significant drops in frame rate, damaging the experience a little and breaking the otherwise silky-smooth gameplay. Despite graphical shortcomings, the worms themselves are full of charm and like with previous instalments, they can be customised to have all manners of bizarre clothing and personalities. The worms are still extremely humorous and charming, and it’s this consistent charm that will keep players coming back to the title. Adding even more to this charm is a golden performance by actor and comedian Matt Berry who serves as the games narrator. Lending himself to a genuinely hilarious character of a wildlife documentary maker, you are sure to be laughing a lot throughout the course of the game.

Everything you would expect from a Worms title is here, with an enormous variety of weapons and gadgets at your disposal within a plethora of destructive and creative levels. Gameplay remains turn-based, with players taking their turn in helping to destroy the enemy team. This Vita port also boasts a wealth of extra content with all previously released downloadable packs coming as standard. This extra content consists of traditional Worms gameplay, as well as adding puzzle elements too to create a nice variety and offering hours and hours of extra content that is just as fun as the regular game.

The game itself is challenging from the beginning, fortunately adding plenty of longevity. The difficulty of the game does take some getting used to and will frustrate at first, but once players warm to this difficulty and familiarise themselves with the weapons arsenal, the difficulty soon evens out. As a new addition to the franchise, there are now 3 new worm ‘classes’ that can be purchased with in-game currency to form your team of worms. Each class behaves differently from each other and all yield advantages and disadvantages resulting in nicely balanced gameplay. There is the scientist worm that provides its team with a +5 health boost after each turn as well as creating enhanced versions of weapons/gadgets. There is the scout worm that is small and nimble, becoming a fast moving teammate at the expense of being weak. There is the heavy worm who is the most powerful with his weapons, though he is very slow moving becoming an easy target for the enemy. The last enemy type is that of the traditional soldier worm from previous games who is a great all-rounder. Experimenting with these different classes is fun and completely changes your battle tactics, adding a considerable amount of variety just through the worms you select.

Instead of being limited to just the pool at the bottom of each stage, another nice addition to the series is the inclusion of dynamic water into the actual environments. Pockets of water now hideaway inside the levels, and can be used strategically and destructively to gain the upper hand. If the water flow is strong enough it can carry worms with it, and if submerged fully into this water, worms will being to drown and thusly lose health each turn. To accommodate this feature, water weapons such as water bombs and water guns are also included adding further to the large weapons arsenal. While it’s nothing too crazy, the water does add an extra dynamic to the game and is most certainly a welcome addition.

As to break away from the static levels of old, Team 17 has creatively included physics based objects into their level designs. The objects themselves are varied based upon the level themes, but all serve the same purpose with some being explosive, some being player obstacles, some containing water, and some being built into the environments themselves. This feature isn’t anything particularly original, but it does add a bit more depth to the levels. While I would like to see this aspect being built upon in the future, it’s certainly a step in the right direction.

Verdict

It’s safe to say that even after all this time there is plenty of life still left in the Worms franchise. The series’ charm and humour remains and the gameplay is still challenging and fun to play over and over, more so thanks to some great new additions. Despite some performance and technical issues on the platform, Worms Revolution Extreme is still a solid package that does more than enough to warrant its £11.99 price tag.

Positives:

• Traditional gameplay feels as solid as ever.
• Different worm classes, use of dynamic water and physics-based objects are executed nicely.
• Plenty of content.
• Consistently charming and funny.
• Matt Berry’s narration is comedy gold!
• Challenging gameplay…

Negatives:

• …that takes some getting used to.
• Inconsistent frame rate.
• Unimpressive visuals.

Disclaimer:All scores given within our reviews are based on the artist’s personal opinion; this should in no way impede your decision to purchase the game.