Worms: Ultimate Mayhem

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Worms: Ultimate Mayhem review
William Thompson

Review

AKA Worms 4.5



Steamed Worms


Worms have finally made it to Steam in the guise of Worms Ultimate Mayhem. With a budget price tag, would it be worth a look for both Worms fans and those new to the series? For those of you who have never played a Worms game, and are unfamiliar with the concept, the original game was not entirely dissimilar to the old Tanks game…you know, the one where two gamers would take turns firing their tank at the opposition whilst allowing for distance and wind speed. Worms was basically the same except that you had a multitude of fun and crazy weapons at your disposal to eliminate the enemy worms. Throughout the series, new outrageous weapons have been added and then back in 2004, the move to three dimensional gameplay was made.

Worms Ultimate Mayhem isn’t really a new game in the series, but an upgrade to Worms 4 Mayhem that includes content from Worms 3D. All the things you loved from Mayhem have been included in the Ultimate Mayhem package. The new features are hardly noticeable at all though, with improved HD visuals, added voice dialogue for the worms, a handful of extra maps and the addition of Steam Achievements, most of which will take a decent amount of time to complete. But you’ll still have the same enjoyable experience as you would from the previous Worms titles.

Back to the Future


The game comes with a multitude of game modes. You can immediately jump into a Quick Game, but to get to know the controls and the gameplay, playing through the Tutorial would certainly be handy, especially if you are unfamiliar with the Worms titles or require a refresher course. The Story Mode also acts as a pseudo tutorial, starting with basic mission requirements and getting tougher as you progress through the chapters of the story. With an array of pop culture references (including the 88mph Back to the Future reference) and fully voiced narrative sequences between missions, a touch of comedy is bought into the game.

If you happen to have a few friends or family members sitting next to you, there is always the Versus mode (which can also be played against an AI opponent). The Versus mode lets you play a number of different scenarios and game types. There is the all out war variant of Deathmatch, a Survivor mode requiring a single member of your worm team to go into battle one on one against the enemy team, with each death bringing the next member of the team to the battle. There is also a Statue Defend game where you destroy the Statues of the opposing team whilst defending your own and the new Homelands mode which is similar to Deathmatch but with teams starting from their own base at either end of the map.

Multiplayer Worming


All these can be played via the online multiplayer too, so that you don’t need local friends to play with. The multiplayer (both online and offline) games are heaps of fun, especially since the enemy has the same problems with controls and camera that you do (more on this later). Games seem so much more even than the erratic computer AI, which can often seem childish one turn and miss their target completely and then an expert on their next turn by hitting the seemingly impossible shot.

6.7

fun score

Pros

Weapons are fun, and the destructible environments mean that no two games are the same.

Cons

Almost identical to Worms 4 Mayhem