Not Worth Digging Up | Worms Collection Review

There are a lot of Worms games out there, and some are more enjoyable than others. Packaging together the titles in this collection—Worms, Worms 2: Armageddon, and Worms: Ultimate Mayhem—seems a somewhat questionable move on the developer’s part, as each of these games more-or-less follow the same premise. There are, of course, some differences between the titles on offer, but is that enough of a reason to buy this collection?

Unless you’ve been living under a rock (pun intended), you’ll know about the Worms franchise. A series of artillery strategy games with a destructible landscape, gameplay sees you controlling and fighting a team of militant worms. Like most in the strategy genre, the Worms games are turn-based, with each turn being spent having your loyal minions use different weapons and tools to eliminate the enemy. Most are projectile instruments like missiles, but part of the franchise’s charm is the massive, diverse arsenal you’re given to work with. It’s a basic premise that’s achieved undeniable success, but makes you wonder: why would I want to play three games with a such similar feel?

That’s a valid point and it highlights a problem with the first two games, Worms and Worms 2: Armageddon. They’re both 2D titles and contain the exact same gameplay. The only real difference is that Worms 2: Armageddon has better graphics, level design, more weapons, and has a slightly smoother overall feel. It also has a choice of modes, both single- and multi-player: Campaign, Deathmatch, and Body Count. If you want to play against someone else in Worms, there’s only the quick match option, so you’ll usually spend most of your time forgoing the former and playing Worms 2: Armageddon. 

Worms: Ultimate Mayhem, on the other hand, is a fully three-dimensional game, giving the setting a feel that’s vastly different from the previous two titles in the collection. It’s an interesting twist on the side-view strategy game, but the downside is obvious: Ultimate Mayhem doesn’t run very well. There are some awkward frame rate issues, the gameplay feels slower, and traversing the map is far more difficult than in the previous games. Despite having some cool features—like an actual storyline and a ‘create your own weapon’ mode—when compared to the original 2D playstyle, Mayhem simply doesn’t hold up.

As anyone who has played a Worms title knows, beating the A.I. is only fun for so long. Playing online against a random opponent certainly increases the tension of a battle and makes you strive to win, but you’ll enjoy the best moments in this series when you’re playing against a friend. With one or more friends, the game suddenly becomes an absolute riot; rivalries and alliances spring up between players, and are then broken in a matter of minutes, as you realize you’re suddenly in the perfect position to wipe out your ally’s entire team in one swoop. Best of all, since Worms can be incredibly challenging to play, whenever someone does something utterly stupid—like dropping dynamite on their own worm to blast him into the water for an instant death—it’s absolutely hysterical.

Do we really need a whole collection of Worms games? Sadly, no. The games aren’t bad by any means, but we’re reviewing the collection as a whole, and there seems to be no good reason to gather them together like this. You’ll be playing Worms 2: Armageddon the most out of all the included games, so it’d be more cost effective to just buy Armageddon alone. There are also DLCs included in the collection, but they don’t push the boundaries far enough to make you want to pull out your wallet.

If you’ve never played Worms and would like to compare the 2D vs 3D combat styles, then maybe this collection is for you. Otherwise, there’s no real need for it at all.

This review is based off a retail copy of the Playstation 3 version of Worms Collection developed by Team17 and published by Team17.