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Games : Worth a Look
Ranking:
Release Date: May 30th, 2014 Movie Release Year: 2014

Worms Battlegrounds

Overview -

Longtime indie Team 17 does what it does by gracing our new consoles with their first 'Worms' title, 'Worms Battlegrounds.' Coming off a game engine switch from the last installment, 'Worms Battlegrounds' has been billed as the biggest and best 'Worms' to date, which is a tall order.  The series has long continued to get players embroiled in a conflict of artillery and troops of worms, and the ascension of online multiplayer gaming in the console space has meant more players discovering the PC staple of addictive online strategy. This 'Worms' title even has a camapign. Now it's time to fire up a new console and see how the turn-based combat, physics, weapons, and multiplayer all shake out. The online arena is major feature, and it's where clans of up to eight players can accrue points over seasons of ranked play, striving to climb ladders and jump divisions.

OVERALL:
Worth a Look
Rating Breakdown
VIDEO
AUDIO
Tech Specs & Release Details
Release Date:
May 30th, 2014

Video Review

Ranking:

What was once a clean, bespoke look had devolved into a jarringly jagged mess in 'Worms Revolution,' but that was forgivable because Team 17 was making strides in the gameplay department while (nobly) maintaining a small team. Without any game-changers this time around, and with the same look, that  feelings of disappointment set in, especially when Xbox One and PS4 are on the box art. Once you drudge through the campaign, realizing a massive chunk of their time was spent on niche one-liners, a bogus story and generally uninteresting missions, it feels like 'Worms' is desperate to feel antiquated.

The tiny scouts disappear into the poorly rendered landscapes, most of the interactive objects on-stage lack enough definition to communicate its effect or purpose, and though the water is effecting in combat, there's nothing water-like about the way it looks or moves. Most jarring are the multi-layered backgrounds, which needlessly complicate the judging of worm placement and weapon aiming. Multiple times, at the beginning of the match, I'd place my worm and watch him fall one hundred feet, losing thirty or so health and putting me at a disadvantage, but that may just be my problem.

The presentation generally worsens outside of the game, with clunky menus and rashly considered theming. Mostly I'm of the camp that sets aside bad visuals five minutes into a game, but 'Worms Battlegrounds' just never shakes the mud off, which sadly makes me wonder where the franchise might be in someone else's hands.

Audio Review

Ranking:

I'm actually a bit enamored with the small range of tunes scattered throughout this game, which each seem equally passive as they are encouraging in their own way. Even the menu music evokes an odd playfulness (perhaps it's the xylophone), while the 'Battlegrounds' theme drums up the war banners inside and gets you in a fighting mood. The wide speech banks, a 'Worms' tradition, livens up your little buddies in whatever way you can, begging the player to explore every other customization option in tandem. The only real downside to the audio is, again, the narration, which has no need for existing and makes no justification in execution.

Final Thoughts

I'll always play a 'Worms' game, as will many other fans, but 'Worms Battlegrounds' has found new and exciting ways to test that resolve. Graphically underwhelming, lazily constructed single-player, menus and online components and a general lack of enthusiastic will on behalf of the team create a haphazard experience, lows and highs often tumultuous in their transition. It might be ugly, but so is wormy warfare. I'm often happy to take the risk, but the real sin is sometimes I'll simply opt for another game, even when teleport guns and water-fuelled jetpacks could light my child mind's fancy. That's not the 'Worms' of old.