Past Entertainment Articles.

Article for the week of 7/9/05

Toggled Review
“Fun”damentals of Wormanomics
Worms 3D for the Xbox
By, Paul Mann (Editor and Weirdo)

Hit that dirt soldier! Crawl like you’ve never crawled before and leap like the worms you are! What in Sam hill do you think you are doing?! This is war dagnabbit!!
Ok, I’m not briefing anyone for war, but I’ve found yet another fun classic from those wormy Canadians at Team17. Cherished were the moments when I could decimate these tiny little soil munchers with such celebrated weaponry as the super sheep or holy hand grenade. I thought those days long burrowed away, leaving Worms Armageddon or World party only a memory. Then Worms 3D exploded onto the scene and there was much rejoicing.
Worms3D continues the much beloved saga of turn based artillery battle, featuring the usual crew of wise cracking worms. Of course, in this version of mayhem you switch from the old school side view to a 3D environment. Most of the weapons and gadgets remain the same, yet keep gamers entertained as usual. More recognized features include the expected campaign, quick mission, multiplayer and online action. In fact, let’s just call this the reincarnation of the two previous titles. (3D of course)
Positives: The environments keep the cartoonish appeal and translate well into the third dimension. Gamers who got a kick out of the previous titles will enjoy this addition to the franchise as they lob various objects trying to knock opponents out of the picture. You can still customize your teams down to the tee through their names, accents and grave stone.
There are plenty of maps to play on including a random generator so you will never play on the same surface twice. If you are new to the game the tutorial option is easy to shoot through (pun intended) and allows concepts to be grasped quickly. Finally, at 20 bucks this title won’t break the wallet.
Negatives: The main thing that really bugged me came from the camera angles. As with most attempts at 3D games, players quickly start feeling like ripping their eyeballs out and shoving them up the developer’s area of no return. Thankfully, you can at least target your enemies decently, but the jittery motion may cause sickness even here. Gamers will either give up in frustration or become numb as they suffer the fate of the Resident Evil fan. Other minor annoyances include forcing all multiplayer games to use one controller and the usual common sense lacked by the AI.
All in all, not a terrible game, but nothing to leap for joy over. Worms3D seems to mostly appeal to the long time fans or the occasional curious newbie. I’m not sure I would recommend this for anything other than a rental and if you want the best of the worms you might try and pick up Armageddon or World Party for the PC. For the occasional laugh and halleluiah boom, I’ll give Worms 3D for the X-Box a so-so two out of five toggles.