Worms: Open Warfare
Worms: Open Warfare is an artillery strategy game.[2] It was developed by Team17 and published by THQ for the PlayStation Portable and Nintendo DS.[1] There are several other Worms video games in the Worms series. The game marked Team17's return to its 2D roots.[2] The game spawned a sequel, Worms: Open Warfare 2, which is also available on Nintendo DS and PlayStation Portable. In Worms: Open Warfare, the player takes control of an army of worms. The goal of the game is to defeat the opposing army through reducing the health points of enemy worms using various types of weaponry while avoiding friendly fire and other obstacles. The weapons and gadgets you use in battle include grenades, homing missiles, bazookas, cluster bombs, banana bombs (a Worms staple), dynamite, air strikes, shotguns, and many more. You can also choose from a variety of settings to battle in and make your own schemes and teams. The game is played in rounds with each worm starting with 100 hit points. Each team takes turns controlling one of their worms. The player is usually allocated 60 seconds per turn to move their worm around the battlefield and attack the opponent worms, though this time limit is customisable when playing non-career games. Only one attack is allowed per turn. In addition to timing individual player turns, each round has a 20-minute time limit. If the round timer runs down to 0:00 before a team claims victory, every worm's HP drops to 1, creating a sudden death scenario. During the course of a round, crates containing health or weapons will occasionally drop and the water level will rise.
Strategy
Single Player
Description
Are you worm enough to look a bazooka in the face? The classic Worms
combat franchise makes its debut on Nintendo DS.
Features
Classic turn-based gameplay
Tons of unconventional weapons
Battle via wireless LAN
Randomly generated landscapes and tough AI
Retaining the same award-winning gameplay, unique sense of humor and
clever mix of action and strategy that has epitomized the brand for
almost a decade, Worms: Open Warfare brings the big guns and comes to
life on the dual-screen Nintendo DS.
The second screen makes weapon selection the easiest it's ever been for
the franchise. The top screen displays the basic gameplay: the
battlefield and all its spoils and obstacles, the worms and the health
of each worm. On the bottom screen, you'll notice a radar of the entire
map, a timer indicating the seconds left to make your move and icons of
weapons you have at your disposal. To arm yourself, just tap the icon.
There's two screens of weapons and equipment for your Worms to use to
destroy the enemy unit.
The game features four modes of play from the pick-up-and-go Quick Game
to Challenges. If you want to dictate the scenario, select the Create
Game mode. When you're with a friend who also has a DS, battle him in
Multiplayer mode.
Up to four players can engage in wireless warfare with just one game
card. The multiplayer game closely resembles the Quick Start mode where
a map is randomly generated. You get to choose the difficulty level,
setting for your battle (from jungle to space) and the type of Worms
that will battle. This mostly affects the name and witty banter your
Worms dish out to each other.
No two maps are the same as the game randomly generates a near infinite
number of landscapes in Quick Start, Create Game and Multiplayer modes.
If you're up for a good challenge, see if you can take what the computer
AI can dish out in Challenge mode.
The destructible landscapes and physics of the game are such that you're
often your own worst enemy. If you're not exact with your calculations
and take wind speed into account, you may end up doing more damage to
yourself than your opponent.
Like other Worms titles, the presentation of the game is simple with
solid gameplay, especially when it comes weapon selection. The replay
value of the game will depend on your competitive nature and if you have
human rivals you like to square off against. There are not an
overwhelming number of options, so the game feels pretty straightforward.
Bottom Line
Like the others in the Worms series, Worms: Open
Warfare delivers a quality turn-based combat experience. It doesn't have
a ton of options, but with the randomly generated landscapes and simple
gameplay, it makes for a fun pastime on Nintendo DS.