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DS | Strategy | Worms Open Warfare

Boxart for Worms Open Warfare
  • GRAPHICS: 3.0
  • SOUND: 4.0
  • CONTROL: 3.5
  • FUN FACTOR 3.5
  • AVG USER SCORE n/a
  • AVG CRITIC SCORE 3.3

Review: Worms Open Warfare

Review by Chris Morell | 03/22/2006 | 15:06:47 PM PST

Worms goes super simple for its 2D debut on the Nintendo DS.

The Worms franchise began in 2D on PC, made the horrific move to console 3D, and is now back in 2D for some handheld action. Worms: Open Warfare is a move from THQ and original series developer Team 17 to get back to the original, tried-and-true style of play.

Worms Armageddon popularized the 2D Worms to addictive multiplayer status, and its deep level of team customization and quirky characters kept it fresh for years. In theory, the DS is the perfect medium for a 2D Worms remake --the stylus/touchscreen combo makes for a nice mouse replacement, and the dual screen means one gets designated solely for gameplay, and the other for item selection and camera movement. All these things considered, Worms: Open Warfare on the DS is a dumbed-down port, still a bit of fun, but a giant leap down for the seasoned Worms fan.

The Half-Wormage
For starters, Worms: Open Warfare removes a great deal of customization options that are akin to the Worms franchise. Example: the diverse single/multiplayer setup screen is trimmed down to the point of uber-simplicity. Whereas in Worms Armageddon users had the option to pick and choose any and every weapon for each match, Open Warfare offers only a few different preset or user defined weapon schemes with the option to change background and speech themes. Many basic yet important weapons have also been omitted, including the parachute, baseball bat, longbow, as well as most of the over-the-top devastators such as the Holy Hand Grenade, Old Woman, Homing Pigeon, and Mad Cow - a crying shame, if you ask me.

Team17 obviously went for the simplified pick-up-and-play style of gameplay for the DS, and quite frankly, it was slimmed down way too far. But, in its defense, you can experience the basic fun of Worms with only a couple click taps of the stylus. The top screen displays the standard Worms 2D view, while the bottom screen is strictly functional. From the latter, you can pan the camera around by moving the stylus and select weapons by either stylus or finger taps. Actual worm movement controls are done with the directional pad and the face buttons. Worms returnees will probably notice minor discrepancies along the way, including inconsistencies with weapon damage and obvious hardware and control limitations.

Challenges are also oversimplified. Where single-player challenges in previous Worms games had cool objectives such as shotgunning targets and parachuting to grab mid-air items, Challenge Mode in Open Warfare is merely team combat.

Worms: Open Warfare does support DS Download Play for up to four players, but its overall undemanding sense of play should be a disappointment for any Worms fan.