Worms 4: Mayhem Review

The Worms franchise has always been about humor and blowing stuff up with a little bit of physics and geometry thrown in, but ever since the games made the jump to 3D the experience hasn’t really been all that hot. Worms 4: Mayhem almost rights the wrongs of the last couple of games in the series, but the fact remains that this type of game was far better off in 2D.

Gameplay

The basic premise of Worms is that your team as well as an enemy team of worms are placed on a map and given a wide array of weapons to use in order to blow each other up. You have to take into account the direction and strength of the wind as well as the power of your throws in order to toss grenades or shoot rockets at your enemies. Other weapons and items include exploding sheep, dynamite, sniper rifles, and jet packs. The game is turn based and you can move one worm each turn before choosing a weapon and taking a shot at an enemy.

In 2D, this all works incredibly well because it is a lot easier to judge things like distances and the way things will bounce and roll and blow up and most matches were long distance shootouts where you could accurately lob grenades all the way across the map to take out enemy worms. In 3D, judging distance and your position relative to your target is much more difficult and there is also considerably more junk standing between you and your enemy so long distance attacks are pretty much out of the question (for human players anyway …). Instead we have to crawl right up to enemies and attack them at close range which is fun in its own way, but not nearly as strategic and cool as Worms in 2D.

Features and Modes

Worms 4 is packed with a surprising number of modes and options. First up is a quick play mode where you are dumped onto a map with an enemy team and get to go right to battle. This is my personal favorite mode. There is also a challenge mode where you have to destroy a number of targets with a specific weapon. Story mode puts you on unique maps and gives you specific mission objectives. Rather than just killing off the other team you’ll have to destroy objects or collect items. There are also modes that allow you to create custom worms, custom weapons, and even your own gameplay mode where you get to tweak six pages full of options in order to create the ultimate Worms experience. The game is also full of unlockable goodies and features a random game condition generator.

The high point of Worms 4 is the multiplayer mode. The issues with the gameplay are forgivable here since you are playing against another human rather than a sharpshooting AI that doesn’t seem to be bothered by the move to 3D. You can play with up to four players offline or take the game onto Xbox Live where the experience really gets fun.

Graphics and Sound

Graphically, Worms 4: Mayhem has a bright, cartoony look that is a perfect fit for the franchise. The levels are all very different from one to another and there are several unique themes, so the levels look good overall even though they aren’t particularly detailed.

Sound is a big part of the Worms experience and Worms 4 does a good job with it. The sound effects for the weapons are just like they were in the 2D games, which is a good thing. The worms also are quite chatty and will taunt you as well as each other and say a lot of genuinely funny stuff.

Bottom Line

Worms 4: Mayhem maintains the great sense of humor and easy to pick up and play style that these games are known for, but the transition to 3D has not been kind to this series. Worms 4 is easily the best of the 3D games, but it still falls far behind the classic 2D versions. With that said, however, Worms 4 does make for a pretty decent multiplayer and Xbox Live game that can be pretty darn entertaining. It is the best Worms game you’re going to get on the Xbox and it launched at a bargain price tag of only $20, so depending on how big of a fan you are of the series it might be worth picking up.