For the three or four people in the world completely unfamiliar with the Worms franchise, the concept is simple – you command a squad of tiny pink worms. Your mission? To eliminate every other wriggling creature on the map; with as much prejudice as humanly wormly possible.

Worms has become something of a staple for the gaming world and it’s great to see that developer Team17 still have their wits about them – with 18 titles (not counting spin-offs) under their belt, one might be forgiven for thinking they’d call it quits.

It’s now their 17th year of churning out time sucking, worm murdering mayhem and much like the life of any 17 year old, there have been ups and downs. We remember the glory of Worms Armageddon and Worms World Party. We recall the bad years when Team17 experimented with that most dangerous of gateway drugs, 3D, and we weren’t certain whether they would ever recover. It’s been a rollercoaster of a ride.

Fortunately, the news is good! While our segmented buddies are still falling all over a lush 3D landscape and they themselves are rendered in more dimensions than you can shake a stick at, the battlefield is firmly rooted in 2D which means no more wildly swinging camera angles and ninja ropes going suspiciously off course.

Besides radically reworked graphics for the new gaming engine, Revolution brings a host of new features including Classes, Weapons, and Physics; all of which usher the gameplay firmly into the modern age. The voice acting and game script are also top notch for this release, featuring the talents of Matt Berry (IT Crowd) and Dean Wilkinson (Writer: LittleBigPlanet 1 & 2).

A game with a view

As mentioned, the game features an entirely new graphics engine – combining 2D battlefields and 3D scenery. Animated (non-interactive) critters such as alligators, rats and zombies scurry around behind the gameplay while objects strewn about the landscape are now interactive (i.e. used to kill worms), bringing a much appreciated dose of immersion to the game.

Classes – Not just for school anymore

Each class has its own distinct strengths and weaknesses. Scouts are zippy, manoeuvrable and weak; Heavies are slow and deal out chunks of damage; Scientists heal the entire team for 5 points each turn; and Soldiers are the common worm we’ve come to know and love.

While the various classes certainly help when facing off against multiple human enemies, I found myself returning inevitably to the faithful Soldiers – as all-rounders, they are unbeatable. The heavies move at glacial speed, rendering them almost impossible to use and the scouts (while blisteringly fast and able to leap small molehills in a single bound) are simply too weak to survive much head-to-head action.

Strategically, the addition of Classes opens up a whole new smorgasbord of options but in a quick death-match situation, it’s very easy to lose that wonderful sense of urgency that we’re so used to with this series.

Physics – A Smashing success

Plastic bottles, puddles, bombs, mushrooms, and fish. What do all these have in common? A particularly dodgy recipe for a French Omelette? That and they’re all brand new methods of murdering worms.

See a suspicious bottle hanging over your enemy’s head? Use it to gush tons of dynamic water over them, washing them gently into oblivion. See that mushroom? It contains poisonous gas. So does that fish and if you can’t figure out why a bomb might be useful in Worms, perhaps you should reconsider your game of choice.

Everything is dynamic and can be manipulated, opening up a thousand new ways to mangle your mates; drown them, crush them, poison them and melt them with giant lighters full of volatile fluids.

Weapons – Wishy washy

While a few weapons have been reserved for the Funfair DLC pack (released October 24th), Revolution introduces enough shiny new gear to killing with.

The water pistol is a fantastic addition and there isn’t a player alive who won’t cackle with glee when half the enemy team is swept away by a water strike. Physics comes into play here again as both of these weapons unleash dynamic water, useful for shunting your enemies into oblivion or introducing them to a slow, lingering death by drowning.

The new Funfair pack gives access to Armageddon, Skunk, Napalm Strike and the brand new Knock Out weapon. Though I would hesitate to purchase this simply for single player games, multiplayer is an entirely different matter, making the DLC worth the paltry $4.99 (R43.00) price – especially as it includes the Level Editor we’ve all been waiting for.

Multiplayer – One is the loneliest number

As with all previous Worms titles, playing through the Single Player missions, while entertaining, can’t hold a candle to the joys of multiplayer games. With the added level editor, there’s a ton of fun to be had thrashing your friends and family members.

All in all, Worms: Revolution is a fun return to the franchise – while some aspects of the interface could use a little more polish, the overall gameplay is hugely fun, filled with the usual mayhem, heart-stopping time limits, and is guaranteed to lighten your lunch hour.

Perhaps it won’t be as long lived as Armageddon or World Party, but Revolution is a solid effort from Team17 – here’s hoping for many more.

Worms Revolution