Team 17 is bringing back its bread-and-butter franchise with Worms: Evolution, a surprising and appropriate sequel in the timeless, turn-based classic. Coming to Xbox Live Arcade, PSN, and Steam soon, Evolution adds a number of new factors to an established formula, most of which are experimental and out of the ordinary for the simple strategy series, and all of which work in its favor.
Purists can dial everything back for a classic Worms battle, of course, but it's Evolution's additions that'll help Evolution survive in the gene pool.
Character Classes
For the first time, class-based multiplayer comes to Worms. When you start the game, you'll have access to a standard soldier. As you burn through the single-player campaign and puzzles, you'll earn access to additional units, which you can select leading into each battle. Do you want the Scout -- the fast but frail fellow? Maybe, but the heavy worm can take more damage than anyone. On the other hand, you could deck out your team with Scientists, who heal their squad at the end of each turn.
The values and importance of each are simple but apparent, and while the classes themselves aren't breaking new ground, they really mix up the formula. You and your opponents will play Evolution fundamentally different than any other Worms game because of 'em.
Weaponizing Water
Worms, what with their absence of feet, aren't terribly good swimmers. As such, weaponizing water makes all sorts of sense for Evolution. Pockets of H2O appear in stages in various forms, and not just on the outer edges of each arena. Detonating dynamite above a reservoir could send water splashing through the world, washing worms away across or off the map entirely. As each turn ends, each worm will take damage while submerged, so drowning is a real threat for you -- if you're underwater, get out.
In some cases you simply won't be able to -- that's where your trusty new drain gadget comes into play. If you're playing coward and retreating into tunnels, you'll get flushed out -- fortunately you'll be able to defend yourself, at least a little.
The New Engine
3D Worms games have always released to a mixed response -- with a loud portion of that mix saying, "Hey, man, this sucks!"
Worms: Evolution is a compromise. It appeases the masses lusting for 2D gameplay while still giving Worms the 3D love it probably needs at this point. The world exists in 3D, so there's depth to the playing field looking in, but it doesn't taint the 2D experience of side-scrolling pew-pew.
Meanwhile, scale is something developer Team 17 kept emphasizing when discussing the new look of Worms: Evolution, and for good reason: You won't have little worms climbing over cars slightly larger than themselves anymore -- the world is much, much bigger than they are. That sort of detail exists in the background of each stage, giving the beach a sprawling sense of big-ness, while the more up-close and closed-off sewers put rats in the background to establish size. It works. You feel like a small part in a large world, in which you'll deal bigger damage.
The other major change to Evolution is the addition of physics objects -- sure, grenades would roll downhill, but now you can use telekinesis or a UFO to manipulate important (sometimes explosive) objects within the environment. Dropping a lighter or water bottle can crush or trap enemies, too, so use the world to your advantage as often as possible, if only to avoid letting it happen to you.
Douglas From IT Crowd is the Narrator
The campaign in Worms: Evolution has some interesting and unexpected presentation quirks. One such fun twist is the nature documentary stylings, with dialogue about these violent worms every step of the way. But the absolute best addition is actor Matt Berry's narration of these events. Who? Oh, he's that one guy from The IT Crowd who is the best character.
Fans will recognize the overly emphatic, melodramatic quips familiar to his Douglas character on the hysterical UK sitcom. Watch the highlight reel above and just try telling me you don't want this guy narrating the moment-to-moment documentary observations.
Source : ign[dot]com
