Worms (game)

Worms is a series of turn-based computer games with the common theme of players controlling small groups of battling worms across a mutable landscape. The series is decidedly tongue-in-cheek, typified by cartoony graphics and an eclectic and bizarre set of weapons. Worms is part of a wider genre of turn-based games in which each player controls characters who duel with projectile weapons; predecessors include Scorched Earth and Gorillas.

Games in the series

The Worms series consists of the original Worms game, Worms DC, Worms 2, Worms Armageddon, Worms World Party and Worms 3D, as well as a number of smaller spin-offs including Worms Pinball and Worms Blast. The game was invented by Andy Davidson of Team 17 originally for the Commodore Amiga computer. It was written in Blitz BASIC. These games have been released regularly since the mid-1990s, and are available for Windows-based computers, Amiga systems, Sega Dreamcast, Nintendo 64, Nintendo Game Boy and Game Boy Advance, Nintendo GameCube, SNES, Sony PlayStation and PlayStation 2, Microsoft XBox and probably others.

Shortly before Andy Davidson left Team 17 (during the production of Worms: Armageddon), he supervised the production of Worms - The Director's Cut. This was, to his eyes, the pinnacle of the series. Featuring weapons not seen in any Worms game before or since, it looks like an enhanced version of the original game. Although many die-hard fans feel it is the best Worms game ever made, it was released exclusively on the Amiga, and only 5000 copies were ever sold.

The latest game released in the Worms series, Worms 3D, is the first to bring the annelid characters into a three-dimensional environment. It features an innovative "poxel" engine, described as a hybrid of polygons and voxels (the 3-D analogues of pixels). This allows for pseudo-realistic terrain deformation similar in style to the 2-D games, in which the terrain was represented by a bitmap.

The latest game announced for the series, Worms Forts, is scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2004, for PlayStation 2, Xbox and PC.

The game

Each player controls a team of several worms. During each turn of the game, a player may move one of the worms in their time, fire a weapon, and then (in some variations) have a few seconds to move their worm into a defensive position. They can move over the landscape in various ways, but their movement is restricted by a time limit. Over fifty weapons may be available, but games are usually played with a reduced arsenal, and many weapons did not exist in earlier versions. A team can gain more weapons by picking up crates that randomly appear on the landscape. Most weapons cause explosions that erode the terrain. The landscape is an island floating on a large body of water. A worm dies when it enters the water (either by falling off the island, or through a hole in the bottom of it), or when its health is reduced to zero.

Weapons and tools

Main article: Worms weapons and tools

A feature that makes Worms known among many gamers is its wide variety of weapons. As new versions are released, new weapons are added to the collection, and very few are removed, if any. As a result, newer games offer about 50 weapons.

Since Worms Armageddon, weapons that were intended to aid as utilities rather than damage-dealers (though some of them can also be used to deal damage when used in certain ways) were classified as tools. This classification mainly differs in the fact that they don't fall in ordinary weapon crates, and instead appear on toolboxes.

Online play

On Worms Armageddon and Worms World Party, there is a special feature called Wormnet, which allows players to compete over the Internet, using a Vietnam style system of tunnels and shafts can be fashioned with chambers blown using Dynamite.

Games involving Dark Side play on both sides can last much longer than regular games. Dark Side is the strategy of choice for some players while others may consider it tantamount to cheating.

Fort

Players are divided up into two teams. You place your worms on your side of the map. You are not allowed to enter the enemies fort. Some hosts allow you to fish, some do not. In most fort maps, there is a neutral middle ground, where anyone can go. To win, destroy all opponents.

Full Wormage

A standard worms game, but with all or most weapons enabled. To win, destroy all opponents.

This mode is specially named after a secret scheme in Worms Armageddon. To earn this scheme, you must completely finish to the maximum rating all the 1st player Deathmatch levels, Missions, and Training Disciplines. Once you do this, you receive the Full Wormage scheme, which has unlimited of all weapons, including Super and Secret weapons, which are otherwise unavailabe. Many Full Wormage games on Wormnet do not use the real Full Wormage scheme, both because it is incredible difficult to earn, and because it's extremely cheap to have unlimited Concrete Donkies at your disposal.

Place your worm carefully, because in golf, location is everything. Worms have no energy, so the only way to kill a worm is to knock them into the water. Use low gravity and rope knock a lot. To win, destroy all opponents.

Rope Race

You place your worm or worms at the location marked start. Worms do not have any health, so the only way to kill a worm is to knock them into the water. However, attacking other worms to kill is a cow. Try to keep your parachute active, so you do not lose your turn if you fall. To win, get your worm to the location marked Finish, or in some games, there and back. If you have two worms, you can win either by getting both to Finish, or one there and back.

Roper

Roper games often have very short time limits. Roper games are cba. Learn how to rope very well before joining a roper, especially a proper, or one in the IRC channel #RopersHeaven. In ropers, all four borders are turned on, so do not be afraid do drop onto water. In some ropers, weapons fall through borders, making droppping on water a good protection against nades that land right near you. It's a good idea to fire weapons, even if no-one is there, so that you can get escape time. To win, destroy all opponents.

Shopper

Most shopper games are cba. You start out with little or no weapons, except ropes and chutes. Collect weapons from the crates that appear constantly. To win, destroy all opponents.

Warmers

Warmers are ropers with no health, no objectives, and very high time limits. Warmers are generally used as a practice session for ropers to get warmed up. Warmers are also often used as a way of showing off rope skills and tricks you know, often for the purposes of qualifying for a clan. Just do whatever you feel like, and look good doing it!

Most of these game types require maps that are specially developed for each game type.

In addition, there is a huge array of Acronyms that are in popular use.