Worms Battlegrounds arrives with an interesting new story-line , checkpoints during story missions, and is narrated by a parody character Tara Pinkle who is a female crypt robber on the quest for artifacts. This title holds the best graphics of any worms game hands down, better animations that make the game feel more modern, and has no shortage of the many classic favorite weapons that made the franchise what it is today such as Sheep, Ninja Rope, Baseball Bats, and more as well as new weapons and abilities such as the UFO and coin unlock system allowing players to pass over experience from one match into another and retrieve weapons in the midst of battle that otherwise might have not been available to them.
A poisonous water dropping device is presented as a sweet alternative to the jet pack, but the jet pack has not been removed either. Enhanced jumping controls make it easier to go exactly where players intended, avoiding one of the few frustrations this game presented in terms of intuitive response in earlier installments. Worms have many of the same classic voice packs but can also be given new life with new voices as well and totally new looks as well as accessories like custom Hats not seen in previous titles as well as masks – for example you can deck out your worm with those red and blue 3D goggles.
Subtle touches on improvement show attention to detail and care for the classic strategy meets humor game series’ newest installment. Some examples of this include your ears ringing once a Holy Hand Grenade goes off, or the way every little thing in the game just moves faster, smoother, and more intuitively. Major props go out to Team 17 for keeping this fantastic series alive and going out of their way to improve every aspect of it for this next-gen release on Xbox ONE and PlayStation 4. For our testing purposes, we played the PS4 version. One interesting way the game differs from other versions is that the controller lights up with the team’s color. This is a bit of a novelty, but certainly one players will appreciate more in local co-op settings. Looking over at your friend with a glaring look of evil and seeing who you will kill next based on that shining color from the DualShock 4. PSN seems to provide plenty of lag free matches in our testing experience conversely to the first Worms PlayStation 3 release way back when – showing a true improvement over time since then.
Unfortunately all is not sunshine and roses in this game. There seems to be an issue with some of the controls that could probably be easily fixed with an update. While trying to select a weapon and aim where you want to commence your attacks – the game’s controls present a confusing layout that must be adapted to by players. Until that is accomplished, this game will feel very slow in multiplayer matches meanwhile the turn clock is ticking away at the same rate as before. Once these uncomfortable moments are over with, players will be able to enjoy a fluid experience though.
Battlegrounds is a very interesting feature which takes place separately from the normal multiplayer that the game presents. This is a very clan-based system in which four players face off for the rank of their clan. I see a bit of a problem with this game’s longevity in terms of online play since there are unranked and ranked non-Battlegrounds matches as well as unranked and ranked Battlegrounds matches. I felt this was really un-necessary and will just segment the Worms community on PS4, eventually leading to a potential shortage in matches as seen in most Worms games that are not new or favored by gamers. For example, you probably won’t find many matches in Worms for PS3 but Worms 2: Armageddon on PS3 has plenty. I don’t understand why Team 17 didn’t just make one Battlegrounds Ranked Match lobby and call it a day. Many games have benefited from a much simpler online infrastructure (example Resident Evil 5) and as a result have never left players starved for a match even many years after initial release.
The campaign housed in the game plus the Battlegrounds and normal Multiplayer modes essentially attempts to give you three games at once – but really delivers only two. However, Worms is an endlessly fun title with great core gameplay design which Team 17 remained true to in this title and for that it is well worth the asking price. I’ll say it is clear from the slightly clunky way the game loads and the poor net code exhibited in online play that Team 17′s programming team could have done more to improve the final product. But that doesn’t stop me from being an extremely enthusiastic fan of their work. Thanks to the fact this game is completely turn-based, and moves always come off accurately for all parties in a match, the lack of programming efficiency doesn’t stop this game from moving right along.
Official Trailer:
Final Verdict:
Worms Battlegrounds is exactly what you expect out of a 2D Worms title on the next-gen platform. That is both good and bad at the same time. On the one hand, we certainly are glad that Team 17 understands what makes their games great and has stuck to the formula in that regard. However, we can’t help feel that more could have been done to polish this game and provide innovative features. The misguided good intentions that are causing them to focus on expanding their multiplayer are strange but tolerable. If it isn’t broke, you probably shouldn’t try to clutter it up with tons of different lobbies and clan features nobody will use in an attempt to ‘fix’ it. In future installments a more central multiplayer experience would be ideal and I would even dare suggest less features and more time spent on creating a net code that isn’t so clunky. This game is lag-free. Thanks to its turn-based nature you will never get the wrong move displayed on screen. But the game engine’s performance is terrible and Team 17 really is lucky that the fundamental concept of Worms is so fun players will easily ignore those problems. The online community on PS4 is currently booming with plenty of people playing, meaning if you’re a Worms fan this is the perfect time to add a PS4 version of the franchise to your collection.
Overall Score: 7 / 10
RGN Rating: Bronze Game
Publisher / Developer: Team 17
Available On: PS4 | XO
Played On: Sony PlayStation 4
Review Copy Info: Three digital copies of this game was provided to RealGamerNewz for the purpose of this Review.