Worms

Download Worms and engage in hilarious, strategic warfare with a team of quirky invertebrates! Utilize a wacky arsenal of weapons and outsmart your opponents in this addictive turn-based game. Get ready to rumble and play now!
a game by Team 17, and Ocean
Genres: Action, Arcade Classics, Shooting Games, Strategy/War
Platforms: PC, Sega GenesisGenesis, SNESSNES, Playstation, Saturn, GameBoy
Editor Rating: 7.8/10, based on 6 reviews, 8 reviews are shown
User Rating: 9.1/10 - 7 votes
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See also: Download Strategy Games, Artillery Games, Worms Games, Jaguar Games
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Can you believe that the original Worms is 25 years old as I write this? This is a franchise that is still very popular to this day and actually, we have a new game in the series due out in 2020. Today I am taking a trip back to 1995 and looking at the first game in the series and seeing just how well it holds up.

One Shall Stand, One Shall Fall

The aim of Worms is pretty simple. You have a squad of Worms and you want to kill the other team. There is no deep story or anything like that with this game, you just have to kill the opposing team, and if you can do it in style and with a smile on your face all the better. It is a formula that the series still uses to this day and that is a real testament to how much they nailed it with this first game.

Pixelated Pals

The visuals of the game are very, very basic and they were basic even by 1995 standards. However, that is all part of the charm of what made Worms such a massive hit. While the actual Worms are tiny, they do have big personalities. The way that the game does this is by allowing you to pick what accent you want them to have. This kind of thing would be frowned upon today as they are some pretty hilarious stereotypes here, but they do add to the fun factor of the game.

All Your Worms Shall Die!

One of the things that I and millions of other people love about this series and this first game is how simple it is. You have your team of Worms and you get to take turns trying to kill the other team. Each Worm has its own health and you need to get it down to zero. How do you do this? Well, you get a turn, and each turn you have one minute to pick a worm, select a weapon and then aim and fire that weapon. Worms can die by having all their health taken away, falling into a hazard, or getting blown off the map. I like how the game is very simple, but at the same time, you have to think about what you are doing. One wrong move and you can miss your enemy, you can fall into water or you can walk over a freaking landmine! Playing against the AI is… ok, later games did this far better in all honesty. It is playing against friends where the game really shines and becomes something special.

I will fully admit that the first game in the Worms series is a tad basic in comparison to what the series would become. This is especially true for the single-player aspect of the game. However, the multiplayer mode is just freaking awesome and is just as much fun today as it was back in 1995. Even if you have played the modern games, I feel that it is worth checking this one out to see where it all started. You will be surprised at just how well this game holds up!

7.5

Final Score

Pros:

  • The Worms have lots of personality
  • The various backgrounds are cool
  • I loved how many different weapons there were
  • The different accents are hilarious
  • Multiplayer is just as much fun now as it was back in 1995

Cons:

  • The single-player aspect is severely lacking in comparison to modern Worms games
  • The landmines can be cheap!

Download Worms

PC

System requirements:

  • PC compatible
  • Operating systems: Windows 10/Windows 8/Windows 7/2000/Vista/WinXP
Genesis

System requirements:

  • PC compatible
  • Operating systems: Windows 10/Windows 8/Windows 7/2000/Vista/WinXP
  • Game modes: Single game mode

Player controls:

  • Up, Down, Left, Right - Arrow keys
  • Start - Enter (Pause, Menu select, Skip intro, Inventory)
  • "A" Gamepad button - Ctrl (usually Jump or Change weapon)
  • "B" button - Space (Jump, Fire, Menu select)
  • "C" button - Left Shift (Item select)

Use the F12 key to toggle mouse capture / release when using the mouse as a controller.

SNES

System requirements:

  • PC compatible
  • Operating systems: Windows 10/Windows 8/Windows 7/2000/Vista/WinXP
  • Pentium II (or equivalent) 266MHz (500MHz recommended), RAM: 64MB (128MB recommended), DirectX v8.0a or later must be installed
Playstation

System requirements:

  • PC compatible
  • Operating systems: Windows 10/Windows 8/Windows 7/2000/Vista/WinXP
Saturn

System requirements:

  • PC compatible
  • Operating systems: Windows 10/Windows 8/Windows 7/2000/Vista/WinXP
Gameboy

System requirements:

  • PC compatible
  • Operating systems: Windows 10/Windows 8/Windows 7/2000/Vista/WinXP

Game Reviews

You Might Suppose That The worm is a pretty unlikely creature to be made into the central character for a game. Your average worm registers a big blank zero in the cute-factor stakes, which is why. for example, it never stars in adverts or has nature films made about its lifestyle. All right, so it may get the occasional wriggle-on part as Victim One. in a warts-and-all splatterfest feature on the life of the Early Bird. But since it's unable to smile winsomely at the camera, scarcely responds to being stroked, and refuses point blank to wear amusing clothes for tea adverts, its chances of making the A-List of wildlife documentary subjects is remote.

When you think about it, however, worms are decidedly cool characters. Worms are hermaphroditic, so they have complete, fully working sets of both male and female sex organs at either end of their bodies. And being essentially bendy tubes (according to my Big Book Of Garden Things), they're also extremely flexible. In short, if they wanted to, they could spend their entire lives shagging. With themselves. In other words, without having to go to the trouble of washing, putting on their best clothes, or even leaving the house. But they don't. They go out and meet other worms, and shag with them instead. That's cool. I mean, what other life form would still put the effort in? No human being, that's for sure.

Red hot limbless sex

So is this game an rpg, based on the attempts of one worm to motivate itself into going out and trying a few chat-up lines, instead of staying at home with a bottle of wine, a gardening video and a mirror? No such luck. A quick glance at the screenshots dotted haphazardly around these two. pages would put the nix on this idea and. in fact, probably prompt you to guess that Worms is a bit of a Lemmings-alike. But it's not. so you're not quite as clever as you think you are. Are you?

No

No. you're not. In fact, it's a tactical battle game that up to four people can play at once, on one computer. And luckily for we British types, you can do so without having to squeeze up against each other or touch other people's hands by mistake (we all know how unpleasant that is). It's turn-based, so there's none of that body contact unpleasantness that seems to be so popular on the Continent.

So what do you do?

Basically, you take it in turns to try to do untold harm to each other's miniarmy of four worms. There's an array of weapons to use. along with other features like the ability to teleport about the levels and use a number of Lemmings-style tools on the landscape. And the last one left with any live worms is the winner. Disappointingly. I for lovers of real-life worm-mutilation, the penknife does not feature among the weapons. Neither do worms split into sections and then wander happily I away. But the up-side is you don't have to eat the dead ones, either.

Turn-based? That sounds a bit dated

Weeeell, it is, really. But that doesn't mean it isn't any fun. It's only intended as a multi-player game, and no attempt has been made to make a one-player game with increasingly harder levels along the lines of Cannon Fodder, or others of that ilk. Which means that, on your own, Worms is more boring than Derek Wilton. As a multi-player game, it's considerably better. There are supposed to be millions of different levels, generated afresh each time you play, but none look wildly different. And the alleged 'humour' of the worms' responses mid-scrap makes Hale and Pace look like a top comedy act.

Then again, there are all sorts of ways to customise the game, from selecting the weapons available, to deciding how many rounds you'll fight, where the worms are placed and how long you get to complete each move. And you can do all sorts of zany stuff like give your teams obscene names, import .wav files for the sound effects, and graphics files for the levels. This means you're free to battle it out on a large picture of a naked Hattie Jacques, to the sounds of Lloyd Grossman whipping a child on Junior Masterchef. If you want. But it doesn't alter the essentially repetitive gameplay. Still, it's by no means bad, obviously it's far better as a multi-player game, but it seems to be the sort of thing you'll love or absolutely hate.

Team 17 has been remarkably quiet on the pc for the past year. Although gradually getting up to speed by releasing the bulk of its remarkable Amiga back-catalog stuff, it hasn't really made an impression... yet. Worms is the first product set for release under the new partnership between the Team and Ocean, and it looks set to be the game that really establishes the firm in the pc market.

So what's Worms all about then? Well, to look at it you'd be forgiven for thinking it was related to Lemmings. Just take a peek at the screen shots - looks a tad familiar, doesn't it? But this is where the similarity ends. The basic idea in this game is to take your crack team of ninja worms and kill everybody else. Worms isn't really a game intended to be enjoyed alone; you're going to need to have at least one friend if you're going to get any enjoyment out of it. And for maximum pleasure you would need three, but obviously you might have to stoop to bribery to get that many.

The game itself is, basically, a turn-based combat thing. No, no, hang on a minute, don't run away 'coz it sounds like a strategy game, just bear with me. Each player takes it in turn to control one of his worms for a set period of time. During that time he can move the worm around and then either choose to target another worm, or perform any one of a number of different tasks.

The number of options you have when making your move is quite enormous. There are countless weapons, including shotguns, homing missiles, mini-guns, cluster bombs, grenades, fireballs, dragon punches and, er, sheep... (don't ask, it'll be a big surprise for when you play the thing). But as well as all that, there are various defensive options, including tunnelling, building bridges and digging holes. The objective is to be the last player with worms that are still alive.

How hard is your worm?

In a time when games are becoming more and more complex, it's refreshing to see one that is simple and effective. Worms is one of those games that relies purely on the quality of the gameplay to ensure it remains incredibly addictive. And if you couple the compelling nature of the game with the fact that Worms is almost completely open as far as customisation is concerned, then it looks like we're going to have a game that will remain popular for some time.

All of the levels in the game are generated randomly each time you play, but if you want to you can load in a graphics file from an art package, such as Deluxe Paint, and use that instead. On top of this, all of the sampled sounds in the game can be replaced with wav. files, so you can have fun being awfully witty and amusing with weird farty and farmyard noises, should you so desire.

Hopefully, we'll be able bring you a review and a demo of the game in the next month or so. Watch this space.

Something that bothers me is the fact that, due to lack of consumer awareness and sub-par marketing, most people won't ever get a chance to play this game.

Worms is a fun-filled strategic romp that will have you and up to three of your friends playing for hours and hours. Playing much like Lemmings, Worms has you controlling our segmented little friends through a seemingly never-ending series of battles, in which you must thwart other worms with a solid defense and tactical offense.The landscapes will randomly generate as you play, keeping gameplay fresh and interesting. Worms is fit to join Lemmings and Cannon Fodder as a classic strategy game.

Graphics - 7

Sound/FX - 6

Gameplay - 9

Rating - 8

The gameplay behind Worms has been around in one form or another for almost 20 years. If you remember that tank game where you had to enter the angle and distance for a shot across a hill to destroy the enemy, you'll already be aware that Worms is simply an updated version.

Using your four-worm team, the aim is to destroy the enemy worms in the shortest possible time. Each player has a formidable range of weapons at their fingertips, ranging from bazookas to air strikes and exploding sheep. Some weapons have unlimited ammo, while others can only be collected from falling crates that appear periodically. Each game can be modified by increasing the health of each player's worms or adding more weapons, and there are a wide variety of terrain types to play through. It's one of the best multiplayer games out there, although the single-player game is weak in comparison, playing more like a practice mode for the two-player game.

In terms of gameplay there isn't a lot of difference between the two Worms games, but graphically they're worlds apart. We'd recommend waiting until Worms 2appears on budget, which shouldn't be too long. If you do decide to buy Worms though, you won't be disappointed.

Ocean has a brand-new strategy game that pits armies of worms against each other in a battle of attrition.

Worms will be turn-based, so players will have a chance to plot their movements. Up to four platoons of four worms each take to the battlefield. Each one has a variety of weapons at its disposal, and you'll probably need them all if you're going to nuke the opposition. The wars rage over a multitude of zones. There are futuristic levels as well as fantasy--even a psychedelic 70s level!

There will be plenty of options. You can name your worms and even celebrate their birthdays! Play alone or as part of a team. There will be lots of variables to keep Worms fresh. (Mmmm!)

Worms is really early right now, and we've yet to see it in motion. How it plays or how well it animates is something we can only guess on. We will have more info as it comes in.

  • PUBLISHER - Ocean
  • THEME - Adventure
  • NUMBER OF PLAYERS - 1-2

For fans of the Saturn hit who are always on the go, Worms will be making an appearance on the Game Boy at the E3 show. This side-view game of teamed combat allows players to battle against opposing teams in an all-out, no-hold-barred competition where the team with the last worm standing wins. Ready your arsenal for a great time.

Worms is a turn-based artillery game and the first in the long running series that we all, more or less, know and love.

The game doesn’t have a story, other than teams of worms setting out to destroy each other using a myriad of weapons, one more dangerous and explosive than the other. In fact, the goal of Worms is to defeat your opponents using everything at your disposal, and this is best done in multiplayer for maximum chaos and mayhem.

The gameplay itself is as simple as it gets. You move around on the map, select your weapon and use it against an unsuspecting target. These weapons range from the default bazooka, handgun or grenade to the mind-bending banana bomb and explosive sheep. Of course, there are also some utility items, like the ninja rope for mobility or a girder for added protection or even for reaching higher ground. In Worms, there are also some hidden items which can only be obtained from crates which appear in-game.

You can edit various settings when starting a game. You can select the starting health of the worms (100 or 150), how long a player’s turn lasts and the number of players (human or computer controlled). Worms is very fast paced, so in this case, the more the merrier. Although the game lets you fight against the computer’s AI controlled teams, it isn’t that smart or as unpredictable as another person would be, so it’s best think of it as a multiplayer game. There really isn’t much to accomplish in single player, but it’s there.

The graphics aren’t as cartoony as its successors, but that’s to be expected given its release date. The maps are very different and most probably you will never see two identical ones. The system generates them based on a random seed, and this can be further customized by choosing one of the various themes (space, forest or even hell). The sound effects are decent, but nothing special. The same goes for the music.

To conclude, Worms is probably how you would expect it to be, based on its current, much more modern versions, but at a lower level, especially regarding its graphics. It’s nice to know and experience the first game of the series, but you shouldn’t expect to play it for a very long time. After all, the newer versions are better from all points of view.

Worms features:

  • Fast-paced, chaotic and fun gameplay
  • Up to 4 players, human or computer controlled, pitched against each other
  • Randomly generated maps and practically unlimited replay value

Snapshots and Media

Saturn Screenshots

PC Screenshots

Playstation Screenshots

Sega Genesis/Mega Drive Screenshots

SNES/Super Nintendo/Super Famicom Screenshots

GameBoy Screenshots

Discuss it on forum

3 comments total – View all
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    Andy said on Forum:

    A great classic game but you really need the mouse to get full enjoyment from it and i can not get it to work, Can some give any hints because it would really help me on this and other games such as Lethal Enforcers.