Worms: Ultimate Mayhem was developed by Team 17 and retails for 1200 Microsoft Points. It was released on Septemer 28, 2011. A copy of the game was provided for review.

If you’re reading this review, chances are you’ve heard of the Worms franchise. Debuting back in 1995, Team 17’s flagship franchise has graced over a dozen platforms since it first emerged from its digital hole. Known for its mix of strategy, action and humor, the franchise made its mark and has for the most part stuck to its classic 2D formula. In 2003, the Worms franchise went 3D for the first time with Worms 3D, marking a major departure for the series. In 2005, Team 17 followed the game up with a sequel, Worms: Mayhem. Fast forward to 2011, where Team 17 has compiled the content of both 3D Worms offerings into one package for Xbox Live Arcade aptly titled, Worms: Ultimate Mayhem.

Here’s what we liked:

A different pace – Those who haven’t played Worms games in the past may not know exactly how the Worms games play. In a nut shell, the Worms games are turn-bases strategy games, with a blend of action, allowing players to actually control movement, aim and use weapons. Think of the gameplay as an extravagant fantasy version of chess involving worms, weapons and destruction. So yes, you do take turns with your opponent, whether they be AI, or human controlled, but you do get the satisfaction of aiming and firing weapons yourself. This turn based system is something quite different from what many gamers are used to. Instead of championing quick reflexes and large explosions, Ultimate Mayhem is about using your brain, utilizing strategy and…explosions. There’s nothing else quite like the Worms games available on XBLA and the change of pace will be welcomed by many.

Color and humor – One of the draws of the Worms franchise is their look and feel. While the story of the games is completely irrelevant, the charm of the world cannot be ignored. There is just something entertaining about hearing worms crack jokes as they fire bazookas or parachute out of a plane. Not only is the humor colorful, so are the game’s environments. The game puts you everywhere from World War II battlefields, to colorful tropical islands and cornfields, to arctic ice lands where sheep are being dropped to their death into freezing water. The Worms games are absolutely about over the top humor, and players young to old will appreciate the laughs, color and charm that the game has to offer.

Amount of content – Worms: Ultimate Mayhem is literally two games combined into one. For the price of admission, you’re getting two full campaigns, a challenge mode, and an online multiplayer component that serves as the main selling point for most players. There’s no doubt that Ultimate Mayhem offers a lot of bang for your buck. Whether you’re getting into the franchise for the first time, or buying Ultimate Mayhem to relive two of your favorites of the past, there’s plenty of content to keep you busy here.

Here’s what we didn’t like:

A different pace part II – Just as the game’s turn-based pacing may serve as a selling point for some, it may also serve as a frustration to others. Let’s face it, our society is all about instant gratification, for better or worse. There is a large chunk of the gaming population that doesn’t have the time or patience to watch their opponent make their move and wait to be in control again.
If you’re someone who only enjoys shooters and action games, Worms may not be for you.

Obnoxious waiting– The potential pacing barrier that exists for some less patient players is compounded by the game’s awkward and unnecessary pauses and cutscenes during gameplay. After every single move a team makes, you are forced to watch a scene where the worm being attacked either gets up and cracks a joke, or dies, and cracks a joke. This is funny the first few times, but after seeing it time and time again, it gets extremely old. Additionally, whenever a weapon or item is dropped into the map, a short cutscene plays to point it out to you. Being forced to sit there and do nothing except watch for an extra 15 seconds may not sound like a lot to ask but when you’re constantly sitting out just watching the game, it takes its toll.

Loading times – Make no mistake about it, Ultimate Mayhem is a compilation of games that came out in 2003 and 2005 respectively. In bringing the games to Xbox Live Arcade, it doesn’t appear much effort was put into reducing loading times. The loading times are somewhat lengthy, but the real irritation comes from their frequency. During the game’s campaign, every time you fail a mission, you are kicked back out to the mission select screen. So you sit through a loading screen to get to the mission select screen, then chose the mission and sit through yet another loading screen. Then you come in and you’re forced to sit through a cutscene (which is usually boring) explaining the mission. There’s only so much sitting and watching that a gamer can handle. Reducing the game’s loading times in both length and frequency could have easily boosted the enjoyment that the game has to offer. Unfortunately, the loading times were ignored and are extremely frustrating.

Clunky movement – As if all the waiting around isn’t aggravating enough, the game’s movement mechanics won’t help calm any nerves. While we can’t exactly complain about moving slow (we are controlling worms after all), we can complain about odd jump mechanics, physics, and slippery slopes. We ran out of fingers and toes counting the number of times we failed a mission in the campaign because a worm jumped at an odd angle, landed in water, and drown. Or worse yet, jumped and for whatever reason bounced off of a bump on the land, and then landed in water. These problems are compounded by the destructible environments which are cool in theory, but often create navigational obstacles that can result in death and other unnecessary complications. If we are jumping upward from ledge to ledge, why do we get knocked so far backwards if we jump from too close and hit the ledge on the way up? This is a design flaw that may have been forgivable in 2003, but in this day and age, is not.

In the end, Worms: Ultimate Mayhem is a very polarizing game. For fans of the franchise, and for gamers out there looking for something slower paced, there’s a lot to love. Ultimate Mayhem has a lot of content to plow through if you get “hooked” and is certainly worth the money if you’re someone who enjoys strategy games. On the other hand, gamers who lack patience and crave action may find these worms to be too slow for their liking. More than anything, Ultimate Mayhem serves as a reminder of the great potential this franchise has if a new Worms title were to be designed from the ground up, with 2011’s audience in mind. For now however, accept the fact that Worms: Ultimate Mayhem is what it is. For better or worse, Ultimate Mayhem is a compilation of two games released over six years ago ago. That’s why we recommend trying it out for yourself by downloading the trial on the Xbox Live Marketplace before taking arms and digging in for yourself.

Score: Try It