Worms Battle Islands (Wii) - Review by Chris

Introduction

Chances are that if you've been playing games for any period of time, you've played some iteration of the Worms franchise. Since its original inception on the PC over a decade ago, there have been more versions of the game than anyone would care to list and they've appeared on almost every console since. Having already taken strides on the Wii with Worms: A Space Oddity, Team 17 and THQ once again team up to bring you the next instalment in the franchise, Worms: Battle Islands, offering up a more down to earth experience in comparison to the setting of the last game. But after so many iterations, does the franchise still warrant your attention?

Gameplay

Worms: Battle Islands is essentially your typical Worms games with a few noticeable additions. For those unfamiliar with how the games work, here's a quick rundown. Worms is a turn based strategy title where you'll take control of a team of 4 worms and face off against another team of 4 worms, either controlled by another player or by the game's AI (with plenty of difficulty settings to choose from to test your skills). The objective is simply to destroy and kill the opposition team of worms before they defeat your squad by utilising a vast arsenal of guns, rocket launchers, grenades and various other deadly weapons and helpful items to help you close in on your chosen opponent for the kill. You'll also have to take into account several other factors if you want to be victorious, such as level design which is entirely destructible and wind conditions which will either help carry your thrown or missile attacks or impede them.

This is essentially how Battle Islands plays out in almost all of the modes it has to offer, with the gameplay having seen little in the way of changes since its original carnation. Even if you are still left scratching your head after that, the game offers up a healthy selection of training missions and help options which will get your into the groove of the action in no time, taking you carefully through the many aspects of the game.

As with the previous game on the console, this entry brings with it a meaty campaign mode to work your way through, with it now taking place on terra firma. You'll take control of a group of worms who are attempting to defeat a series of armies controlling numerous islands and claim them for yourself. It's a simple premise with little more to it than that, but it doesn't need any more as the gameplay does all the talking as you'll wage war on a variety of themed locations all the while gaining experience points which you can later use to customise your inventory. Outside of the boss encounters in the campaign, the game is completely open in terms of customisation not only in the campaign but in all other modes allowing you to tinker with and experiment with new weaponry and see how it works or even customise areas such as the tombstones which appear when your worms die or even the sound bites that accompany their attacks, all of which can be unlocked through the experience points you gain from completing missions.

Along with the campaign mode, there is a new addition to the game this time around in the form puzzle missions, which while playing out similarly to the standard format ask you to use a bit more strategy in the undertaking of your moves to successfully complete the task at hand. It provides a nice change to the gameplay, proposing some strict criteria you'll have to comply with if you want to complete the mission and move on. There's also the usual set of multiplayer options for up to 4 players on the same console, allowing each of you to create and personalise your own team of worms and bring them into battle. Similarly, any custom level you have created in the level creation suite, a fantastic little touch for those wanting something a little more personal than the randomly generated levels the game offers, can be brought in for play, with the game allowing you to save these creations as well as any of the randomly generated ones you find particularly enjoying.

Multiplayer does take a step onto another frontier however, with the inclusion of online multiplayer allowing you to play against friends, so long as you have each other's friend codes, or play against anyone around the world. It was a mode which was sorely missed in A Space Oddity but thankfully it has been remedied this time around and offers up an incredibly smooth gameplay experience with little to no lag whatsoever and one which is thoroughly enjoyable, providing the biggest reason to come back and play for months to come.

Controls

Two main control inputs are offered for play, the Wii-mote held horizontally or in conjunction with the Nunchuk, and both work well within the context of the game. With the former setup, control revolves solely around button presses and feels as natural to play as any other iteration of the Worms franchise on any console. With the latter option, there are two different setups available, with one making use of button presses and the other making use of motion gestures. As with the Wii-mote only setup, using the buttons in the Nunchuk setup works as you would expect but unfortunately the attempt to implement motion gestures feels more intrusive than something the game really needed, making it difficult to judge your throws and shots, and while it's certainly far from unplayable, the standard button pressing options works far better.

Graphics

Little has changed visually between the last game and this one, although a distinct lack of visual change extends to pretty much every version of the game since the original so there's nothing new there. The cel-shaded and cartoony look which the games have become known for, especially in conveying the games' humour, is continued here and while it still manages to present a wide variety of detailed locations, with some pleasant ambient backgrounds helping to set the scene, it is beginning to feel decidedly tired, especially if you've played many of the iterations of the game which have been released. That's not to say it doesn't look good, as the visuals still manage to convey the humour and tone of the franchise well, but the visuals are slowly beginning to pull the franchise down in this modern age of gaming.

Sound

Music has never been a strong point for the Worms brand of games and this is a sentiment which continues here. It does little more than present some background sounds upon which you can enact your carnage and while in some games this would be a detriment, here it works in the game's favour as it's not intrusive in any way upon the action unfolding on the screen. The little quips and speech fragments of the worms is a franchise staple now but even through the repetitive hearing of some of the fragments, they never fail to relay a sense of humour and you'll fail in preventing a smile broadening across your face after hearing them.

Final comments

Although it could be said to play it very close to the already tried and tired template, Worms: Battle Islands is still an extremely enjoyable experience and a worthy entry into the franchise. It does feel almost identical at times to previous iterations, and is unlikely to sway the minds of those who have tired of the gameplay which is still very much set in the past in many ways, but it brings with it enough new additions, such as the fantastic puzzle missions, some new weapon choices and a very solid online setup, that those who haven't tired or those who haven't played the games before will be getting one of the best packages the franchise has seen to date.

Pro: Puzzle missions and added objectives shake up the gameplay slightly, plenty of customisation and difficulty options, fantastic online setup
Con: Presentation is starting to show its age, gameplay remains firmly rooted in the past, motion gestures are intrusive
Final score: 7.5

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