Worms (1995 video game)

For the 2007 game, see Worms (2007 video game). For the 1983 game, see Worms?

Worms
File:Worms-win-cover.jpg
Developer(s)	Team17
Publisher(s)	Ocean Software
Designer(s)	Andy Davidson
Series	Worms
Platform(s)	Amiga, CD32, Game Boy, Mega Drive, Jaguar, Mac, PC (DOS), PlayStation, Saturn, SNES
Release	Amiga, CD32, Game Boy & Mac Mega Drive PC (DOS) NA: October 31, 1995 (Retail) EU: 1995 NA: October 19, 2011 (Steam) PlayStation NA: 1995 EU: December ??, 1995 JP: February 28, 1997 SNES Saturn NA: 1997 EU: 1997 JP: March 14, 1997 Jaguar
Genre(s)	Artillery, Strategy
Mode(s)	Single player, Multiplayer

Worms is an artillery strategy video game developed by Team17 and released in Template:Vgy. It is the first game in the Worms series of video games and was initially only available for the Amiga. Later it was ported to other platforms.

Worms is a turn based game where a player controls a team of worms against other teams of worms that are controlled by a computer or human opponent. The aim is to use various weapons to kill the worms on the other teams and have the last surviving worm(s).

Gameplay

From the Amiga version: A scrapyard themed level, with the player using the blowtorch tool.

Worms is a turn based artillery game, similar to other early games in the genre such as Scorched Earth.

Development

The game was originally created by Andy Davidson as an entry for a Blitz BASIC programming competition run by the Amiga Format magazine, a cut-down version of the programming language having been covermounted previously. The game at this stage was called Total Wormage (possibly in reference to Total Carnage) and it did not win the competition. Davidson sent the game to several publishers with no success. He then took the game to the European Computer Trade Show, where he met with Mark Foreman – Head Games Buyer at GEM Distribution. Mark suggested to Andy that he should speak to Ocean/Team17 as they would be an ideal partner – they also had a stand at the show. Team17 made an offer on-the-spot to develop and publish the game.

The game was called Total Wormage, before it was renamed Worms.

During the development of Worms 2, Andy Davidson wrote Worms – The Director's Cut, a special edition produced exclusively for the Amiga. Only 5000 copies were ever sold. It was also the last version released for the Commodore Amiga platform from which the game originated.

The references to the developers' home county, Yorkshire, is visible, with a soundbank named "Tykes", which is a Yorkshire accent, and in the "Hell" level found in the single player mission mode, a sign with "Welcome to Ossett! Ha! ha! ha!" written on it.

The Sega Saturn version of the game was a straight port of the PlayStation version.

In 1995, Team 17 began development on a port of Worms to Nintendo's portable game console the Virtual Boy. The game was to be published by Ocean, but was canceled only weeks into development as a result of Nintendo's discontinuation of the console.

Character, level and sound design

The game's graphics and sound design is primarily 'cartoon-like' (though less so than the later games in the series). Levels designs are randomly generated by the use of alpha-numeric strings as their seeds. The object and landscape sets used to generate the field are arranged into 'themes' including forests, martian landscapes, beaches and 'hell'.

Remake

Worms is the first in the Worms series of games. A remake, also called Worms, for the Xbox 360 was released in 2007. It has since been released to the PS3, in April 2009, and on the iPhone on July 11, 2009.

Worms Reinforcements

Worms Reinforcements (Template:Vgy) is an expansion pack for Worms, which was later amalgamated with the original game to create Worms and Reinforcements United (a.k.a. Worms United or Worms Utd.) the same year. Released only for the PC, it added a single player campaign and the ability to add custom levels and soundpacks (which was already available for the Amiga version). It also included an introductory FMV.

Worms: The Director's Cut

Worms: The Director's Cut (Template:Vgy) is a sequel to Worms, available only on the Amiga. It is largely built upon the original Amiga game engine with various gameplay enhancement and additions, as well as graphical improvements and fixes.

Reception

Reception

Review score

Publication	Score
Allgame

Sega Saturn Magazine gave the Saturn version a 90%. They especially praised Worms's unexpected complexity and the fun of multiplayer mode, and called it "Quite simply the most playable game to hit the Saturn so far." The four reviewers of Electronic Gaming Monthly gave the Saturn version an average of 8.625 out of 10, commenting that "Some games have great graphics and control, but Worms doesn't need either because the fun factor is a 10+. With multiplayer ability of up to four people, Worms is one of those games that is so unique, it doesn't fit into any category - except innovative and incredibly addictive." GameSpot scored the PC version a 7.6/10. They criticized the slowness of large multiplayer sessions and the imprecision of the keyboard controls, but like Sega Saturn Magazine, they lauded the combination of surface simplicity and underlying complexity, summarizing that "Like the board game Othello, Worms takes only a few minutes to learn, but may take a lifetime to master."

Conversely the Amiga Power review, written in the style of a magazine personality quiz, whilst praising the detail of the animation described frustrating imbalances especially in relation to the vaunted 16-player multi-player mode and was critical of the puerility of the game's humour.

External links

• Official website Worms series
• Worms at MobyGames
• Template:StrategyWiki
• Total Wormage trailer