Worms Armageddon is a 1999 turn-based strategy video game developed and published by Team17 as part of the Worms series. It was originally released for the Microsoft Windows operating system, and was later ported to the PlayStation, Dreamcast, Nintendo 64, and Game Boy Color. In the game, the player controls a team of up to eight earthworms tasked with defeating an opposing team using a wide range of weapons at their disposal. The game takes place on a destructible and customizable two-dimensional board and is characterized by cartoonish graphics and a unique brand of humour.

The third installment in the series, Worms Armageddon was originally developed as an expansion pack to Worms 2 (1997) and initially titled Wormageddon before it was released as a standalone game. As a result the game is very similar to Worms 2 but has a new single-player mode and adds a number of pieces of new content as well as being released on a wider variety of platforms. Worms Armageddon was acclaimed by critics, who praised the refined gameplay and stylized graphics, and it has been featured in a number of "greatest games of all time" lists. Worms Armageddon on PC is still updated periodically, most recently in 2020. The game was succeeded by Worms World Party (2001), which added further content without drastic change and which was the last 2D-based Worms game before the series moved to 3D.

In August 2024, a port of the PC version to then-current and last generation consoles, titled Worms Armageddon: Anniversary Edition, was announced for release on 26 September. This version includes a digital museum and the emulated versions of Worms Armageddon for Game Boy Color, the original Worms for Super NES and Mega Drive, as well as Worms World Party for Game Boy Advance as bonus features.

Gameplay

left|thumb|A screenshot of [[Worms World Party, Armageddon's successor. Armageddon's graphics are identical.]]

Gameplay in Worms Armageddon is turn-based, with each team moving in a randomly-determined sequence across two-dimensional terrain. During a single turn, a team can only move one of their worms (unless an item that allows the team to select their worm is used). Worms can walk and jump, as well as (when the proper items are available) swing by rope, parachute, teleport, and bungee. The objective of a traditional match is to defeat all opposing teams by killing their worms, although in the campaign some missions have other objectives such as collecting a specific crate.

Each worm begins the round with a specific amount of health, which is predefined by the chosen game options or by scripting in campaign levels. When hit with a weapon, the worm will lose health depending upon the power of the weapon and the directness of the hit. It was also going to be released under the name Wormageddon, but Team17 changed the name to Worms Armageddon because of close similarities to the name of the game Carmageddon. It was released initially for PCs in 1999 in Europe and North America, published by Hasbro Interactive under the MicroProse brand. The game was eventually ported to Dreamcast and PlayStation in December 1999, Game Boy Color in January 2000, and Nintendo 64 in March 2000. The Nintendo 64 version is one of the first Nintendo 64 games to feature a terrain editor and generator. A Macintosh version was being developed by MacSoft, but it has since been cancelled. Worms Armageddon was produced by Martyn Brown and composed by Bjørn Lynne, Karl Morton was the game's lead programmer, and Dan Cartwright was the game's lead artist.

Worms Armageddon was initially released on the Steam platform for a limited time as the preorder bonus for Worms Revolution. The Steam release included all improvements from the previously released updates. This release was made available on 12 September 2012. Worms Armageddon was released onto the Steam store as a standalone game on 20 March 2013.

Despite its age, Worms Armageddon still receives periodic updates, mainly from two programmers known as Deadcode and CyberShadow, recruited by Team17. These updates address bugs and compatibility issues, and also add new features to the game, such as support for a greater number of worms in a match and support for arbitrarily-sized colour levels. The latest update was on 16 July 2020.

Reception

The game received favorable reviews on all platforms, with the gameplay being praised across all versions.

Whilst writing that veterans of Worms 2 would find the game to be similar, Greg Kasavin of GameSpot praised the game for being easy to play and control, as well as its humor, graphics, physics, WormNet and deep customization. He also likened the single-player missions to Lemmings in that the missions often required the player to precisely utilize a limited supply of weapons and tools to accomplish the objective. Among his only criticisms are that the AI-controlled worms do not utilize their full arsenals and that the player would wish that there were more weapons, more diverse graphics and sound, and more content. Tom Chick of GamePro said, "For all its similarities to previous cans of Worms, Armageddon is still a classic example of the joy of computer gaming. It's right up there with rare, benevolent gems like RollerCoaster Tycoon and Grim Fandango--games that'll make you smile and even giggle like a schoolgirl. And when it comes right down to it, I'd rather giggle for an hour than spend all day grimly swinging away at orcs or aiming plasma weapons." Dan Toose of Hyper gave it 87%, calling it "A fitting end to an excellent series of games [and a] perfect blend of serious strategy and ludicrous humour." Nick Smith of AllGame gave it four stars out of five, calling it "very, very addictive". Cindy Vanous of Computer Games Strategy Plus gave it a similar score of four stars out of five, saying, "In short, it seems that Team 17 figured out every detail that might have detracted even slightly from Worms 2, then recreated the game without those tiny flaws. The result is eminently playable and often hysterical—in fact, the only thing serious in Armageddon is its strategy."

The Dreamcast version's reception was positive. Johnny Liu of GameRevolution praised the version for its "addictive" gameplay, its loads of personality, and not having to save money to buy multiple controllers for multiplayer, but criticized this version for the lack of Internet support, reduced customizations compared to the PC version, and the lack of a multiple-controller option. Cam Shea of Hyper gave it 79%, saying, "if this is the kind of no frills PC port we can expect for the Dreamcast, don't toss out your N64 just yet. You may just need it if you want to play the best version of Worms Armageddon on the block."

Jeff Nash of The Electric Playground gave the PlayStation version nine out of ten almost a year after it was released, calling it "a wonderful breath of fresh air for strategy gaming. With its carefree, happy-go-lucky attitude, it's easy to just fall in love with this title. With a multi-player mode thrown in for good measure, this game has a fantastic one-two punch of great gameplay, and an easy setup for sharing it with others, making it a very fun experience. With a liberal dose of humor present as well, this game is a wonderful romp through the grueling world of worm warfare." However, Mark Kanarick of AllGame gave it two-and-a-half stars out of five, saying, "Although not the best version of Worms, Worms: Armageddon for the PlayStation is a good party game and an occasionally fun single-player game."

The Game Boy Color port, while still met with favorable reviews, was less well received. Concluding that the port is an "abridged edition of the overall game", Craig Harris of IGN criticized the version's lack of features and personality compared to the PC version and pointed out its "quirky" graphics. The reviewer felt that the game's front end was "extremely thrown together". He concluded that it was still fun to play. Jason White of AllGame gave it three stars out of five, saying that it "has so much going for it in the fun department that the odd controls and sometimes hard to navigate terrain will be easily forgotten. Go out and give this one a try. It's well worth the time."

Many publications gave the Nintendo 64 version favorable reviews while it was still in development months before its U.S. release date. Arthur Adam of Hyper gave the same Nintendo 64 version 89%, saying, "This strategy game has proved to be dynamite on the N64, making it possibly the best multi-player title for the console." Marin Kitts of N64 Magazine gave it 85%, calling it "A welcome conversion of one of the most original four-player games you can buy." However, Michael Wolf of NextGen called the same console version "A good rental if you're planning a gaming party, but for day-to-day gaming, these annelids just don't cut it." indicating sales of at least 200,000 units in the UK.

Awards

The PlayStation and Dreamcast versions won the award for "Best Strategy Game" at the EGM Game Blast Awards. The PC version was nominated for the same category at the Sixth Annual PC Gamer Awards, which went to Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri. The staff wrote that the game "put up one hell of a fight [for the award] and should not be overlooked by fans of the genre." The console versions were nominated for the same category at GameSpots Best and Worst of 2000 Awards, which went to Ogre Battle 64.

Legacy

Worms Armageddon has been placed on several lists of the greatest games of all time. Digital Spy ranked Worms Armageddon at No. 18 on their list of the top 20 Nintendo 64 games of all time. In 2014, GamesRadar+ ranked the game at No. 13 on their list of the top 50 PlayStation games of all time. In 2015, they also ranked it at No. 68 on their list of the top 100 video games of all time. In 2014, Slant Magazine ranked the game at No. 100 on their similar list. TechRadar listed the game as one of their favourite PC games of all time.

Team17 chose to base the source code of the 2016 game Worms W.M.D entirely on that of Worms Armageddon, because fans frequently told them upon questioning that Worms Armageddon was their favourite game in the series. Additionally, the 2009 game Worms 2: Armageddon was named in honor of Worms Armageddon despite not being a direct sequel.

In 2022, the PlayStation versions of Worms Armageddon and Worms World Party were added to the PlayStation Store as part of the first batch of downloadable PlayStation titles; the games run on emulation on the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5, but do not feature trophies.

Notes

References

  • Official game website