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> Results: Worms Open Warfare 2
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The ESRB says:
Mild Cartoon Violence: GamerDad found cute animated worms shooting each other with cartoon weapons that made great explosions but no blood or gore. Worms say farewell, blow themselves up, and leave behind a tiny gravestone when they lose all their hit points. The Worms license began on the PC computer many years ago in a game based around teams of cute animated worms attempting to blow each other up. Sequels have added (and occasionally subtracted) from features available as well as the arsenal of weapons available to the worms. The newest incarnation on the DS, Worms Open Warfare 2 is one of the best incarnations in general and is far and away the best handheld version available.  Each player in Worms: Open Warfare 2 is given a team of worms who attempt to destroy each other by using various weapons and toys to maneuver around and shoot each other. Each worm gets a turn to move by inching around on the ground and making small jumps. By selecting a weapon, a worm can then launch any one of many different attacks by aiming and then holding the attack button to determine the speed of the launch. The default attack is typically bazooka, while a common alternate is the grenade launcher. Weapons must be aimed correctly and each weapon has properties that affect its use. For example, the bazooka is greatly affected by wind and explodes upon contact with anything while grenades ignore wind and have a timer allowing them to bounce around before exploding. After shooting their weapon, worms have just a few seconds to maneuver before their turn ends, allowing particularly astute worms to drop a mine or stick of dynamite next to an enemy and then quickly crawl out of the blast radius. Worms hit by enemy (or friendly) fire take damage, blowing themselves up when they run out of health. The death-explosion of an enemy worm can even cause further deaths if there are wounded worms within the blast radius. What makes this version of Worms an instant classic is the inclusion of many of the best tools and weapons of past versions. The rope swing is a classic tool that allows worms to maneuver large distances across the landscape, but only if the player is skilled in its use. Since landscape is destroyable, worms can also use jackhammers and blowtorches to dig into the ground and play a very defensive game. All this would make a solid Worms title, but many additional features were added in to extend the life of the game far beyond most previous versions. Beyond the basic game vs the computer AI or a friend using the same DS, a campaign mode has a very weak storyline but provides an excuse to play through some specific challenges. The game provides several multiplayer options. The WiFi online mode has ranked matches and leaderboards while local multi-card gameplay allows up to three other players. A stripped-down version can also be downloaded into a friend's DS for a two player game. Finally, there are a series of puzzles and minigames that have players trying to find unique ways to use the worm tools in order to overcome challenges. All these game options make a solid title even better and provide plenty of opportunities to keep this game on your playlist after other games have been set aside. 
The ESRB gets this one correct as 10 years old is just about the right age. While the content is about as mild as classic Saturday morning cartoon fare, the game is best when gamers can do a bit of strategy and planning. Little to no reading is required so age-appropriateness is primarily based on a gamer's ability to plan and execute their strategies. No blood or guts are to be seen in the game, worm "death" is frequent but comic. The WiFi connection has several modes to help parents watch out for their child's gaming. A friend mode only allows gamers to play against players who have both entered their respective "friend codes". A more open version can be played against anyone but custom teams, flags, and maps cannot be used, in order to avoid cheating as well as inappropriate names or graphics being displayed on flags or maps.
Other Platforms DS - Reviewed version. Has a few more features specific to the DS stylus and microphone. PSP - While having the stylus available is useful for the occasional fine-tuned aiming or quick weapon selection, using a gamepad is nearly as good. Format For Printing | Tell A Friend | Digg | Slashdot | del.icio.us | Buy This Game Home > Review Archive > Video Games > Results: Worms Open Warfare 2 |
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