Worms Collection

I loved Worms. I can’t remember a single child of my generation who didn’t. While it may not be immortal it still remains an arcade classic that still can sit proudly on the shelves to this day. Worms Collection takes the three most popular incarnations of the franchise: Worms, Worms: Armageddon, and Worms: Ultimate Mayhem, and mushes them together into a single boxed retail release for the handsome price of £24.99.

For those who have never played Worms before, I suggest that you wiggle out from the dirt you’ve been hiding under and grab this bundle as soon as possible. It gives you the cream of the crop when it comes to Worms games, and throws in all of the DLC as well so each game is packed all the way to to the slightly destroyed rafters. Worms & Worms: Armageddon of course are not the original pixelated 90’s versions, they’re the graphically updated ones, but still carry the charm and frenzy of them into the current generation. Ultimate Mayhem is likely going to be pretty great too if you’ve never touched the series before, as the 3D version does exactly what it says on the tin; it’s mayhem!

The Worms series boils down to a very simple formula: fun + chaos = more fun. It comes from the age of video games where 2D cartoony, platform destruction was at its peak. Creating a beloved team of worms who you carefully name, dress, and customise to use to blow up your best friend’s team is a satisfaction that is damned near timeless. The wacky weaponry still continues to amuse even me, after these last 12 odd years, because the zany enjoyment of exploding a buddy’s worm half way across the map with a muttering old lady or a flying sheep with a Superman cape is purely a Worms phenomenon. You can’t get that type of gaming joy anywhere else.

However, if you’ve already played them before, and more importantly own any of them on XBLA, then the price does start to become quite steep. Even if you own none of them previously you can buy all three on XBLA for around £18 worth of MSP, and even with the DLC it is, at best, the exact same price point. When you’re starring down the barrel of a £25 commitment for a retail game consisting of three downloadable games of nearly, if not less, the same price it does tend to raise an eyebrow or two. The games themselves are as fantastic as they ever have been, but the price point does have to drop it some marks. If it ever comes down to a solid £15 then this would be a must have for any Worms fan or newcomer.