There is just something about Worms tossing around holy hand grenades and mad cows that just would make any game a hit. So from the moment I installed and set up Worms 3D, a part of the Family Fun Pack 2 from Feral Interactive, I knew that we'd found a game that both my son and I would love. And just as a note, this pack of games also comes with Rayman 3 and Ghost Master. So when you get three great titles like that, you don't really even need anything more. But the set of discs also comes with the Children's Encyclopedia Britannica 2004 Edition. Lest you be concerned that the encyclopedia is two years out of date, let me assure you that for the level where most kids will be using it, this CD truly is a bonus. My kids have had fun just learning about animals, countries and other things that are, in general, so slow to change that a two-year old encyclopedia is just fine.But back to the armed and dangerous Worms. These friendly little smiling creatures are just too adorable to pass up. The storyline of the game goes something like this. Worms have taken over the world. It has taken them a few million, well, hundreds of millions really, of years to evolve to where they are today, but in this world Worms rule. What's different about this particular Worms game is that the world has gone 3d on us. The little guys have put on weight, in other words. Though given that they have weapons such as super sheep and deadly homing pigeons, I think I'll let you be the one to tell them that, not me.
This game is as filled with bad puns, corny pop culture take offs, and bad jokes as the earlier games I've played in the series. Worms have learned how to flip, both forwards and backwards, in elaborate ways that I don't recall them being able to do in previous games. The same challenges of earlier Worms games remains, meaning you are better off thinking before you fire. But there's a new twist with the world having gone 3D, and there are new weapons designed to make the most of that. The game combines a bit of strategy along with the arcade-style action.
In our house, we've played exclusively in single-player mode, but the game does have options to play multiplayer as well. We've just had enough hours of fun (and are having technical difficulties with our Mac mini connecting to the net), that we haven't even missed playing against others online. Not being one who is normally all that technically minded, I did think enough about how this game runs on our particular Mac to be able to say that, so long as your computer runs, it should run Worms 3D just fine. We had no problems at all with the game locking up, slowing down, or otherwise acting strangely in the time we played. The controls are once again set up for a right handed player, and can't be changed. But because of the arcade-style action of the game, you end up having to use two hands to play anyway, so it didn't really matter that the controls couldn't be modified. It is perfectly compatible with the one-button mouse that most Macs will ship with, as well; something that I like because it makes the game much easier for my younger kids to play.
Josh, age 10, had this to say about Worms 3D:
It was a fun game to figure out, but kinda hard sometimes. The controls were a little weird and if you didn't figure them out, you'd be dead fast. It's fun that you get to blast other Worms, and they talk, which is pretty cool. And you can pick how they talk so it can be funny. You can make teams to go against the other Worms, and they say funny stuff like, "Take me to your leader." I just really like it.
And as Josh's mom, I can testify to that, as I often find him up playing Worms 3D right after he finishes his homework each afternoon.
And while I'm thinking about my kids, I should speak a moment to the "T" rating of the game. Sometimes I just don't get what the ESRB is doing when it rates a game. Does Worms 3D have violence in it? Sure it does. It is cartoon violence all the way. Worms blowing up other Worms isn't exactly your everyday reality. I have had no problems with letting my kids, ages four, seven and 10, play Worms 3D on the Mac. The youngest has some difficulty playing on his own still, but that is because he is four, not because of the content of the game. Usually we compromise and I move the Worm around, aim and such, and he hits the fire button. This will lead to giggles from both of us. A true mother and son bonding moment as we blast things to smithereens with holy hand grenades and toss mad cows in the air. Ahhh … this is what being a gaming mother is all about.
But I digress. This is one of those games that is a whole lot of fun to play, but difficult to master. There's so much you have to keep track of, and options to pick from, that you'll find you want to play through the same missions again and again. And sometimes Worms get stuck, and you can't get there from here, which can be mildly frustrating at times. But most often if you step back and think, these problems can be solved. Something as simple as changing a camera angle, or changing camera view (you have three to pick from in this game) can make a world of difference.
Simply put, if you've never played a Worms game before, you can't know what you've been missing until you pick up this one. And if you own a Mac, you need to pick up this one. If you have played Worms games in the past, then you will most definitely not be disappointed when you move to Worms 3D. I could make some bad pun about it being just that much fun and a can of Worms too, but I'll save the bad puns for the game. Honest.
I’ve played computer games since college, addicted first to story type games like Might and Magic. I have 3 children who also love computer games. My oldest son is a typical kid who loves the challenge of pressing the right combination of buttons and levers on a joystick in just the right way to make something happens, and frequently gets frustrated with mom’s slow fingers. ;) We use computers for both education and entertainment, and sometimes even bribery for good behavior.
The “glory days” of computer gaming for me were when games like Spectre Supreme, Pirate’s Gold, the Might and Magic series, the original Prince of Persia… those sorts of games were coming out on a regular basis. Back then I owned a Macintosh and was a die hard Mac fan. I was one of the first in my area to buy an iMac and on it learned the joy of playing games on the internet like daily crossword puzzle and “mind bender” type puzzles. My first online RPG was given to me for Christmas the year EQ was released, and I was hooked from day one. I played EQ for about a year. I started playing DaoC during late alpha testing, and was hooked on it.. well, to be honest I still am. I’ve tried pretty much every MMORPG I can get my hands on, from big names like EQ, to more obscure ones such as Underlight. I’ve been writing for IMGS since the first DaoC guide, and find I love the challenge of learning a game and presenting what I’ve learned (and sometimes my opinions), to other players.
I’m not a very strong player as far as learning PvE or quick reaction times, so I tend to stay away from games where I’m pitted against someone else in a way that requires physical (rather than mental) response. I still enjoy story and puzzle games, and in a way that’s how I still approach online games. I would much rather spend hours working through a quest than 5 minutes in combat against another player. I still get lost in simulation type games, obsessing over them until I’ve gotten them beaten. And I like being able to sit down at the computer when I’ve got less than half an hour and playing through a few levels of a puzzle game. I tend not to like first-person shooter type games, or anything with person to person violence, so I steer away from them unless they are fantasy based settings. All in all, I enjoy computer gaming so much that my life feels incomplete somehow when my computer is down.
