WORMAGEDDON!!! (Worms 4 - Mayhem (PS2))

Member Name: butters

Product:	Worms 4 - Mayhem (PS2)
Date:	20/02/06 (410 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: There is a Back to the Future Level

Disadvantages: No Online (Yet) for any worms game on Playstation-Xbox version does.

OMG WHAT A GAME!! LOL

Yes, this is the kind of humour you will find in this game, a game of pure mayhem. After owning Worms (excellent), Worms World Party(Good) & Worms: Forts under Siege (Hard), i was very optimistic aboout playing this game at my friends house on the Xbox, which, if you have read a review of mine, you will find out i am not fond of (I'm thinking of you crispy). however, i enjoyed it still, even with the bulky controller. Oh, and the OMG thing, we'll get to that later.

Yes, there is a story to this game, and to be honest, this is the first time i have ever known the story of a game of this type, including the 3D PSone game Hogs of War, because this is a gamer that is mainly enjoyed in company, but with this game, is also fun for single player. Well, the story is about time travel basically. A professor has built a time machine, but it breaks (i think) and you have to go around searching for the pieces, fighting all kinds of worms, from cowboys to wizards. 25 levels of mayhem as the game calls it, plus various challenges.

The levels are not all so in there with a worm and shoot at people though. The missions are maily that though, shooting at different people from different environments, but once again, that will be discussed later. Here are some changes to the missions.

1-One mission sees you doing a shootout with a cowboy-with a moustache. However, this is a little more friendly though, and instead of aiming for him, you aim for various targets around him, with a weapon choice. Choose a shotgun, you can't zoom in to aim, but 2 shots are available-or a sniper rifle, one shot, zoomed aim.

2-Another mission sees you having to try to avoid enemies until you can sneak around and plant dynamite by a dooor, allowing entry to your other 'troops'-after that is the traditional Team vs. Team battle

3-Whacking poeple into a target. They have 400 health,and you can use a bazooka, prod, or baseball bat, withthe 1st & 3rd doing damage. Kill them, restart, so you have to be careful. I did it ending up with a worm with one health out of the 100 it started with due to a poison arrow hitting me.

4-Obstacle course using different arrays of items, bungee rope, jet pack, etc.

There are others though, as some missions see you fighting and collecting tools to steal.

Whilst we are on the mission subject though-Back to the Future, mission 5-My obsession. It shows the clock tower and bar with the radio player-like thing. It even has the wire going down to the lampost. There are even cars for your surroundings, with one of them being the DeLorean, cartoony looking-yes, but i got this game for just £17.99 on www.play.com with free delivery, and i think that every Back to the Future fan should own this game just for this mission. one time only, you can even plant dynamite by the car and watch it disappear, not due to the explosion, but through time. This earns you an easter egg (explained later).

Obviously there are changes from the game too. The 3D now is expected, but you get with these a few Western-cowboy like areas to destroy, a Prehistoric era-totally there just to blow up, the Indian palace places are also there, conctruction yards, Back to the future place is mentioned though. As usual though, you can destroy land, but nothing will fall, just stay airborn.
Now though, there are 6 worms to a team, making the battles a lot longer, and fun, and, as usual, you can make a team. I have made a team of my friends, A TV series Friends team, Agents team from the matrix, a Matrix team, a Buffy & Angel team, Back to the Future team, Gaming Legends and enemies team and a Toy Story Team.
Now though, there is a wider range of hats etc. to choose from. there are Caps, Turbans, Wizard hats, cowboy hats, girls hair hats, mohekans, space hats and sports helmets, animal skulls, alien hats and more, including pirate hats & an afro. Gloves too though, such as pirate gloves and cowboy gloves, in all shades of colours, white, yellow, you name it. Moustaches are also available to- if you want to make your worm look like an utter *@!*.
How to get these though? some are available at the start, but you'll have to complete missions for coins to buy these. You don't get much but there are 5 secrets called easter egges for you to find that gives you enoought coins to buy them all-i found them online. Sinne my e-mails playingup. i will be happy to tell you in this review if you ask in comments though.

You can even make weapons now. There are limitations though, but-Do you want an air strike, launched of thrown weapon. What do you want it to shoot out-bananas, pineapples, bullets, weights, shrunken heads or even poo, subtly named 'err?'. Choose out of a choice of different handles and weapon bodies' too. However, power though is different. Do you want it to be wind affected, poisonous, make worm damage, land damage, blast damage, or how many do you want to drop. There are limitations thoguh because there is a choice of power, so if there is a lot of worm damage, not much land damage is done etc.

Now Back to the...Past. At the start i put in OMG WHAT A GAME!! LOL. This is the humour when a worm dies. Other comments are (when drowned)-Bob has gone to marry a mermaid,or bob is more than wet behind the ears. They're not important to the gamplay, but that little extra effort that has been in all of the games i know of make you laugh.

Magazines were harsh on this though, 84% was good, but the 4 & 6 out of 10 marks weren't. The graphics, to me are worth a 9 because it suits the purpose of the game, sound is 7 because of the voices (sound like a cowboy, agent etc. all unlockable). They just don't talk enough. For gameplay-8 because of the huge fun, and 8 for lifespan because 25 levels, challenges and endless fun mastering the game makes sure you wont get bored easily. Multiplayer, if you are not a loner is superb. I play alone though at my house and don't get bored. The storyline is only 6 hours tops though, maybe as low as 4 or 5, so it's a good job there is multiplayer.

Challenges are just mini-missions by the way. THere are a fair few that maily involve you snipering down targets trying to achieve a time limit, or maybe an obstacle cource. Others, i think (because i have not done many) are just the missions again, like the shootout, just for a time limit and coins.

The best for last. What is Worms without weapons?

The oldies are there such as bazooka, hand grenade, cluster bomb, banana bomb,homing missile, shotgun, mine, dynamite, fire punch, baseball bat, prod, air strike, sheep, old lady, & super sheep, along with girders, jet packs, parachutes(, skip-a-go) and ninja ropes. However, withe the 3D, there is a new feel, can you get the bazooka spot on with the wind so powerful?. The new ones, including the team weapon you can invent fit in still though. Holy hand grenades, gas canisters, poison arrows, sniper rifles, inflatable scouser (a kid that eats you and floats in the air & drops you.). Why not suicide and attatch yourself to a firework for a powerful starburst-my favourite weapon along with the super sheep, which wears a cape andyou get to fly. Why not nail an opponent to the ground (Tail Nail) too so they cant move and only destroying the land will let them. Icarus potion lets you fly unlimited until end of turn. Why not Bubble trouble so people have to get up close to attack?. Just don't surrender, you can always put on Worm-Select.

Of course there are still weapon, health, utility & mystery crates too.

Altoghter it is a great party game or just single player. Vital for anyone with a sense of humour.

Summary: Great play