Worms Blast

The Good
Worms Blast is an enjoyable puzzle game in the style of Tetris and Super Puzzle Fighter. It combines the humour, weaponry and characters of the Worms games with the fast-paced addictive nature of puzzle games. It's also nice to see a familiar face from one of Team17's earlier games featuring in the game as an unlockable character. Both 1 and 2 player modes are highly enjoyable.

The Bad
Unfortunately the 1-Player mode is a little too easy and seasoned games-players will find themselves completing it in around one to two weeks. Also, it could have done with a plotline and a better ending in order to flesh out the games characters.

The Bottom Line
For fans of puzzle games and Team17's wacky annelids, this game is a surefire hit. The graphics are bright and appealing and the gameplay is fast-paced and addictive. While not a game that you'll likely be playing for years to come, Worms Blast is nevertheless an amusing and entertaining experience

The Good
The graphics (for being a puzzle game) are good, recognizable worms and scenic backdrops. The simplistic puzzle action of aiming your weapon and firing and moving back and forth with your raft to better position yourself for a shot. Two-player dual mode is also fun as you panic to try to outlive your opponent.

The Bad
Seeing as the game is a puzzle game, it falls into the pitfall that catches many of those in the same genre. That is that the repetitiveness of the game can really start to get to after a while. Also the difficulty of the game gets very tough later in the game and can begin to bring on massive headaches. Finally, I personally wish that there could have been a two player mode which featured lining up shapes rather than colors seeing as my dad would have loved this game, except he is colorblind so he couldn't play it.

The Bottom Line
First and foremost, I would like to make it perfectly clear to those looking at this game that this is a puzzle game in the same vein as Snood, Super Puzzle Bobble, etc. and not a standard Worms game. I fell victim to this mistake, and while I was satisfied with what I got not everyone would be. This game is a simple, puzzle game which takes the weapons and characters of the Worms universe and makes an entertaining and engaging game which is fun for all ages.

The Good
The graphical design is overwhelming - bright colours, clear shapes, and all that jazz. It makes the game very appealing to children. The gameplay and animation is smooth, and the sounds are nice. Some of the level designs are pretty original for a Bust-a-Move clone. But...

The Bad
The game looks like it almost wasn't playtested. Every time you launch the single player mode you start at the beginning, which means that you must traverse the map again. You don't have to play the challenges that you have already beaten, but every time you travel from one point to another, a menu pops up, asking if you want to. It means that you have to move on the map battling with a frustrating "GO THERE -> NO, I DON'T WANT TO PLAY IT AGAIN -> GO THERE -> NO, I DON'T WANT TO PLAY IT AGAIN" sequence. This is very annoying. Also, the gameplay quickly gets repetitive, and it seems very weird that a game that is supposedly targeted for children (no classic Worms-style death, violence and hell) can get so difficult. Some of the middle challenges are almost impossible to beat even for a skilled player, so it's a great way to make kids cry. Way to go, Team17.

The Bottom Line
Worms Blast is just another rapid-made money maker, intended to be appealing to children and to get the attention of Worms fans. Sadly, the list of things that Blast shares with Worms is awfully short:

• Some of the characters (not all of them, I don't remember any superfrogs in Worms for example)
  
• Some o the weaponry
  
• "Water kills" rule
  
• Artillery-style shooting mechanics
  
• Title

It seems to me that if you're not a hardcore Bust-a-Move fan and you're not collecting every single Worms title, then you don't have any reason to buy this game.

The Good
It has a funny looking cover.

The Bad
There are no soundbanks, hardly any weapons, the EASIEST single player missions ever and no randomized landscapes. It just is almost a different game all together. It's just bashing blocks to try and sink your opponents boat which is BORING.

The Bottom Line
Buy every single worms game except this.