Worms: Ultimate Mayhem 3D – Review – Xbox 360

Worms is a franchise that people either love or hate. I happen to be a person who loves the franchise, from it’s cheeky comedy to it’s over the top weapons and easy learning curve. I do not however like how it translates to the 3D plane.

Story: As is the story in all Worms titles, kill the other worms. We have no reason as to why we need to kill them but they must DIE. Ultimate Mayhem adds a framework story mode which tasks you with not only killing the other crawlers, but destroying certain objects. It never really provides any real story content other then this and a few words between levels, but this is not a game about story.

Gameplay: Throwing a changeup at Worms fans and placing the usual 2D game into a 3D world fails miserably. I know the developers have done this before in Worms 3D (Which along with Worms 4 is the basis for this game) but it translates so poorly in both control and camera that it is nearly unplayable. Sluggish movement cripples your camera movement and makes navigating the diverse landscapes a pain. Trying to aim one of the many zany weapons at another worm is also terrible and nearly impossible to be accurate. Worms: Ultimate Mayhem 3D does offer a ton of customization options, including your worms looks and a create a weapon tool. These customization options are a great addition and you can unlock a ton of accessories for your worm both in game and if you have played other Worms and Team 17 games such as Alien Breed. Traversing the landscapes in the game are also a task to be undertaken. Worms move along fine but trying to enter building or jump up to a ledge is just plain frustrating.

Graphics/Audio: Taking a 2D franchise and transforming it into 3D is not something easy, but Team 17 pulled it off well. Your worm looks great and most textures look crisp and give off a real cartoon feel which the franchise has always done nicely. Music in Worms: Ultimate Mayhem 3D is very dull and generic, but this is made up for by the witty banter and trash talk exchanged between your worms and the enemy. Weapon sounds along with the music all feel pasted in from previous titles.

Overall: As a fan of the franchise I was very let down. Worms: Ultimate Mayhem 3D is a game that should have just stayed in 2D to save itself from terrible controls and camera issues. Even the multiplayer is lackluster because of the previously stated issues. I hope Team 17 can rebound and produce either a better 3D Worms experience or go back to it’s roots and stick to 2D, because I would hate to see this franchise go away.

Pros:
-Worms comedy
-Great customization options

Cons:
-Poor camera controls
-Slow paced
-The 3d battlefield just doesn’t fit

4 out of 10

An XBLA code for this game was provided from the publisher for review purposes.

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