"In high attrition levels, entire teams can be wiped out before a player even gets a chance to move. While, personally, I think this element of unpredictability makes it even more fun, for you hard core gamer geek that have some portion of your ego based on your gaming performance, this aspect may tick you off. "

   Title: Worms: Armageddon

   Format: PSX

   Reviewing Monkey: Dungapult

   The Hype: "Worms 2 is a turn based strategy game where up to 6 players can participate in any given match. You command a platoon of Worms who inhabit a randomly generated terrain, it's tie to do or die, put up or shut up, you must destroy the other worms with an assortment of devastating weapons." The truth is, that basically this is the old artillery/scorched earth genre game that is spiffed up for the 90s. What that means is that while you’re not cutting any new technology barriers, it can still be a lot of fun to just clown around with.

      What This Monkey Thought...

   Graphics: The graphics in worms are cute and overall appropriate. The cartoonist 2D feel gives it a simple and comfortable appearance and manages to keep nice low system requirements. I can't say, though, that I’m impressed, after all, in this age of Wheels of Time and Unreal: Tournament I think that going all the way back to truly flat 2D graphics is a bit of a cop out. Also, if you're familiar with the series, you’ll notice little in the way of upgrading. Truth is, I actually feel Worms 2, this game's predecessor, had more appealing visuals. 2 out of 5.

   Game Play: Overall, the game play in Worms is pretty solid. The difficulty is widely variable and the scenarios are always different enough to keep it interesting. Even better, the controls are not overly complicated, the majority of actions simply involve walking side to side, aiming up or down, and choosing the power level for your shot. With what it needs for you to be able to play and have fun, it’s overall pretty tight. There are a few key problems that have and continued to piss me off. Primarily, I think the default control sets are set for morons. I would say for monkeys, but this monkey thinks they suck. The put key buttons in hard to reach places and buttons you almost never use in some of the most convenient spots. And, of course, what’s that you say? It's a Playstation game so reconfiguring should be easy? Oh contraire! In classic spastic style Team 17 opted to give you only a few sets of pre-arranged options from which to choose. All Equally Lame. Now, I understand why they did it- disk space likely needed to be conserved but tell me, wouldn't, in at least one of those, you put the second most commonly used button- "weapon select", something you use every round, as something besides the "Middle of frickin' no-where Select button???" 3 out of 5

   Multiplayer & Replayability: Well, this has got to be where Worms really shines! The replay-ability, considering the type of game it is, has been tricked out about as far as it can be and actually can keep it fresh for a very long time. First off, you can adjust the number of teams you play against and their relative difficulty until the cows come home. Second, in addition to some pretty amazingly fun pre-created levels, random and custom generated levels are also options. Third, the variability of weapons available and the random weapon delivery feature means that even if all else is identical, the weapons can make each game dramatically different. Finally, and arguably most importantly, the multi-player is some of the most fun I've ever played. No, multi doesn’t differ all that much from single play, but being able to sack your buddies or to team up and sack the computer in such a silly and random format is just too damned fun. Though, I should probably make a note that, in high attrition levels, entire teams can be wiped out before a player even gets a chance to move. While, personally, I think this element of unpredictability makes it even more fun, for you hard core gamer geek that have some portion of your ego based on your gaming performance, this aspect may tick you off. 4 out of 5

   Story/Dramatics: Story? There's a story? Hell, in this game they even cut the fantastic cut scenes that they used to include in the older versions. Sorry, but there is not only no reason to care about the "story," there’s not even a story to care about. 1 out of 5.

   Instructions, Installation, and Real System Requirements: Well, it runs fine on a Playstation with little in the way of load time, so for system a requirement I say it’s okay. As far as the instructions go, they give you pretty much everything you need to know though I wouldn’t go saying they are exceptionally helpful. Also, ever annoying, there are a lot of hidden weapons that aren’t even mentioned in the book- and while it’s neat to find new stuff, it kinda sucks to have to use something to find out what the hell it does. 3 out of 5.

   The Verdict:

Overall, this is a fun game with relatively little to bitch about. And, while I still like Worms 2 more, Armageddon is a fun waste of time- especially with your friends.

   The Good: Fun, fun, fun, and mindless fun.

   The Bad: Not enough graphic or game play improvement to justify a sequel and the controls leave something to be desired.

   The Overall Ugly: Want mindless, chaotic, and somehow cute destruction for you and your beer-swilling buddies? Here you go.

   What it's Worth: I’d say $20 to $30.