Worms World Party

"Terrific Handheld Conversion"

Opening Remarks: Worms has always been a game that's seemed well-suited for a handheld. After all, the GBA isn't exactly overflowing with good strategy games. (Final Fantasy Tactics Advance and Advance Wars fans may want to argue that with me, however.) UbiSoft has generously published the first Worms GBA game, Worms World Party. Does it stack up?

Gameplay: The short answer is yes. The long answer is yes, but with some problems. It must be said that this is a very impressive port of Worms. Although 2D in gameplay, the PC design must not have very easy to transfer to the GBA hardware, since all of the terrain can be destroyed. Liquid Studios has done a fine job bringing the design to GBA. It plays exactly like the PC original. The problems with the game stem from the fact that the game was obviously under-produced and rushed out the gate. There are glitches aplenty here. The biggest gripe is the fact that the Ninja Rope, most Worms fans' favorite weapon/tool, is rendered almost completely useless in this version of the game. The game also completely freezes about every four out of ten times you play, and must be shut down and restarted. There are some graphical glitches, such as a bad animation glitch when using the shotgun and a camera glitch when using the napalm. It must be stressed, however, that this is a great port of the PC game and none of these glitches should deter any Worms fan, or anyone looking for a good 2D turn-based strategy game, because that's exactly what it is.

Pros: Great port of the original.
Cons: Glitches, lacks some one-player missions from the PC game, lacks a save feature.

Graphics: Other than the aforementioned minor graphical glitches, everything looks wonderful here. The animations are spot-on with the PC version and there's no slowdown whatsoever.

Pros: Looks great.
Cons: Minor graphical hiccups.

Sound/Music: Sound quality is great, but there's nothing special about the tunes. No music plays during actual gameplay, which is a good thing. If you've ever played Worms Armageddon for GameBoy Color, you'll know how annoying the music could get. All of the sound effects are sampled directly from the PC game and sound great. The Worms do speak, and it's hilarious to hear a helium-voiced worm yell out in a British accent, "Bastard!"

Pros: Everything.
Cons: Blah tunes.

Play Control/Game Design: Control is tight. PC-to-console games usually suffer in the controls, but this game is an exception. Pressing the Weapon Select button brings up a huge menu clearly showing all the weapons you have at your disposal. Imagine the nightmare it would be having to scroll through your weapons like in Worms Armageddon for GBC. Aiming, moving, and jumping, all handles great.

Pros: Everything.
Cons: Nothing.

Improve: Better Ninja Rope, fix the glitches, better music.

Recommended if you like: Any 2D Worms or other turn-based strategy game. Final Fantasy Tactics Advance or Advance Wars if you want something fifty times more complicated.

Final Words: Worms fan? GBA owner? Find this game and buy it. You won't regret it. You may find the dumbed-down Ninja Rope and glitches and lack of levels hard to swallow if you were raised on the PC version, but for Worms on the go, you really cannot beat this. The game was produced in limited quantities, so you may have trouble finding it. Keyword here is: eBay.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 10/18/04