Review of Worms 2: Armageddon for XBLA

To the ill-informed, Worms 2 for XBLA would seem like a rip-off. There's already a Worms game on XBLA that people love to play to this day. So the question for the sake of this review is that of:

Why spend $10 for a new Worms game?

The answer, as is usually the case, is in the math.

Worms 2 features over 48 weapons, a lot of these weapons are from Worms, but a lot borrow from Armageddon as well as some of the most recent worms games. These weapons range from a ridiculous Concrete Donkey to an Earthquake, to dare I even say: Armageddon itself. The weapons are always the star of a Worms game, and in comparison to the first Worms game, you get more then spoiled in the weapons department.

The graphics too have been bumped up a notch. Must more crisp and detailed, also the added flames from things like Flamethrowers, Petrol Bombs, and Oil Drums create a lovely effect. Kudos also go to Team 17 for finally putting in vertical stages, they're different then the typical horizontal Worms stages, and any Worms fan will have fun figuring out how all their favourite weapons work on a vertical stage.

Despite the fun and exciting new additions to Worms. I have a few gripes. The first being that out of 48 weapons, six of those (Armageddon, Concrete Donkey, Super Sheep, Holy Hand Grenade, Buffalo Of Lies, and the Banana Bomb) are all locked until you play through the single player campaign. It's a cheap move on Team 17's part, and limits the game from the beginning. Those dedicated Worms fans might not mind, but not being able to drop a Concrete Donkey on day one sort of sucks. Also, some animations in the game caused the games to freeze. Nothing big, but it happened once or twice and took away from the experience.

All in all, Worms 2 is required playing if you're a fan of Worms games or tactical games in general. Crisp new visuals and new weapons, on top of an already great Worms experience makes for something worth your 800 MS points. If only I could Holy Hand Grenade some asses right away...

Score: 9/10

Download the trial version or thefull version Worms 2: Armageddon now!