Worms:The Computer Game
Created | Updated Jul 7, 2004
Most of you are probably thinking "Some poor saps made a game about little things that live in the earth? *Damn*, they must have been desperate!" However, there's a *slight* catch. These worms burrow in the ground,... but they also kill their enemies using Bazookas, Flying Sheep, Old Ladies and Skunks. Congratulations, you've entered the zany world of Team17's Worms!
The general gist of the game is that you have a team of Worms, as does your opponent. You are given complete control over all of you worms, one at a time, after your opponent has moved(i.e. the game is turn-based), and are given a limited number of any of the 65 weapons and utilities. The basic aim to to destroy your opponents by either drowning them or blasting away all of their health points(getting 'em down to 0). There have been 7 Worms games so far(8 counting Worms Pinball), and I will give you a quick rundown of all the games.
WORMS 1
Worms 1 has the most basic graphics of all the games. It has only 15 or so weapons. Most of them exist in real life. These weapons are listed in the WEAPONS section below1. No Net/LAN multiplayer, only same PC.
WORMS UNITED
Worms United is an expansion pack, allowing for multiplayer. It is vital to play Worms on a Win 98 + system. It adds no new weapons or graphics. All that it adds is Missions and Net/LAN multiplayer.
WORMS 2
In this game, the graphics take a sudden upturn. The worms are *much* bigger, and are animated. They shake their fists, scowl and chew(on what? I dunno, you just see their hand go to their mouth,and they start to chew!). While the last two games had only 10 voicebanks, Worms 2 has around 30, including National Voicebanks using national languages/accents. Multiplayer comes as standard. More weapons have been added(now there are 48), as well as new features. These include creating your own weapons scheme, customising the weapons to have XXX bullets, do YYY damage, or to have ZZZ of them in your scheme. This amount of customisation, I am sorry to say, has not been seen in any other Worms games.
WORMS:ARMAGEDDON
This game is the first to run completely in DOS without using the DOS screen. In other words, you click the logo on the desktop, then the W:A splash screen is shown fullscreen. In W:A, the weapons are less customiseable. However, teams can have one of around 60 soundbanks, one of 8 graves, one of 50 or so flags and one of around 50 fanfares(which are played when you win). The best bit is, you can download more or make your own! Mutliplayer over a LAN is included, as is Net play over WormNET, an IRC-type area exclusively designed for joining or hosting games. The ranks were taken out a few years ago. And an update has been launched recently. Despite what has been said, W:A is *not* the last Worms game. Two more have been made, and two more are in the works(see the sections after this one). I said for the W2 bit that W:A and onwards couldn't be customised weapons-wise. You can still make schemes, but can't edit how the weps work, i.e. bullet count, etc. Never fear, the Fiddler is here! The Fiddler is a third-party program that allows you to edit weps to such an extent as to make new ones! An example is the Worm Strike. Planes fly overhead, drop a few worms, then fly away. The Worms then commit suicide. Another example is the Armageddadonkey, where thousands of Concrete Donkeys fall from the sky.
WORMS WORLD PARTY
WWP runs like W:A. In fact,it is *very* like W:A. There are a few differences, however. The first is Wormpot. According to Wormtopia
, this has turned quite a few heads. It looks like a slot machine, except there's no handle. You can select different modes(up to 3)to play. When they mix, they provide great entertainment. One example is this: The first reel is set to Double Damage(every wep causes twice the damage and twice the blast power), the second reel is set to Sticky Mode(Worms stick to any terrain that they fly into. As well as that, you can't backflip in certain areas, not because there's an overhang, but because what you're trying to backflip onto is too close to the ground you're standing on!),and set the third reel to Wind Affects More Weapons(weapons like Grenade that weren't affected by the wind are now). You now get weapons blowing with the wind in the opposite direction of the throwing(or in the right direction), sticking to the terrain, then destroying half of it! The second difference is the missions. They are different(though some use some W:A maps). Another difference are the Multiplayer Missions. You select 2 teams, then click the button. You can select what to play then. You have either Vs. missions(both humans against each other) or Co-operative(both humans against the PC). The final difference is that you can download the WWP Mission Editor, allowing you to make your own Multiplayer Missions! Other than that, however, it's pretty much the same as W:A(except different menu colour and design).
WORMS BLAST
Now *this* is off the beaten track! The only similarities with the rest of the Worms series is that the characters are from Worms, use a few of the Worms weapons(All of which are listed in the WORMS BLAST WEAPONS section below), and the game has Worms in the title. Other than that, it's a *whole* new Worms game! Your character(you start off with six:Boggy B, Suzette his sister, Chuck the Pigeon, Ethel the Old Woman, Calvin the Super Sheep and Stavros the Skunk, but you can unlock three more- Rocky the Concrete Donkey, a mole and Superfrog, who is from another Team17 game. Each of them have different stats2 that you can find out about in the manual, except the unlocked characters, who aren't mentioned in the manual) is in a boat at the bottom of the screen, with a Bazooka in his/her hand, a coloured shell in the 'Zooka, and coloured blocks above him/her. the object of the game is to destoy the blocks before they destroy you, or destory certain blocks without hitting others, etc. The more you win in the Puzzle option, the more new characters/game modes you unlock. The game modes can be played in Tournament only. In Tournament, you attempt to get a high score in one of the games. In the Vs. Modes, you get to play against another character. Here Worms Blast swerves a few miles off the beaten track. Why? Because it's played in real-time! There's a divider dividng the screen. Weapons can be bounced off of it. However, occasionally, a hole opens up somewhere random on the divider,and you get to either shoot at the blocks, your opponent's weapons crates, or your opponent. However, there *are* some bad points. For starters, if you buy the game, the spec on the side of the box are wrong! They are *very* wrong! First off, there is no Net/LAN multiplayer. The game also requires Win 98 +, as it also requires DirectX 8.1, which is only available for Win 98/XP/ME users. There may be more, but I didn't notice them. The last problem is this: I have discovered that there is a problem that causes the game controls to freeze up. This means that, while the game is still going, either neither player can move, or they are stuck going in the same direction, or both, one happening to one player and the other happening to the other. The problem is caused by one player using the cursor keys(Left, Down, Right, Up). The problem can be solved in two ways. Either press Alt +3 Tab4, or have someone use the Z, X, C, S, Space and V option and the other player use a gamepad or joystick. Please not that repeated pressing of Alt + Tab will go to the Desktop. If you try to reopen Worms Blast from the Taskbar, the game closes down.
WORMS PINBALL
A part of the very good Addiction Pinball. This is the Worms table on it's own. The game has incredible graphics and looks very realistic. A must play for Pinball fanatics!
WORMS 3
This game returns to the Worms original aim of the game: Kill or be killed. However, in this game, you can do it in glorious 3D! The Worms 3 website has a few graphics. The game is now available in all parts of the world. The FMV movies that I hinted about do exist. They change slightly depending on whether you get a gold, silver or bronze and a different movie plays if you're playing a different type of mission. Ever now and then, you unlock a special feature, such as entries in the Wormopaedia(an encyclopaedia about Worms) and speechbanks. However, the game, unlike all of its true-Worms antecedents, does NOT have a level drawing tool. It does have an entertaining level generator though. But no more caverns, due to the damage that could cause to your PC when it tries to use the W3D engine to show no sky. The homing weapons have been upgraded slightly, and there is now a 1st person viewmode and a "blimp view", which allows you to look down apon the battlefield.
Like W:A, certain weapons and options must be unlocked by playing the game and completing the single-player mode. In some levels there are also Easter Eggs. These are hidden thingies that, when found, will give you special things like new soundbanks and entries in the Wormopaedia. The game keeps track of how much of the game you have unlocked. When you have 100% unlocked, it means that all of the locked soundbanks, Wormopaedia pages, levels, weapons and options will be available for use in a multiplayer game.
The game uses some new weapons and keeps a lot of old ones as well. I have added as many as I can recall in the Weapons list below.
WORMS FORTS UNDER SIEGE
This game uses the Worms3D engine to create a sort of stand-alone forts game, which appeared in WWP but not in W3D. It remains turn-based. However, each team now starts in a small fort, which they must build up, upgrade and arm. In other words, the game involves building towers, walls and weapons, then researching upgrades. The game is still in development. However, Team17 are planning to release it in the 4th Quarter of 2004. Go to the Official WFUS site for more info...
are releasing no info other than it will return to the original gameplay of the rest of the Worms games.
TERMS
This is a list of terms used in Worms. Some describe playing styles, while others describe weapons, game styles and online chat terms.It also includes chat commands.
ROPER:A.)A person who uses a rope a lot, and with incredible expertise.
B:)A game played by ropers in the channel #Ropers. This game involves very few weapons but unlimited rope and Super Rope Mode(WWP)turned on.
WORMER:A person who plays Worms.
HOMER:Homing missile
B'N'G:A game that uses mainly only Bazookas and Grenades(hence the name).The worms are anchored, ie they cannot move.
SHOPPA or SHOPPER:A game that starts with nearly no weapons, but plenty of crate drops and Crates, Crates and More Crates Mode(WWP)tunred on.
DARKSIDER:A playing style where the person digs tunnels and caverns,blocking them off and hiding from his/her opponents.A Darksider's main weapons are Mine, Drill, Blowtorch, Girder, Airstrike and other weapons of mass destruction.
LIGHTSIDER:A style of play that is the exact opposite of the Darksider's, ie "Fight with honour, kill with honour, die with a vengence", as it says on some old Worms page.
WEP:Weapon.
GL:Good Luck.
GG or GF:Good Game or Fight
CLUSTER BUG:A bug that allowed you to use the Cluster Bomb to kill a 100-health worm.Has been fixed since W:A.
/me action:Performs an action in your name that is viewable by all, e.g. Kamikaze_Bananze kicks his window.
/anon msg:Sends an anonimous(is this spelt right?) message to all players.
/msg playername message:Sends a message to playername. The other players will only see *whisper*, without any indication of who is whispering.
For more gametypes, go to BlameThePixel.com.
WEAPONS
Here is a list of ALL of the weapons in ALL of the Worms games to date(Except Worms:DC, as I neither have it nor an Amiga, Worms Blast, as it doesn't have many recurring previous weapons, and Worms Forts Under Siege, as I don't yet know what weapons will be in it). I will also list the games in which they appear.
AIRSTRIKE(All): Does 30 damage per missile. Very useful if your worms are trapped underground(or you put them there: see DARKSIDER above) and your opponent's worms are on the top. Simply click to select the desired target, and press the left or right cursor keys to change the direction of the strike. W3D requires you to go into blimp mode and select direction and target.
ARMAGEDDON(W:A and WWP): Does almost unlimited damage. Huge meteors fall from the sky, taking out dynamite-sized chunks of land(and anything else there). Mainly only used if your worms are super healthy, hidden/trapped underground or in a safe place with thick walls or you want to try for a draw. Simply press Fire to let slip the meteors of war!
AQUA SHEEP(W:A and WWP): An upgrade that allows Super Sheep to swim. See SUPER SHEEP for more info.
BANANA BOMB(All): This weapon does about 50 damage per cluster. Set it's time, power and bouncability like a Cluster Bomb, then toss it. A very nice wep. W3D doesn't allow you to set the bouncability.
BASEBALL BAT(W2 -> W3D): Does 30 damage. Stand beside the enemy worm, aim and press Spacebar to shove the worm far, far away. Useful for getting worms off the terrain(when used with Double Damage and Low Gravity), or for skimming worms across a body of water.
BATTLE AXE(W:A -> W3D): Halves a worm's health. Same firing technique as with Baseball Bat. Very hard to place right in W3D.
BAZOOKA(All): Does 50 damage(45 in W:A/WWP). It is affected by the wind, so firing it into the wind will blow it behind you. It can also skip on the water, which is great fun to do and really cool to see if it works. Press and hold Fire to select the power, then release when the desired power level is reached. This is called "Setting the Power" all through this entry. W3D's 3D constant wind means that moving and facing a different way will cause the shell to go in a different direction, which makes it harder to hit with, but much more satisfying when you do!
BLOWTORCH(All except W3D): Does 15 damage.Used for digging through the terrain to the left, right or 45 degrees above or below either.
BUNGEE(All except W3D): Does no damage. Is used to drop the worm safely onto a ledge below. It has been taken out for Worms 3, though. Press fire then walk off a ledge. You can drop weapons from the Bungee by pressing jump. DO NOT PRESS FIRE! That will release you from the Bungee. When dropping grenades and the like, set fuse, bounce, and press jump. All weapons will be dropped below you. Use the arrow keys to swing on the cord and to jerk the cord, making you go lower and higher.
CARPET BOMB(W2 -> WWP): Does 30 damage per bounce of one carpet.If five carpets are dropped(which they are)and each carpet bounces about five times(which each carpet does),then that's a total of...lesee...put down five, carry the two...750 total damage! However, the carpets spread, and might hit your own worms. This weapon is *very* unpredictable...
CONCRETE DONKEY(W2 -> W3D): This weapon actually first appeared in Worms:DC. It does unlimited damage. Any thing in the way is doomed. The Donkey falls from the sky(after you select the drop zone like woth an airstrike), and bounces through the terrain, destroying more terrain and digging a deeper hole with each bounce, until it falls into the water.
CLONED SHEEP(W2): Does 75 damage per sheep. A weapon that never hit any other Worms games due to its overwhelming power. It would be like being given five sticks of Dynamite and being told "Drop as many as you want during each turn". It would also be like giving someone five Sheep and saying the same, which is what the weapon is. Team17 took out a number of experimental weapons from Worms 2 for the other games. These are listed as being (W2).
CLUSTER BOMB(All): Does 30 damage per cluster. Works the same as a grenade: set timer, set bouncability, set power and fire!Or, place under a worm on a slope to perform the cluster bug in pre-patched W2 or original Worms.
DRAGON BALL(All except W3D): Does 30 damage. Works like a Baseball Bat, i.e. you have to stand beside your target and press Fire. Only one difference: You don't do anything to power or aim. It works very well though. I've won matches using this baby...
DYNAMITE(All): Does 75 damage, but it's very hard to get the full 75. Simply press Fire, then run! You have five seconds to escape...
EARTHQUAKE(W:A -> W3D): Does no damage, not counting both fall damage and the damage caused by mines. Simply press Fire and feel effect of your earth-shaking decision...
FIRE PUNCH(All): Does 30 damage. Like the Dragon Ball, except it makes a worm go up and just a bit to the side, instead of to the side and a bit up...Can be used with Backflip do hit worms *very* high up!
FLAMETHROWER(W:A and WWP): Does about 50 damage, but can do SO much more! The Flamethrower is one of my favourite weapons. Just aim and fire. The flames are affected by wind, so be careful not to fire into the wind. While firing, simply change aim to hit a worm bouncing on the flames(In W:A and WWP, you can aim while firing a weapon that shoots continuously, such as the Minigun and the Uzi). I have done nigh on 110 damage!
FREEZE(W:A -> W3D): Does no damage. If you have no weps for that turn, or your ally is going to drop a nuke, this will encase your worms in ice for one turn. In this state, they can't be damaged, they can't be blasted sideways, and they don't lose health due to a nuke. However, there are a few ways that you can show a small weakness in the Freeze weapon. It's not that the worms can't be hurt *while* frozen, but after... Throw a Petrol Bomb in the area of the next worm on that team to go, or leave a Mine on his head, or shoot away the ground from underneath him to drop him in the water.
GIRDER(All): Does no damage. Use it as a bridge, a sheep run, a shield, a barrier to bounce grenades and the like off to get an opponent in a cave under you or, if you're a Darksider(HISS!), to lock up your enemies or block off your tunnels/caves.
GIRDER STARTER PACK(W:A -> W3D): Does no damage. Allows you to place five girders in one turn. Very useful for the same reasons as girders.
GRENADE(All): 50 damage. The bomb that most bombs are compared to. All bombs(that are thrown) work like this one(Except the Holy Hand Grenade, which only allows you to aim and set the power). Simply aim, set fuse time(how long until it explodes. One to five must be chosen, default is three), set bounce(whether it'll bounce not very high on contact with the terrain or very high. Only two settings: High and Low, default is Low), set power and let 'er rip! As with the Banana Bomb in W3D, bouncability no longer exists.
HANDGUN(All except W3D): A most pathetic weapon. Does 5 damage per bullet, but only fires six bullets. Good for tormenting a worm that has really annoyed you and has less than 30 health.
HOLY HAND GRENADE(W2 -> W3D): Does a whopping 100 damage if it hits the mark dead on. A tribute to Monty Python and their film "Monty Python and the Quest for the Holy Grail". Work like a Grenade, Cluster Bomb and Banana, except the fuse is always three and the bounce is always high. Simply set power and fire. VERY IMPORTANT: It will only explode WHEN IT HAS STOPPED MOVING!
HOMING AIRSTRIKE(W2): Does 30 damage per warhead. It is like a homing missile, but less powerful and duplicated. An exclusively Worms 2 only game due to power.
HOMING CLUSTER BOMB(W2): Another W2 original. Does 30 damage per cluster. Like a normal Cluster bomb, but this one homes in on its target. Due to too much power, this was taken out and never made a reappearence.
HOMING MISSILE(All): Does 50 damage. Like a bazooka, except it homes in on the target. It doesn't do it very well, but it can be mastered. It can also go underwater, so you can hit from underneath. But if you hit and kill, it's a very satisfying feeling! Click on target and fire like a Bazooka. However, neither it nor any other homing weapon is affected by wind. This weapon has been upgraded in W3D to be more reliable.
HOMING PIGEON(W2 -> W3D): Does about 75 damage. A slightly better homing missile, which will avoid some obstacles. Not as challenging to use, but definately more fun, as it can be unpredictable and just slam into a wall. It does get confused by multiple paths to the enemy, like all homing weapons, but odds are it will do damage to someone, even if it misses its target. As with the Homing Missile, it is more reliable in W3D, but can miss the target if you missaim it.
INDIAN NUCLEAR TEST(W2 -> WWP): Does no damage originaly, but does loads in the long run. In W2, this was the Nuclear Bomb and played(for some unknown reason)the French Anthem(the first two bars of it, anyway)when launched. It would then proceed to cause the land to sink. In W:A, this was changed to the Indian Nuclear Test(called a Nuke online), and would not only sink the land, but poison all worms! Poison causes a worm to lose health every turn. The only way to cure it is to grab a health crate. Simply press fire, and guard some health crates...
KAMIKAZE(All except W3D): Does 30 damage, but 50 if there's any worms nearby when the worm explodes, ending his pathetic excuse for a life. Aim it, then fire it. The worm will tunnel through the terrain, eventually blowing himself up.
LAND MINE(All): Does 30 damage. Simply press fire to drop it, then run away. The fuse will begin counting down after a few seconds, but only if there's a worm nearby, regardless of team and who dropped the mine. Useful for hitting frozen worms after they defrost.
LONGBOW(W:A and WWP): Does 15 damage per arrow. This wepaon has a peculiarity that only it and the shotgun have: It fires two completely independent shots per turn. The best bit, you choose where both go. So, with a shotgun, you can sink a worm on a girder, and then shoot another enemy into the drink. While the arrows in the weapon are visible, it is still classed as a firearm(at least by me)due to the fact that it works the same way as any toher firearm: Point and shoot. These arrows aren't very powerful, but they hit worms a fair distance. Not only that, but, with enough Longbows, you can build a bridge out of the arrows, which only dissappear when they hit a worm but stick to the terrain. These arrows, like a Bazooka shell, can be skipped on the water to an island on the other side of the water, which is impressive when it is not only done right, but scores a kill.
LOTTERY STRIKE(W3D): This W3D weapon is a little unusual. It works like the Mail Strike(see below), except each lottery ticket does between 1 to 50 damage. That's right: The damage done each time is randomly chosen.
MAD COWS(W2 -> W3D): Does 50 damage per cow. Remeber my big schpiel5 about Cloned Sheep, that W2 exclusive? Well, this is like having five Bazooka shells and being told "Fire as many as you want each turn. Oh yeh, and they all have to go to the side and down". Mad Cows are like Sheep, just less powerful and very stupid! Select how many you want to release(from one to five)then press fire to release them! If they walk into a barrier that a Sheep would jump over, they simply blow up! So, if there's some sort of obstacle between you and your target, your cows may never get there. A useful trick is to turn while releasing two or more of them. This will send one one way, and one the other way. Very useful if you're surrounded. Mad Cows in W3D work like in the previous games, except there are now more directions to turn while hurling them.
MAIL STRIKE(W2 -> WWP): Does 30 damage per letter. Yes, I said letter. And yes, it is Mail Strike. Used like a more...conventional strike, simply click and the Flying Postbox of Death(how do they get these things to fly? First a Sheep Truck of Destruction, then a Carpet Delivery Truck of Extinction, now this!)will deliver a five-letter payload that must have been banned by the postmaster general, hence the form of delivery. However, the letters are affected by wind, so make sure the letters get to your target instead of being Returned To Sender...
MB BOMB(W2 -> WWP): Does 75 damage. After you do the whole strike launch thing, a big balloon will descend on the landscape, with question marks6 trailing behind and a slightly bemused expression on its face. The face was modelled on(or perhaps by)Martyn "Spadge" Brown, pretty much The Boss at Team17. And, being a balloon, it is affected by the wind, so be careful!
MINE STRIKE(W:A and WWP): Does 30 damage per mine. A point-and click affair, as with all strikes, brings down five mines, which bounce and begin to countdown when in the proximity of a worm. Since all player-dropped mines have a 3-second fuse, these may blow up in mid-air. If, however, they don't blow up, then they become a minefield, which is a useful place to propel worms with explosions, Baseball Bats, Fire Punches, Dragon Balls, Prods and firearms.
MINIGUN(All except W3D): Does a lot of damage, how much I don't know. This is the undisputed king of firearms(guns that fire bullets), throwing out nearly 50 bullets. In the Original Worms, it would not only kill a worm, but dig it a pretty little passage grave as well. In all of the worms games, firing up through a narrow bit of land would cause the worm(s)caught in the invisible stream of bullets(In all worms games, firearms' bullets were, and are, invisible)would be rocketed sky-high! Another of my favourite weapons.
MING VASE(W2 -> WWP): Does a lot of damage. Use like Dynamite and a Mine, i.e. simply press fire to drop. Then run away.Run far away. Cause after the five-second fuse finishes, the priceless atefact goes boom, showering the landscape with five explosive and highly vauluabe pieces of Chinese pottery. Best used in with a group under a bridge or a Girder(Like with Dynamite and Mine), so every fragment will hit something and cause lots of damage.
MORTAR(W2 -> W3D): Does 30 damage per cluster. A pathetic weapon. After you've aimed and pressed fire, the mortar is fired out at full power(can't be changed)and blows up on contact with land, sending five clusters behind it. Easier to use in W2, but will always make you feel accomplished if you use it right and hit your target and even get a kill. This weapon has become a small cannon and the shell is now a cannonball. This is because, in previous Worms games, the Mortar and the Bazooka had identical launchers but did different damage. And people complained... a lot.
MOLE BOMB(W1, W:A and WWP): Does I dunno how much damage in the Original Worms, but does 30 damage nowadays. In Worms 1, simply use like a Grenade. But when the timer runs out, the Grenade will explode, showering the area with tiny drills that explode on contact with the terrain. In the other two, it became less sybolic and more realistic. The weapon became a mole, i.e. it looked like a mole, albeit a cartoon representation of one. Simply press fire to release it and fire again to make it dig. It will jump into the nearest terrain and dig an n-shaped tunnel. To terminate the tunnel, terminate the Mole. To do so, press fire one last time. If the Mole goes through open air after a brief dig, he just gets bored and self-destructs on contact with another piece of terrain(or a worm or a barrel).
MOLE STRIKE(W:A and WWP): Each Mole does 30 damage. A cross between an Airstrike and a Mole Bomb, simply click to select the target(as with all strikes)and five moles will drop towards the area around it, digging with all their might(which isn't very mighty). However, they follow all Mole rules except one: They cannot be destroyed by pressing Fire. They must run their course.
NINJA ROPE(All): Does no damage(directly). This is a method of transport, but a good one. In Worms 1, it was like an elastic band with a hook on the end, and had a miniscule range. The Rope in Worms 2, however, sparked the immensely popular Roper game, and the roper style of playing to go with it(see Terms). Because, in Worms 2, team17 had introduced the Rope Repeat Feature, which was also called the Tarzan Rope Trick(I think...). This meant that, provided you had enough ropes, you could attach your Rope to a bit of land, swing, release,... and then fire again and grab ANOTHER bit of land! It meant that, with the Rope, you could almost anywhere on a terrain! Simply aim, then press fire. No power to be set. About my damage report. Notice that I said "Does no damage(directly)". In other words, while using the Rope, you can lower yourself, arm a mine, then get back up before you get caught in the blast(provided there's a fuse). As well as that, you can drop weapons from the Rope by simply selecting the weapon while on the Rope(in W:A and WWP the new selected weapon appears just above the worm's head), then press the jump button. You cannot select power or aim, however. You can select fuse time and bounce(unless it's a Holy Hand Grenade, in which case you can just press jump to drop it). If you fire a Bazooka or a Mortar(!)from a Rope, they will travel down at a 45 degree angle at about 25% power. To Rope Repeat, simply get enough swing, press fire to release from the Rope, then press fire again very quickly to reattach the Rope to a bit of terrain. You can even swing, then release the Rope but never fire again, knock any enemy worms(and yourself, normally)into either the water, a mine(field) or off the edge of the screen, all of which will probably kill you. All in, one of my favourite weapons. However, in W3D, it has become, unfortunately, next to useless, since there's no caverns. However, you can place Girders above you, then use them to rope. The Rope Repeat, or Tarzan, feature still exists.
OLD WOMAN(W2 -> W3D): And explosive old bird, causing 75 damage. Simply pressing fire releases her on the unsuspecting public, and therefore your enemy as well. She will walk for five seconds before blowing up. The best way to use her is to drop her inbetween two enemy worms so she can't run to far. If she walks into a barrier, she turns around.
PARACHUTE(All): Another movement weapon. As such, it does no direct damage to anything. Select it, then press fire. Nothing happen? Good, then it's working. DON'T SELECT ANY NEW WEAPON! If you do, the Parachute will be deactivated. To prove that it's on, simply walk off a cliff. The Parachute will open after your worm has fallen a certain distance, preventing him from becoming a mere blot on the landscape. You can also manually open the Chute by pressing fire. However, the danger with this is that, just as you press it, the Chute will open automatically, so you'll just close it, causing your worm to plummet to it's death, or at least a lot of damage. Use the arrow keys either to speed up your descent, slow it down, move faster with the wind or move against the wind. This weapon is affected by the wind, making it very useful to cross huge gorges. To go further, backflip then press fire to manually open the Chute. If you do it right, you'll be sailing with the wind with an increased chance of landfall. As an external movement weapon, it doesn't end your turn(Excepting Girder). Also like an external movement weapon, you can drop weapons from it, including Bazooka shells(For exceptions, see the exceptions two lines up). Pressing fire will release the Chute, so be careful! In W3D, this weapon has been upgraded to allow much more moveability. In other words, paragliding is now very easy to do. Which allows you to drop Dynamite on people below you then keep going to safety.
PATSY'S MAGIC BULLET(W2 -> WWP): Does about 75 damage, maybe even 100! This weapon is the smartest homing missile of all. It will go underwater, it will follow the land, it will not hit anything until it hits its target. Well,...most of the time. Like all homing weapons, it will get confused by multiple paths to take and may just ram into a wall when it runs out of steam. But at least it'll do some damage!
PNEUMATIC DRILL(All except W3D): Does 15 damage per hit. Allows you to go through the land downwards. No aiming, no power, nothing. Just press fire to begin and fire to stop(although you will eventually stop yourself). Due to the fact that it's an internal movement weapon, your turn ends after using it. If your enemy is trapped in a little crater, simply stand on top and drill till you both die. Of course, he could just rope out and drop a Grenade, or another enemy could do the same(the Grenade bit).
PROD(ALL): Does no direct damage. This weapon is great fun. It's not very powerful and does no damage, sure, but, when you score a kill with it, everyone laughs. To kill with it is very simple. Walk up to a worm and press fire. A little finger will poke the enemy, causing him to slide a little. If the enemy is by the edge of the screen, in front of a pool of water, above a mine or even by the waterside, a Prod will send him on his merry way. When used with the Wormpot reels Extra Power Unarmed Combat and Extra Damage Unarmed Combat(WWP only!), the Prod will do 30 damage and send enemies much further away! This pushes enemies further in the targeted direction in W3D than in the previous games.
SCALES OF JUSTICE(W:A -> W3D): Does variable amount of damage. If you have only one worm, and your opponent has two or more, and you have this weapon, and it's your turn, simply watch the smile vanish from your opponent's face. This distributes all health equally. So, if his worms are all at 100 health, and yours is at 10, using this will cause your health to increase to 100 and your enemy worms' health will go down to about 14(It's rounded up)! If you're good at Maths, you'll notice that the amount of health that each enemy worm receives is 100 divided by seven! Very useful, all in all. Press fire to even the odds.
SHOTGUN(All): Does 25 damage per shot. As I mentioned in the LONGBOW area, this weapon has two independent shots. This means that you can shoot two different targets, or even tunnel through the terrain! It's a firearm, so point 'n' fire! In W3D, this weapon has a wavering crosshair in first-person targeting mode.
SHEEP(All): Does 75 damage. I've mentioned this in passing, but now I finally get to it: The Sheep. This is a fluffy, bouncy sick of Dynamite, really. Press fire to release and fire to detonate. It will eventually detonate itself when it gets bored. Before that happens, you get a five-second timer, which appears above the Sheep. But, while smarter than Mad Cows, Sheep occasionally meet something that they can't get over...and come back. If they can't over a barrier, most of the time they'll keep trying until they give up and turn around. This is why Griders are good for Sheep runs. A good wep, one of my favourite.
SHEEP STRIKE(W2 -> W3D): Does 75 damage per sheep per bounce(I think). Called the French Sheep Strike in W2. A sheep cart flies through the sky, dropping five burning Sheep, which bounce on the terrain and cause HUGE amounts of damage. However, like the carpet bomb, this is a very unpredictable weapon, and could very well turn pear-shaped7. Like all other strikes, simply point and click to let slip the Sheep of War!
SUPER SHEEP(W2 -> W3D): Does the normal 75 damage. This is a normal Sheep,... but with a difference. You can steer this Sheep! Press Fire to release it, and then Fire again to let it fly! The Sheep will jump into the air with a red cape, goggles and a blue streak behind it. Steer it using the cursor/arrow keys. Press Fire again to rob it of its power of flight, and press Fire one more time to self-destruct it! This is my all-time favourite weapon! In W3D, you can barrel roll the sheep for better screenies. It also changes your view point. Which follows the sheep from just above the cape.
TELEPORT(All): Does no damage, as it is a movement weapon. Very useful for going from one place to another. Like only the Girder, your turn ends after you use it. Simply click on the location of your choice, and you will be teleported there! W3D made targeting a location somewhat harder, since blimp mode is the best place to target and, if you don't place the crosshair straight down, you could be placed in the wrong place/altitude.
P.S.: You cannot teleport into solid terrain
P.P.S.: If you select your target to be above the terrain, your worm will fall, and odds are it will sustain fall damage.
P.P.P.S.8: If you select your target to be a crate, your worm will be teleported just above it, and will collect it. If the crate is on an overhang, and you select your target to be just over the overhang, odds are your worm will collect the crate, then fall to the ground/into the water.
UZI(All): Does an unknown amount of damage. The Minigun's little brother. Not as powerful, but still pretty good. Can propel worms across the terrain/through the air almost as well as a Minigun. Strafing the crosshair while firing will allow you to knock a worm into the water.
WORMS BLAST WEAPONS
AS I said in the WORMS BLAST section above, it uses very few of the original Worms weapons, and a lot of very strange ones. The main thing is, they don't do damage like in the other games, i.e. they don't tell you how much damage they do. All that happens when they hit is your opponent's(or your, if you're a bad aim!)health bar becomes smaller. Here's the list:
BAZOOKA: This weapon is no longer affected by the wind, as there's no wind in Worms Blast. Otherwise, it's like a regular bazooka: Aim, set power and release! This weapon is colour-coded9 and is also the only weapon that you have at the beginning of the game.
BOAT REPAIR: Pressing Fire will call up a health bouy, which will appear at the edge of the screen furthest from the divider(not sure what happens in the Puzzle or Tournament modes). Running into it at any time will cause your boat to be fully repaired, ie all of its health will be restored!
DOUBLE DAMAGE: This weapon causes all of your weapons to be more powerful. Use with caution!
DYNAMITE: This is the only weapon that destroys *all* blocks, be they bouncy blocks(blocks that bounce many weapons except this one), coloured blocks(which can be destroyed or recoloured), rainbow blocks(which can be destroyed by any coloured Bazooka shells), dead blocks(which have no colour)or anchor blocks(indestructible blocks, which only Dynamite can destroy!). Use like the Bazooka.
FISH FOOD: Simply press Fire to drop a ham into your side, which is a very attractive food source for fish, and will cause more to appear, getting you more points and protecting you further from missiles.
GHOST CRATES: Causes all crates on the screen to fall through the blocks into the water, where you can collect them before they sink.
GRENADE: Works exactly like the Bazooka, except it just colours blocks.
LASER BEAM: This is a nice weapon. Aim and press Fire to shoot a beam of light through the air. Like the Shotgun, you get two shots. The Laser will cut through any block, from the bottom of the screen through to the top...except through Bouncy Blocks, which the Laser bounces off of, which makes things very interesting...
MINE: Pressing Fire causes a Mine to float to the surface of the water on your opponents side at a(seemingly)random position. For reference, the Mine looks like all of those mines that you see in the sea in war programs, or in a cartoon. They basically look like spiky black beachballs. Like all Worms Mines, the Mine has a fuse of three seconds. When it blows up, it causes the blocks just above it to fall into the water. It also kills fish. A great weapon for minimising an enemy threat, as if you trap your enemy between the divider and a Mine, the enemy can't shoot at a large amount of blocks(unless either they're crack shots or there weren't many blocks to begin with...)and can't collect neither Weapon Crates nor Stars.
PIRAHNA: One of the most powerful weapons. Pressing Fire converts ALL of your enemy's fish into deadly, boat-destroying, character-hungry Pirahnas! Since it converts all of their fish, the obvious logical leap is "The more, the merrier!", which is correct. Best to use when your opponent has just used Fish Food and has no Shield, which means that the Pirahnas will just bite around. When used at the correct time, these babies will take down even Rocky10!
REVERSE CONTROLS: Pressing Fire activates one of the most useless weapons in the game. Your opponent's controls will be switched for about five seconds. This means that presing Aim Up will aim down, and vice-versa, etc. The idea is that your opponent will make crucial mistakes, which does happen...the first few times. After about the second or third time, it just becomes second nature to change controls, so it does a pretty bad job. Does no *direct* damage, but does after the first or second time when your opponent misses or hits himself.
SAILOR'S DELIGHT: Firing causes a chilli to drop into your opponent's side of the screen. This causes *huge* waves, hitting his/her character into low blocks and causing them to miss a few times. After about five seconds, a tablet is dropped in and the waves stop.
SEA MONSTER: Pressing Fire will cause a sea monster to appear at the bottom of your opponent's screen. If your opponent doesn't notice, the monster will come up and grab them. If your opponent does notice and runs across the screen, the monster will dissappear, then reappear below your opponent. After this happening twice, the monster will just come up, regardless of where your opponent is. If you've been grabbed, pressing Fire really fast will free you. If you don't press Fire fast enough...you lose a boat(life). A very useful weapon.
SHIELD: Firing causes you to become protected from everything, from Mines and Pirahnas to falling blocks and stray(or purposefully aimed)weapons.
SHOTGUN: Exactly like the original: Two shots. However, each shot only hits one brick at a time. Each shot is colour-coded. Aim and press Fire.
SPEED UP: This causes all of your movement attributes(Acceleration, Aiming and Turning)to be faster. Very useful when using a slow character.
TORPEDO: Pressing Fire just once will bring in a missile, which will fly underwater(not swimming for obvious reasons[it has no limbs!])towards your opponent and cause them damage...unless they have a load of fish, in which case the Torpedo will just head for the fish.
WEATHER BALLOON: This will create a random weather effect which will either help or hinder you! Either a wind will blow you and your opponent to one side of your areas, or meteors will rain down on the entire game area, or rain will cause your opponent's water level to increase, or cause a lightning storm to try and hit your opponent.
THE END IS NIGH!
Of Worms? Who knows. Of me? Course not! Of this entry? ...Yes. Thanks for reading! If you ever see someone called kamikaze_bananze(or summat like that), that'll be me! Drop me a line if you see me!
SOME WORMY LINKS
Worms 3 site
Worms Linking Site
Another entry on Worms
1*Far* below!2Movement Speed, Turning Speed, Aiming Speed and Health3+ means at the same time, i.e. press both buttons at the same time4The button above the Caps Lock button5That means speech. Is that the correct spelling?6? is a question mark7i.e. it turns on you and your worms. It doesn't mean that the Sheep turn into pears!8Don't think it exists, but...9i.e. each shell has a colour and destroys land blocks of the same colour, or recolours land of a different colour10The healthiest character in the game. Know your characters!
