Worms: Reinforcements

To be a data disk...

Has anyone else here ever been confused with the whole "what's a sequel, and what's a data disk" question? It's always bugged the hell out of me. Basically, it seems that they can both be exactly the same thing, except a data disk is made to help the publisher cash in, by saying you need to have the original game to run it. In the old days, data disks were packs of new missions, that actually required you to have the original game code since it wasn't included with the data disk. But Worms: Reinforcements includes all of the original game plus some extra stuff Team 17 thought to add in later from player's feedback.

Anyway, enough griping. Just note that I think Reinforcements should definitely have been a standalone product as a replacement for the original Worms - maybe call it "Worms: Mark II" or something. It's unfair the consumer should have to buy the original flawed game, and then pay extra for the 'update', because that's all this so-called data disk is - a luxury patch, so to speak.

What's this Worm craze all about anyway?

Worms is quite a classy game. And that was quite an understatement. Team 17 have won awards for their wormy release, as it's both an original and thoroughly entertaining piece of software. You play a team of worms, and your goal is to annihilate any other team of worms on the playing field. Graphics are similar to the Lemmings style, giving you a two-dimensional side-on view of the landscape, with the little wormies owning less than 15 pixels each.

You have a whole host of weapons at your disposal, very mean weapons, that are so wonderfully enjoyable to use on your opponents. These range from the typical bazooka and shotgun, to the Streetfighter rip-off "Firepunch" and "Dragonball" (yes, I realise they've been switched around - never heard of copyright?) all the way to the bizarre banana bombs and exploding sheep.

And that's all there is to the game really. Strategic elements are plentiful though, as you have to decide which worm will attack who, and how, and where your worm will be at the end of your go etc. Ok ok, it sounds simple - you have to be there, alright?

Hey you, what's new?

The original game, although totally excellent (dude), was missing a certain amount of features that could have improved it immensely. So Team 17 being the lovable chappies they are, listened to their admiring fans, and got to work on adding them all in. The following probably won't make a lot of sense to those who don't own the first game, so you can just skip in total bewilderment.

Reinforcements now allows you to do the following (via the options screen):

Carry weapons over from the previous round

Prevents the use of these weapons until a set amount of turns are played

Can now have fewer or more crates, can also switch wind off

Some mines won't explode, and some crates now, uhhh, will!

... and several more. Unfortunately, similar disappointments that occured with Doom 2 arise with the introduction of only one new weapon - the Mole Bomb. However, I've yet to see this weapon in action. It's meant to be top secret, and there's only one way of getting hold of it. On the alt.games.worms Usenet newsgroup, many questions have been asked about this, and responses offering a solution suggest that the only way to see the Mole Bomb is by modifying the hex value of a CFG file via the old dos DEBUG program. Methinks, this isn't the method Team 17 originally planned.

Further enhancements include now being able to make your own customised landscapes - it's quite an easy procedure with full documentation on the CD. It's really just a matter of creating a PCX graphics file to the specifications described in the manual. You can also create your own sounds for your little wormies, which seems slightly more complicated, but not impossible. There's a collection of custom graphics and sonics, created by the public, at the Team 17 website (link shown above).

Finally, there's a cool mission-based challenge mode for those who found the original's one-player game less than stimulating (just about everyone). Now, you start each level with a specific amount of weapons and options, on a pre-made landscape, where you're required to beat the team you're put up against. It's good, but obviously nothing beats the satisfaction of the complete maiming of your fellow friends.

Buggers

A word of warning: Reinforcements has a few reported bugs that frustrated thousands. Upon it's placement on the game shelves, excited Worm-freaks grabbed hold of their copy and ran home only to discover they couldn't install it! This only occured on some machines, which is presumably why it got past the testers. A patch has been released that cures the installation program of all problems apparently - I never actually had one so I can't comment. There's also a mystery yet to be answered by the Software Saints - why do so many of the CD's have the word "test" printed on the label? Was Reinforcements a quick release that actually dodged a lot of the beta-testing? (gasps from the audience) Oh surely not.

Also, the method of setting up network/modem play is rather shabby, as it requires the user to mess around with DOS batch files in an attempt to configure the correct value for the variable "NETINFO". I'd say they really need to get working on a proper setup program!

But let's not be harsh, when we could be narsh, uhhh, NICE

The new features of Reinforcements are very welcome and some even add a whole new element to the strategic side of the game. For example, you now have the choice of switching "Worm Select" on or off - if on, it means on your go, you can choose which worm you wish to move, instead of being forced to the next in line. This, as Worms gurus will know, will require players to adopt completely new tactics to win.

I don't like spending money. Everyone who knows me is aware of that. "Isn't it your round?" mates will inquire, only to turn their head to look at me, and see nothing but a trail of smoke leading up to and out of the door. So I was pretty much against the idea of this data disk from the start. And when I heard that all we'd be getting was a bunch of new options, I didn't feel much better. But I guess considering we all have to make a living somehow, together with the fact that if you shop around you should be able to find it for 12 quid or less, it's not all bad news. I just pity those who have to buy the original game, and then top on the extra for the updated version.

Review By GamesDomain