Striker's impressions on W:OW2 (DS) [Archive] - Team17 Forum

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Striker
21 Sep 2007, 23:13
Warning: Large post ahead on my opinions for the latest worms rendition of worms for the DS.
First I'd like to say that I'm overall impressed with the game. It's nice to see a good return to the worms series on DS and it has by far the most customization I've seen for a non PC based worms title. Having first played worms around six years ago I will focus a lot on how the changes compare with it's prequels.
Where to start now...
Customizeability: First, as mentioned above, I like the customizeability in the DS version. It's surprising that for a non pc version that you can make your own flags and maps. The skin tone's also add some uniqueness. I was happy that most(if not all) of the classic voice tracks were included, though I was dissapointed in that I didn't notice any new editions. I also think that, since you could create flags, you should have been able to create your own gravestones as well. The Map editor is the best I've seen in any worms game and its sweet that rope races are an official game now. However I don't agree with the fact that races are based on the physical time and not the rounds. It encourages reckless flinging of the worm since it doesn't matter if you end your turn.
Graphics: For a Handheld game the graphics were pretty good. The worms...look like good worms and the effects are comparable to the PC version, which honestly, you can only do so much with 2d graphics. The only complaints I have are a graphic glitch were a halfdead worm on a incline would glitch up his animation every two seconds. As well, The game has noticeable slowdown when playing with the full set of worms(16). I wouldn't of minded if the graphic were slightly toned down(that 3dbackground must be a strain) in order to keep a constant frame rate. Another small, but noticeable issue, is that theres no planes for airstrikes anymore. It
just doesn't "feel" right without the plane zooming by.
Sound: Overall I liked it, though some of the music tracks are a little annoying after a while. I preffered the more ambient music of the previous titles. However, "OH MY GOD MY EARS!!!", occasionally a sound glitch will happen when the game is strained at the end of a players turn, the DS will emit a [I]Ungodly[I] screeching noise for a couple seconds. I wish that bug had been stamped out before release.
Content: The new landscapes were nice, though I miss the old ones. I guess you can't have everything...Single player had a good amount of life to it, though I still beat it in about a week since i was so addicted to it. It wasn't as challenging as previous titles and that disapoints me a bit. The mini games were fun. I found the "draw the ground" one was tedious, but the blow and the blast ones were seven kinds of awesome. I wish you could make your own levels for those with the map editor.
Ai: This I found to be one of the most disappointing parts of open warfare 2. If anything, the AI took a step backwards in this version. out of the 30+ weapons in the game I've seen the AI perhaps about haf of them. As usual they pull inhuman feats with the bazooka and grenade style weapons, but besides that they only use drop weapons like dynamite and the occasional shotgun or firepunch. Were the technical limitations that bad that weapons like sheep, supersheep(you already coded homing so...), Homing missle and kamikaze weren't able to be coded for use by the ai?
Multiplayer: Unfortunately, I havn't played wireless with my DS at all yet, though this game wants to make me try. However I will say this: Brownie points for still having my name in the random name generator from the list you put way back in worms 3d! Now when I play online, people will see my actual name!. Speaking about that, I would seriously complain about censorship, though i know thats directed at Nintendo.
Weapons section:. I want to point out some points of interest in the changes of weapons, I would be happy if someone from Team 17 or two tribes could discuss the reasons for some of these specific changes.
Bazookas and Grenades: Same old, Same old. though It looks like their max damage is in between 45-50 when hit dead on.
Homing missle: In my opinion it doesn't home as well as it did in previous versions.
Banana bomb: No changes from what I can tell.
Holy hand grenade: does less damage, and One small but critical change. The holy hand grenade no longer has a "minimum delay" and will explode as soon as it stops moving, as an unfortunate worm of mine found out when he dropped it onto a worm he was standing on. Was this intended?
Projectile weapons: No pistol and minigun?! I guess they could be redundant, however worms is about novelety and I miss the good old pistol. The shotgun being limited I can understand with how it can kill two worms a turn potentially. However, why the Uzi being limited to one?
mobility "weapons": No bungee? Only (2?) parachutes and 3 ninja ropes in the standard scheme? I can understand if the bungee was axed for technical reasons, but did you feel the game was too mobile before so restricted those options now? It also looked to me as if the ninja rope's length got an insane increase. Also, Girders no longer can be made "Big size" as well. Again I ask,
technical or design intended?
Melee weapons: As far as i can tell unchanged. However i noticed an annoying graphic glitch with prod, in that the worm is delayed a second before it get's pushed. Was this overlooked or was it technical limitation?
Drop weapons:
-Dynamite. Damage reduction? did you feel 75 was too much so reduced to to around 65?
-mine: Again, damage reduction(30 if dropped on top). Plus I feel they are now the most useless weapons in the game. They only do 30 damage and from what I've seen are always on the 3 second charge. I've only seen them useful for being targets to try to knock a worm into for that extra little damage. On a similar topic Barrels have been made weaker with no flames. I assume this was a technical limitation?
"new" weapons: Sentry gun was an awesome addition and adds depth to gameplay, ditto on the magnet and lightning strike, though I find the sentry a bit TOO powerful. Buffalo was nice too. Boomerang however I find is only useable as a "puzzle" weapon and nothing else, making it a contender with the mine for most useless weapon.
Overall: Worms 2 Open warfare was an nice sequel to the 2D worms series. Its not perfect by any means but I still look forward to the next 2d worms game when hopefully the technical limitations will no longer be present.
Thanks for any responses,
Striker.

ren666
22 Sep 2007, 00:10
I started a post about the boomerang, but its worse than a mine for sure.
The mine can be used in stand-offs with a wall in the middle. Place the mine near wall, retreat. Next turn, activate mine, back off, and then march through your newly created hole for the *critical* first hit.
They shoot back, you shoot back - they die. (over simplification, but you get the point...)
Sentry gun is powerful, but ive seen it backfire... I got it placed next to me and the enemy retreated. I just threw a 1 sec cluster bomb towards him, showering fragments and doing a bit of damage. Realizing i was not going to move, he tried to bazooka me and put me in a hole below the level of the gun. Another grenade finished him.
sure, the sentry gun is awesome, but it has its limitations. Its a very well designed weapon, and a great addition.

Striker
22 Sep 2007, 17:23
I still find the boomerang slightly more useful, since you can create "stairs" with it or do "long distance prods."

Plasma
22 Sep 2007, 17:45
The mine is useful for restricting enemy movement. It's very good for hiding tactics, as it stops enemies from walking into your caves. It's also go good for on ledges that require the enemy to jump onto to get past somewhere.

Striker
22 Sep 2007, 18:40
it takes three seconds to explode though, you can walk/jump right past it before it an hurt you.

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