Worms Heading to Xbox Live Arcade [Archive]

fitbabits

12-28-2006, 08:27 AM

The Official Xbox Magazine (UK) (http://www.oxm.co.uk/) is reporting that Team 17's seminal strategy game Worms is coming to Xbox Live Arcade some time in January.

You can read more here (http://www.oxm.co.uk/articles/news/hardware/worms_to_invade_xbox_live_next_month).

Citing the fact that the title is already available via partnernet (the developer version of Xbox Live), the poster went on to state that the full game will land soon after its official announcement at the show, running from January 8-11. They went on to comment that both free and premium priced downloadable content is already in the works, and the game itself will allow for a more "pick up and play" experience. Does this hint at a GoW style 'jump in' co-op feature?
Man, I loved the original Worms. In fact, I failed an exam because of it back in the day. Now look at me...

Johan

12-28-2006, 08:30 AM

As long as its not heart worms...those suckers can kill! ;)

This has to be better than the last entry...New Rally-X. Ugh on that one.

Rirath

12-28-2006, 08:31 AM

For Worms Armageddon or an updated version thereof, I would probably sign up for Xbox Live.

If it's the original worms, bleh.

Heretic Machine

12-28-2006, 08:31 AM

They've been talking about this for a while, I was wondering what happened to it. They really need better progress reports on these XBLA titles, so we can at least have a rough idea of when they're coming.

Gorvi

12-28-2006, 08:32 AM

Very nice. I've never played Worms (a sin, I know), but I've always heard good things. It plays similiar to the old PC shareware Scortched Earth, doesn't it?

Rirath

12-28-2006, 08:34 AM

Very nice. I've never played Worms (a sin, I know), but I've always heard good things. It plays similiar to the old PC shareware Scortched Earth, doesn't it?

But much funnier and with far more interesting weapons.

/ ut oh... *BOOM*

Gorvi

12-28-2006, 08:35 AM

But much funnier and with far more interesting weapons.

/ ut oh... *BOOM*

Awesome. I could see online multiplayer for this being huge.

Rook34

12-28-2006, 08:43 AM

Yeah, I could also see people being dicks and not doing anything in their turns and dragging out matches forever.

Atorak

12-28-2006, 08:44 AM

Worms is one of the best multiplayer games I've ever played. My roommates and I in college used to play this for hours upon hours on end on my PC. The random maps were awesome too, because it always kept the game fresh.

I just hope they have two to four player co-op on the same X360.

Also, does anyone know if this is based off of original Worms? Worms Armageddon?

Gorvi

12-28-2006, 08:45 AM

Yeah, I could also see people being dicks and not doing anything in their turns and dragging out matches forever.

Those would be games that you just drop and block the opponant. Pretty simple if you ask me. ;)

NotJeff

12-28-2006, 08:58 AM

Interesting to see if turn-based strategy, even cartoony, can draw an audience and not be filled with slow-playing jerks on XBLA. I'm happy to give it a go...

mightbe

12-28-2006, 08:58 AM

Yeah, the original worms/worms 2 were probably my favorite. Learning to control the ninja rope was a fucking artform. I kicked so many bitches offa hilltops with the shit.

Oddmaker

12-28-2006, 09:05 AM

Where's Superfrog? Walker? and Flashback ;)

(I know they will never be released anyways but just a dream i once had)

bean19

12-28-2006, 09:06 AM

bapenguin

12-28-2006, 09:09 AM

Yeah, the original worms/worms 2 were probably my favorite. Learning to control the ninja rope was a fucking artform. I kicked so many bitches offa hilltops with the shit.

I loved the first game so much. The intro video was great too. And yah...you can do some crazy shit with that ninja rope. I used to love getting it to flip you over backwards.

mightbe

12-28-2006, 09:19 AM

I loved the first game so much. The intro video was great too. And yah...you can do some crazy shit with that ninja rope. I used to love getting it to flip you over backwards.
Man. That, XCOM's Blaster Launcher, and the grapple in ThreeWaveCTF back in the day are my favorite weapons of all time. Gears Lancer is probably up there now too.

Anyway, every game should have a ninja rope.

Blade

12-28-2006, 09:33 AM

If it's Worms 2 or newer, then good. Worms 1? Bad.

tiremfej

12-28-2006, 09:39 AM

I'm excited. I'll be picking up this one. I can't wait to use the "Holy Water Bomb" I love this game!

EGO

12-28-2006, 09:54 AM

I suspect it's a totally new Worms, much in the vein of their latest or even some of Team17's work on the new PSP Lemmings.

This one should be good!

As for "back catalog" and all that, I think I'd have to go with new content (whether XBLA, Sony, whatever) than old stuff. I have warm and fuzzies for stuff, just like anyone else, but I really don't need to PAY to play a game that I can find an emulator and a rom for in a matter of minutes. Or I could just bust out my old carts, since I still have them all.

And bitching about $10-$20 for Ninja Gaiden or Psychonauts as a "downloadable", when you can go out and pick up a copy of it RIGHT NOW for that much and play it on your 360 (backwards compat) is just stupid.

The only reason Wii looks like a good bet right now is because they're playing catch up and they're not dumb enough to trickle out titles one at a time. Even still, all of these services need to stop with the retro-shovelware and get on with a solid stream of new and exciting titles. I could accept the shite one week, if I knew a gem was coming next week instead of getting shafted with Novadrome and Rally-X for a 2 week gap of crap.

Rirath

12-28-2006, 10:05 AM

Man. That, XCOM's Blaster Launcher, and the grapple in ThreeWaveCTF back in the day are my favorite weapons of all time. Gears Lancer is probably up there now too.

Anyway, every game should have a ninja rope.

ThreeWaveCTF... ah, memories. Every single time a new FPS game came out, I drooled over news of ANY grapple mod. I freaking love them things, regardless of the game.

Kelegacy

12-28-2006, 10:18 AM

See, this is the sort of stuff that should be on XBLA, not most of the crap we've been getting. This, unless they really butcher it, will be the first XBLA game I've bought since Geometry Wars.

But only as long as it's affordable.

Adam Blue

12-28-2006, 10:46 AM

Assault Heroes is one of the greatest games I've every played. Maybe not, but I freaking love it.

Rirath

12-28-2006, 10:48 AM

But only as long as it's affordable.

You make a good point. If it's a new worms, I'm likely to buy it regardless. If it's classic, I wouldn't want to pay more than $10. Armageddon, maybe $15 tops.

Assault Heroes is one of the greatest games I've every played. Maybe not, but I freaking love it.

Judging from the demo, I just can't see the joy. I love Geometry Wars, I love Mutant Storm Reloaded... (and await Mutant Storm Empire!) but, Assault Heros just feels slow and easy. Is the demo just really nerfed?

Telefrog

12-28-2006, 10:53 AM

Ninja Ropin' Muthafukkas! (that's a great name for a Worms clan, by the way. Cash will be fine.) If this is Worms Armaggeddon or World Party, I'm in. If it's like any of their later 3D versions, count me out.

In other news, I'm now a subscriber! Yay! I figure if I can shell out for Xbox Live, I should be able to toss some of my ill-gotten gains to EvAv.

Adam Blue

12-28-2006, 10:56 AM

You make a good point. If it's a new worms, I'm likely to buy it regardless. If it's classic, I wouldn't want to pay more than $10. Armageddon, maybe $15 tops.

Judging from the demo, I just can't see the joy. I love Geometry Wars, I love Mutant Storm Reloaded... (and await Mutant Storm Empire!) but, Assault Heros just feels slow and easy. Is the demo just really nerfed?

I've only played on medium, and while the first few levels are easy, it gets effin hard. Plus, there are three upgrades for each of the three weapons, you use your weapons(flame, machine gun, tank shell) depending on the enemies you face, you can leave your jeep to get to smaller areas for other upgrades(it's awesome running around as your little dude, still shooting your gun), level scenery varies greatly, unique boss battles, there are side missions within levels...I could go on. Oh, and one level you pilot a boat. Pretty kickass. I don't understand why people don't like this game...I mean seriously...It's fucking kickass.

momusak

12-28-2006, 11:45 AM

Played it on Easy with my 4 yr old son, he did quite well, it is hard though, esp the later mission areas, lots and lots of enemies to kill. I haven't even gotten to the end of a lair yet either, so hmm

This is for Assault heroes, good graphics, a bit slow on a scroller and a bit short, but otherwise a solid title.

Rirath

12-28-2006, 11:51 AM

Plus, there are three upgrades for each of the three weapons, you use your weapons(flame, machine gun, tank shell) depending on the enemies you face, you can leave your jeep to get to smaller areas for other upgrades

All of that was in the demo, but maybe I just need to see the more challenging levels.
Honestly, it worries me a bit when a 4 year old does "quite well", even on Easy.

I'm more of a twitch shooter type, myself.

roboninja

12-28-2006, 11:56 AM

Hopefully they will follow the good examples being set by the PS3 online store and have a reasonable price here. $5.99 max should be about it.

Adam Blue

12-28-2006, 12:01 PM

All of that was in the demo, but maybe I just need to see the more challenging levels.
Honestly, it worries me a bit when a 4 year old does "quite well", even on Easy.

I'm more of a twitch shooter type, myself.

Same here actually, which is why I can dig AH. I'm telling you...once you get further along(and on the hardest difficulty)it makes you actually yell out loud when dozens of bullets are coming at you. The only thing I don't like si that you have rechargable health. THAT makes it too easy.

Only RS/Ikaruga/Gradius/TF3/4/LF have made me yell out.

shnastybiznastic

12-28-2006, 12:02 PM

Man, this could be awesome, and it would really drive home the importance of HD. I had thought for quite a while that it would not be 3d graphics that would show the power of new, crisper display formats, but bright, expertly anmated sprites.

The initial event that inspired this thought was playing Minish Cap. The environmants are well animated, the NPCs are flavorful, and the gameplay is inspired. But I kept comparing it to LttP, and wishing that it was playable on the television. After visiting one of my friends who has a GBP and the import controller for the cube that looks like a snes pad, I got to thinking: "that's great, but what if it was way crisp?" That night, I dreamt of a top down zelda game to end all others. I envisioned so many items, such a large world. Leveraging the larger capacity of the now ubiquitus DVD-9 storage medium to deliver beauty and intracacy unseen in games before. I awoke with these ideas fresh in my mind, was it a dream? Was it a premonition of times to come? Is Paper Mario the first in a series of steps that will mark a sea change in visuals meant to sell high definition displays?

I am explaining this in the format of Holiday Miracle Movie in order to get across the absolute insidiousness of these concepts. Imagine your favorate franchise from days of yore ressurected and rebuilt, larger, deeper, sporting beautiful animation fraught with nuance. Perhaps Zelda is not your bag. I imagine such a person exists, the type of person who may enjoy a Final Fantasy in the style of six or five. Perhaps that same person would be interested in Metal Slug, or Guilty Gear.

Camel

12-28-2006, 12:06 PM

XBLA really needs to get some more games.

Right now they are getting lots of praise, but I think that XBLA will be the ghetto of downloadable games within the year. They just can't compete with the back-library available to Sony and Nintendo. Well, maybe they could compete, if they removed the ridiculous limitation to 50MB on all XBLA games and started selling old Xbox titles. I'd pay $10-$20 for KOTOR, Psychonauts, and Ninja Gaiden Black. I'd also pay that amount for new games that were fun too.

It will be interesting to see if Microsoft can adapt to competition in this.
I can't say anything about the PS3 store, but I really don't see the VC as that big of a deal. It'll be fun waiting for specific games to be released (I personally can't wait for Star Fox 64), but other than that, it gets a big "meh" from me. I love playing old games, but I don't plan on paying for most of them.

As for XBLA, at least some of the games they come out with are somewhat newish. The ones I bought were Geometry Wars, Assault Heroes, Lumines, Zuma, and UNO. None of those are revolutionary and in some cases can be played elsewhere, but I still consider them better purchases than VC games (for the record, I've only had my Wii one day, and the only game I thought worth buying was Gunstar Heroes...what an awesome game).

Mortal Moxie

12-28-2006, 12:19 PM

In fact, I failed an exam because of it back in the day. Now look at me...

Lol. One good laugh a day is all I need to be as happy go lucky as I am. Thanks for todays!

hahaha!

Majster Wichajster

12-28-2006, 12:37 PM

Where's Superfrog? Walker? and Flashback ;)

(I know they will never be released anyways but just a dream i once had)

Superfrog was... what am I saying, IS a great platformer. Plain awesome, I think I need to pull out my Amiga from the bed, along with Walker. I can't believe they just did it and left it there, because it is the best use of point-and-shoot mechanic in a game (if there's such a mechanic in the first place).

The Continental

12-28-2006, 12:52 PM

I know I'm in the minority here, but I love the 3D Worms games and I really hope it's one of those, though I doubt it will be since those are still relatively new. Otherwise, I'm crossing my fingers for Armageddon.

jeffbax

12-28-2006, 12:53 PM

I also enjoyed Worms 3D, though it wasn't as good as the 2D I don't think.

spacemanspiff757

12-28-2006, 12:58 PM

i may be reading this wrong, but seeing this is from the UK OXM, this isnt another european release only, is it? if it's not, i would like to see armageddon, or world party all over again..i bought some marketplace points a while back waiting for this game

Rirath

12-28-2006, 01:03 PM

Same here actually, which is why I can dig AH. I'm telling you...once you get further along(and on the hardest difficulty)it makes you actually yell out loud when dozens of bullets are coming at you.

Well, not like I've much to lose so I'll probably be checking it out sooner or later then.

The only thing I don't like si that you have rechargable health. THAT makes it too easy.

It seemed in the demo if you lost the vehic but survived on foot long enough, you'd get a new vehic without losing a life, to boot. I'm sure it just takes adjusting, but as far as dodging bullets go it took me awhile to get used to how the turning works. :)

ECM

12-28-2006, 01:26 PM

Oh boy, Worms on a gamepad, *sigh*.

/endbuzzkill

Rirath

12-28-2006, 01:38 PM

Oh boy, Worms on a gamepad, *sigh*.

/endbuzzkill

It worked fine on the Dreamcast back in the day...

mightbe

12-28-2006, 02:36 PM

jeffbax

12-28-2006, 09:24 PM

Screenshots!

http://www.xbox-attitude.com/news-11435-Des-images-de-Worms-sur-le-Xbox-Live-Arcade.html

Rirath

12-28-2006, 09:39 PM

Screenshots!

http://www.xbox-attitude.com/news-11435-Des-images-de-Worms-sur-le-Xbox-Live-Arcade.html

You rock, and I must have. 800 points? Well worth it, assuming it will have online play.

mightbe

12-29-2006, 12:08 AM

Screenshots!

http://www.xbox-attitude.com/news-11435-Des-images-de-Worms-sur-le-Xbox-Live-Arcade.html
Nice kung fu there. Thanks!

wyeast

12-29-2006, 12:15 AM

You rock, and I must have. 800 points? Well worth it, assuming it will have online play.
Ooh, worms online. That would rule the world.

Rirath

12-29-2006, 01:07 AM

Ooh, worms online. That would rule the world.

Well, if it doesn't, biggest missed opportunity ever.

Hexxagonal

12-29-2006, 10:50 AM

According to the developers, this is a mixture of the old games but doesn't have as many super weapons as say armegeddon. it's more of a "classic" worms I guess you could say.

mightbe

12-29-2006, 11:12 AM

According to the developers, this is a mixture of the old games but doesn't have as many super weapons as say armegeddon. it's more of a "classic" worms I guess you could say.
Good info. I, for one, would love to see the old skool worms making a comeback.

Tel Prydain

12-29-2006, 11:43 AM

I have to say that I've been pretty impressed with Xbox Live Arcade lately.
RoboBlitz, Small Arms, Novadrome and Assault Heros are all original games and all came in a big rush - one after another.
The last game (Rally X) aside, it's been a good few weeks. I brought Small Arms, and a few months in the future (when I run out of retail games to play) I can count on the others to help entertain me.