Worms for iPhone: First Hands-on Impressions

Only two days have passed since we first received word that Worms for the iPhone had been submitted to the App Store for review. The relatively short approval time was a pleasant surprise. So here we are, Worms ($4.99) has finally come to the iPhone.

I’ve had no previous experience with any games from the Worms series, so I didn’t really know what to expect. All I knew was the game is a turn based artillery game of some sort. To be honest, I wasn’t all that excited about the release of Worms for the iPhone; I just didn’t understand all the hype. But after playing the game for the first time, I have to hand it to Team 17 – the game is quite addictive.

Of course no matter how awesome Worms is gameplay wise, it means little if you’re locked in a constant struggle with the controls. Turns out the iPhone’s large touchscreen makes playing Worms on the go a very enjoyable experience.

So how do the controls work exactly? Well I’m glad you asked, because I was completely dumbfounded too when I first tried playing. For starters, Worms doesn’t use tilt controls – everything is touchscreen based. The shoot button is located at the lower right corner and lower left corner for the weapon stash where you’ll gain access to 26 weapons. Like many other iPhone games, you’ll be able to zoom by using pinch gestures and pan with two finger swipes.

To adjust your aim, tap on your crosshair and then slide your finger in the direction you wish to shoot. Aiming can be a little tricky at first since each weapon works differently. Some weapons will fire with one tap, while others need to be charged before releasing the fire button. I learned this the hard way after my own grenade fell at my feet. Yea…

As for movement, just tap and hold on the left or right edge of the screen and your worm will inch his way towards your finger. Worms can also jump forward or backward, if you tap directly on your worm once he’ll jump forward, tap twice to do a back flip.

As mentioned in a previous post, Worms only includes pass-and-play multiplayer at the moment. Support for multiplayer over Internet and Bluetooth will eventually be added to the game through future updates. I know, I know, I’m just as bummed as you guys are about it. Hopefully it doesn’t take Team 17 too long to implement those features, because we all know multiplayer is the secret sauce of Worms.

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