You don’t see many puzzle titles on the Gamecube platform, however there are quite a few that are emerging lately. A puzzle title has been recently released from Ubi Soft called Worms Blast. Worms Blast consist of everything a puzzle game is expected of any puzzle genre fan. Here are some key features in Worms Blast:

Wacky Weaponry : Unleash a firing frenzy using Shotguns, Bazookas, Mines, Laser Beams, and Sea Monsters

: Unleash a firing frenzy using Shotguns, Bazookas, Mines, Laser Beams, and Sea Monsters Bombastic Power-Ups : Collect power-ups like Double Damage, Sailor’s Delight, and Fish Food

: Collect power-ups like Double Damage, Sailor’s Delight, and Fish Food Torrential Weather: Brave the high seas against Rain, Wind, Solar Eclipses, and even Cosmic Showers

Multiplayer Gameplay Modes:

Survival : You’ve got one boat and one chance for survival on the raging waters.

: You’ve got one boat and one chance for survival on the raging waters. Star Collection : Battle your adversary to scoop up the most falling stars.

: Battle your adversary to scoop up the most falling stars. TideTrial : The water level steadily rises beneath you and your opponent – who will be the last Worm blasting?

: The water level steadily rises beneath you and your opponent – who will be the last Worm blasting? Death Match : Armed with 3 boats, you must sink your opponent 3 times to win.

: Armed with 3 boats, you must sink your opponent 3 times to win. Don’t Drop ‘Em : With only one boat, blast away the land before it gets too close.

: With only one boat, blast away the land before it gets too close. Unlockable Modes: Play through puzzle mode and unlock even more game modes.

Gameplay

Worms Blast takes place above water. Colored blacks gradually move closer to your character from above, threatening it crush everything in its path. Players must pilot their boat and shoot the blocks to destroy them in order to survive. However, the weapon is color-coded and players must hit blocks of the same color of their weapon to destroy them. Players must destroy all blocks in a time limit in order to progress.

The description of Worms Blast may sound like an easy game to play but it’s actually much more difficult. The levels gradually become more harder with a mix of harder block pieces, more distractions, and enemies. Worms Blast goes deep into the puzzle gameplay very quickly. I have never been a fan of the puzzle genre but Worms Blast has made puzzle titles more interesting and fun to play.

Worms Blast offers tutorials before your match starts. The tutorial teaches players the basics of playing Worms Blast and a variety of other key things you need to learn before starting. A lot of puzzle games are usually addicting and Worms Blast can certainly be addicting. It’s very fun to play this game at long periods at a time and there is plenty of action in the title that keeps you stuck to the television screen.

Worms Blast has eight available modes that are very similar to one another but have different rules and objectives. The modes are Survival, Star Collection, Tide Trail, Death Match, and Don’t Drop Them. Most of these modes are self explanatory. These modes are great for anyone tired of playing the main game and is looking for something different.

Probably one of the best features is multi-player. This is almost the perfect title for several players to play against each other. So it might not be anything like Super Smash Brothers Melee but this title offers some incredible multi-player fun. The game supports up to two players at a time. However the reason for this is because if four players were supported, there wouldn’t be any space on the screen to see the entire set of blocks. You really just cant blame the lack of four-player support. Four-player support isn’t really needed in Worms Blast. You just have to play it to believe it.

The problem is that the appearance of Worms Blast is kiddy if is often ignored because of that. It’s a terrible thing to see some very well made games to go down under because of a kiddy image. Recently, there have been kiddy like games for the Gamecube, and I really don’t have a problem with most. Some deliver some excellent gameplay that I never expected to see. Worms Blast may be designed for kids but I suggest to older gamers that are fans of the puzzle genre to look into this title.

The game mechanics have been created very well. There is an huge array of weapons to choose from, allowing a character performance to increase. While there are not as many characters as weapons, characters also contain certain game mechanics. Each character performs differently based on health, accel, aiming, and turning. The weapons and character you choose can sometimes have a big impact on how well you perform.

This is a great title for any puzzle game fan. I have played a large portion of the title and I believe it should live up to any puzzle fans expectations. However, if you don’t like puzzle games this is truly not the right game for you.

Graphics

While the gameplay was excellent, there is no surprise that the graphics in Worms Blast are terrible, mostly because puzzle titles do not require creative 3D levels with great textures. This game would probably run just fine on a Nintendo 64. The levels backgrounds are detailed, but not 3D. The backgrounds are very colorful also, but look more like drawing because the background is flat. The beautiful colors also apply to the entire title. The water looks as if it’s cell shaded, and this also goes with the characters. It’s very noticeable that the title has beautiful colors, but not good graphics. However, the menu’s aren’t half bad either. The menu selections are made of wooden signs with a small icon with the name of the mode next to it. Most gamers can agree that it’s the gameplay that matters and because this title is a puzzle title, you really cannot blame it on the poor graphics.

Sound & Music

Sound effects can be heard when items drop into the water and you can hear background music of the level you are in. I did come across a few tunes that you almost feel like humming, just like the music you find in a Mario title. However, this is not a very impressive element in the game. Puzzle games tend to focus on the gameplay, and make everything else poor. Because of this, usually you hear simple music in the background or dull sound effects. Nothing interesting here.

Controls

Worms Blast is great under this category because you don’t have to open the games instructions booklet just to finds out what all the controls are. Fortunately, its very easy to pick up. In fact, the only buttons you really use is A to shoot at the blocks and the joystick to move around. Once you come across more weapons, you can use the B button to switch between them. However, using the gun to aim at the puzzle blocks is completely inaccurate, the chance of hitting something is more of a 50/50 situation. At times, the controls may cause frustration but eventually its easy to get used to the poor aiming.

Overall

This game was obviously created for fans of the puzzle genre. If you don’t like puzzle games, you might want to give it a try but if your sure you don’t like puzzle games, this game will be a disaster for you. However, if you enjoy puzzle titles, this should be the next game on your list. The game is nothing but fun addicting puzzle action. Worth your money puzzle fans!