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Worms developer to publish stealthy PC game Light
Stealthy indie game Light will be published by Worms developers Team17, the publisher recently announced. Currently in development for PC, Mac and Linux by Just a Pixel, Light is a top-down 2D game in which players guide a square icon through a maze of doors and rooms, hacking terminals and avoiding guards along the way. This is Team17's first foray into publishing for almost two decades, as it once funded games like Super Stardust and Alien Breed on Amiga, but has since focused on games in the Worms series, including Worms: Clan Wars and Worms 2: Armageddon. The prototype video of the game above shows off its simple style and basic mechanics, which players can expect to see firsthand sometime in 2014. Light is currently seeking community approval via Greenlight to achieve distribution on Steam.
Worms: Clan Wars is PC exclusive, coming from Team17
Fans of invertebrate warfare will be happy to hear a new Worms game, Worms Clan Wars, has been announced. Developer Team17 will unveil the new entry in the iconic series at this weekend's UK PC and indie games conference, Rezzed. Can't get to Brighton? Perhaps you don't even know where Brighton is? Well, some of the show will be streamed online through Eurogamer's YouTube channel – a list of this weekend's streamed content can be seen here.
Worms 2: Armageddon now on Android
Worms 2: Armageddon is now available on Android, three years after the game originally hit mobile platforms by way of iOS in 2010. Worms aren't known for being the most expedient creatures.The game costs $4.99/£2.99/€3.99, depending on your geographical location, and is available through both Google Play and Amazon's Appstore for Android, for folks with a Kindle Fire. Like its previous incarnations, Armageddon on Android features 30 single-player missions and multiplayer support for two players via Wi-Fi or up to four local players, in addition to 12 gameplay modes and customization options for the worms.%Gallery-185123%
Worms wriggling to PS Vita in 2013
A PS Vita version of Worms is coming this year. "One big Worms game we can mention is a game for the PS Vita that we are working closely with Sony on, this will be the ultimate handheld console version releasing later this year," Managing Director at Team17 Debbie Bestwick says. It's a brief aside during a lengthy piece at Red Bull about how the company has managed to stay profitable all these years, mostly on the backs of its invertebrate mascots. Team17 is also a listed developer on PS4, though Bestwick doesn't offer any clues as to what the developer is working on. Team17 is currently fiddling around with Ouya developer kits, though "not for Worms specifically but for a number of possibilities."
Worms now on Facebook
Like SimCity before it, Worms has joined the ranks of other long, storied PC franchises that have been unable to resist the siren song of Facebook's business model. Replete with all the trappings of the platform (coins, experience stars, "Share" buttons, etc), Worms on Facebook allows for battle between two friends on their choice of two different islands using 19 weapons from the series' past.Individual Worms can be customized with 40 different hats, and players can create their own islands for their worms to hang out on between warfare, as well as for their friends to visit when they're feeling social. As is the way with these things, there are also tasks to be completed, daily rewards to reap and an immeasurable amount of work and productivity to be distracted from.
Worms Revolution review: Wriggling in circles
It says it right there in the title: Worms Revolution. A revolution, a radical change, a momentous shift. The game that will, as the marketing blurb puts it, bring classic Worms gameplay "squarely into the 21st century." Let's just settle this right now: Worms Revolution does not radically alter or change the traditional Worms formula in any fundamental way.In truth, though, does anyone really want it to?%Gallery-159489%
Team17's Alien Breed hatches on iOS
As promised, Team17's fondly-remembered top-down shooter, Alien Breed, is now available on iOS. The universal app features both original and enhanced graphics, 22 levels (four of them new) and Retina Display support for your tired, alien-hunting eyes.You can grab Alien Breed now for $5 on iTunes.
Worms Revolution gets classy this October
Worms Revolution, the first built-from-the-ground-up Worms title in a very long time, is heading to PlayStation Network this October. Developer Team 17 revealed the news on the EU PlayStation Blog, noting that Worms Revolution will launch on October 10 for £9.99/€12.99. For those who haven't been following the game, Worms Revolution is built with a brand new engine and adds dynamic water and different worm classes to the traditional Worms formula.Unsurprisingly, the post doesn't mention the release date for the PC or Xbox Live Arcade version – or the North American PSN release date, for that matter – though they will presumably arrive on or near the same date. We've reached out to Team 17 to see if we can suss out release dates on all platforms.
Worms 2 iOS updated with asynchronous play
Worms 2: Armageddon for iOS was recently updated to enable asynchronous play. It means the worms are no longer bound by timers or quick lunch breaks. Now they can unleash their turn-based death over days or weeks – whenever players find the time to make their next move.The asynchronous play supports up to sixteen simultaneous matches, along with continued support for Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and local hotseat modes.%Gallery-107557%
Activision hires Team 17 founder to start new UK mobile studio
While EA has been bullish as all get out on its mobile and iOS properties, we haven't seen the other big dog in game publishing, Activision, act on the same impulses, despite a few hits with the Call of Duty Zombies games. But here's a first indication that Bobby Kotick and company do have a mobile strategy: They've hired former Team 17 (of Worms fame) Martyn Brown to put together a mobile studio in the UK. There's no word on the studio's name yet, or what they're going to be working on (though presumably, it'll be iOS titles at least, with other mobile platforms on tap in the future). The move is being seen as a vote of confidence by Activision for UK game development, especially since in the past few years that company hasn't been very friendly to its UK game studios, closing them down left and right. I'm very curious to see how this works out -- hopefully, Activision has realized along with EA that iOS development is one of the best parts of the game industry to be in right now.
Activision employing Team17 co-founder to create mobile studio in UK
After shutting down Bizarre Creations last February and restructuring DJ Hero studio Freestyle Games, Activision's reach in the UK was recessed for the past year. But with a renewed mobile push at Activision, the publisher is now looking to build a new studio across the Atlantic – and Team17 co-founder Martyn Brown is in charge of building said studio.Develop confirmed the news with Activision, who only allowed this vague statement: "We are investing in mobile initiatives and that includes a UK studio." For Brown's part, he's staying mum, but the job description falls right in line with Brown's, following his departure from Team17 last year.
Worms creator Davidson rejoins Team17 after 14-year absence
Original Worms creator Andy Davidson has returned to Team17, just in time for the development of Worms Revolution. Davidson originally designed Worms in 1993 as an Artillery-style game featuring Lemmings sprites, then added original worm sprites in an effort to release it commercially. He left the game industry fourteen years ago, according to Team17; we're guessing to pursue other interests like fishing and gardening.And now he's back at the company, where he will "offer the Worms Revolution developers his support." So he's not heading up Worms development just yet. In fact, the announcement notes that he's working on a "variety of new game ideas."
Sega's Shogun 2 expansion leads the charge on Origin
Sega's PC games have been available on Steam and other internet portals for some time, and are now on the way to EA's Origin service.Starting today, folks can pre-order the upcoming Total War Shogun 2 expansion, "Fall of the Samurai," and more content will follow in the coming weeks. Beyond the Japanese publisher, Origin added Team 17, Rebellion, Kalypso, "and more" to Origin today, and their games will start showing up "in the coming months."
Worms: Reloaded $10 on Steam, new DLC unearthed
Good news for Worms fans this week, as Team 17 has revealed new downloadable content packs for Worms: Reloaded on PC. Altogether, there are four packs to be had, including the Puzzle, Forts, Time Attack and Retro packs. Each pack includes new single-player missions, hats, gravestones, speech banks, landscape themes, and achievements. For a "limited time," each DLC pack costs $4.24 apiece, 15 percent off the usual price. A note for Mac users: the DLC is only compatible with the PC version of Worms: Reloaded. Team17 tells Joystiq that work began on the DLC "quite a long time ago when the game was solely a PC title," and thus the packs are incompatible with the Mac version. Team17 currently has no plans to bring the DLC to the Mac version, but will "see what happens." In addition to the new DLC, the full Worms: Reloaded game is part of the Steam Summer Camp Sale. It can currently be purchased for $10, half the normal price. %Gallery-127579%
Worms 2: Armageddon now $1 on iOS
Worms 2: Armageddon for iOS devices will be $1 for a "limited time." The "Battle Pack," an in-app expansion, which adds more weapons and a new single-player campaign, has also been reduced to $1. The game and add-on are normally $5 and $2, respectively. For a bunch of soil-slithering invertebrates, the Worms are sure getting around in the news this week. On Monday, Worms: Ultimate Mayhem was rated by the Australian Classification Board, though no official details have followed yet. %Gallery-107557%
Alien Breed Trilogy headed to retail on Xbox 360 March 18
A boxed compilation of Team17's recent downloadable Alien Breed games will soon make its way to retail. Entitled Alien Breed Trilogy, the game bundles together Alien Breed: Evolution, Alien Breed 2: Assault and Alien Breed 3: Descent into a single package for the Xbox 360. No price has been announced, though it seems likely it will be at or below the $30 combined asking price for the individual games on Xbox Live Arcade. Alien Breed Trilogy is scheduled to arrive March 18. All three games are currently available for individual download on PSN, PC and Xbox Live Arcade.
Alien Breed 3 propagates to PSN next week
Alien Breed 3: Descent, the last in Team17's trilogy of downloadable top-down shooters, will arrive on PS3 this Tuesday, February 22, three months after its debut on Xbox Live Arcade -- and just two months after Alien Breed 2 hit PSN. Don't worry, it's just a name -- these games are actually developed by a team of humans, not cultivated in some kind of game breeding operation. It comes to PS3 as a downloadable PSN game, with the same $9.99 price point as the Xbox release, and includes 35 Trophies, one of which is a Platinum. If you'd like to catch up before Descent, the first two Alien Breeds are on sale on PSN this week.
Martyn Brown quits Team17 after 20 years
After two decades at the helm of annelid annihilators Team17, Martyn Brown has left the Worms developer to work as an independent video game consultant, according to a post on his (private) Facebook page, as noted by Eurogamer. Brown co-founded Team17, which got its start developing games for the Amiga (before your time?). "I had an amazing 20-year ride and whilst it's the end of a truly enjoyable period of my life, it equally signals the start of a really exciting new one," Brown posted before swinging away on a grappling hook, throwing a grenade, falling on that grenade and blowing himself up.
Worms: Battle Islands squirming to PSP, Wii
In case your iPhone, Xbox, PS3 and PC didn't provide enough recent opportunities to play Worms games, you can now look forward to playing Worms: Battle Islands on PlayStation Portable and Wii. Aside from a single-player campaign, Battle Islands adds a new weapon customization utility and the ability to alter the look of individual worms to an even greater extent. The PSP version will be arriving via the PlayStation Network and comes packed with an all new "Tactics Mode," where players use one of the game's 16 "secret island bases" to gain "a tactical advantage for the player to use at the beginning of a game" -- some examples given are "recon a battlefield before the war commences" and "snipe an enemy worm to gain the upper hand." If you explode (or drown, snipe, dismember, etc.) your online opponents fast enough, you'll earn one of their secret base's items. Both Wii and PSP versions will have online multiplayer and the new secret island base feature (only the PSP has "Tactics Mode"). Though we're sure to see these additions in forthcoming Worms titles, they'll be featured first in Worms: Battle Islands when it comes out this November.%Gallery-103143%
Alien Breed 2: Assault launching this Wednesday
This morning, Team17 announced the forthcoming Steam/XBLA release of Alien Breed 2: Assault, the followup to last year's Alien Breed: Impact. Adding to the single-player and co-op campaigns this time around is a new "Survivor Mode," which has players assaulting "endless waves of intense alien horde attacks." The developer also promises a new species to brutally murder en masse: "Webber" aliens. Picking up the game on XBLA nets players some "exclusive" Avatar award items in a "Barnes" helmet and body armor, each of which must be earned through game objectives ("killing a set number of aliens" and finishing the single-player campaign, respectively). The title arrives this Wednesday on both XBLA and Steam.%Gallery-102776%
