#navbar-iframe { display: none !important; } WildaBeast: Worms 3D (PC)

Thursday, June 03, 2004

Worms 3D (PC)

I recently picked up Worms 3D for the PC and I have to say they did an excellent job translating the gameplay from 2D to 3D. This is something a lot of developers have failed miserably at over the years. Just look at the 3D versions of Contra and Castlevania. Shudder. The game's graphics are top notch, the sounds are spot on and the music is quirky and entertaining but everything isn't sugar and sunshine. Team 17 did not include an option to map your controls and stated that during play testing they concluded that the layout used was optimal. It's optimal if you are right hand and use the QWERTY keyboard layout. Anyone who uses the Dvorak keyboard is screwed. Normally for games I use the IJKL layout I grew accustomed to many years ago playing the Lode Runner games on the Apple ][. I'm left handed and therefor end up grimacing every time I have to use the WASD keys to move my worm. Wake up guys, you just alienated roughly 15% of the population. Adding user definable keys is not that hard and should be a given in any PC game now days. I also wish you could invert the Y-axis on the mouse but that is minor compared to the layout.

If you're right handed and use the QWERTY layout I recommend downloading the demo. If you're left handed, don't use the QWERTY keyboard or just think this is a bad idea, bitch to Team 17.