The original Worms landed on the Play Store way back in early 2011 (when it was still the Android Market), but the launch was far from perfect. Device compatibility was lacking, and force closes all too common. A while back, the game was actually removed from the Play Store.

In fact, it was the Worms franchise's new owner that requested it be taken down. According to Team 17 Digital, EA was "not supporting OS updates," and the company asked for the game to be removed because it "didn't want to damage the brand." Yikes. That's a pretty damning critique of EA's software update support policy, but one I think many Android gaming enthusiasts can sympathize with. The publisher has a rather regrettable tendency to abandon unsuccessful or buggy Android releases, as was the case with Worms.

Team 17, however, is currently working on the next title in the series to be released on Android, Worms 2: Armageddon. The game is already out for iOS, with a highly respectable 4.5 star rating on the App Store, and should be coming to the Play Store this Spring. Let's hope the Android version rises to equal praise, and washes away the damage EA did to the franchise.