Worms 4: Mayhem - PS2

If you live on planet earth and have played video games before, then there’s no chance you’ll need much of an introduction to the Worms franchise. The turn based game of skill, and destruction has appeared in many guises over the years, and titles like World Party and Armageddon have introduced us to increasingly fun and destructive weaponry. Team 17’s passion for increasingly powerful and hilarious ordnance has been a tradition since the banana bomb and ninja rope were unveiled in the early, Amiga-only, update; Worms: Directors Cut.

But the game has largely remained staunchly 2D. The last attempt to bring it into the Z axis, Worms 3D, lost some of the game’s intuitive appeal, with the additional controls required making the against-the-clock play fiddly rather than frenetic. It failed to achieve what the far more impressive, Rik Mayall-voiced, Hogs of War pulled off with flair on the lowly PlayStation One.

Now Team 17 are having another crack, as Worms 4 brings the loveable, if expendable, invertebrates to PS2. The 3D turn-based tactical comedy skirmish sim has never looked richer, with customisable worms, more weapons, and 25 single player, objective-based, mission levels.

A load of new environments are on offer: Jurassic, Camelot, Arabian, Construction and Wild West, each with a unique and flavoursome look. Less is left to chance than with the flawed randomly generated maps of Worms 3D. Multiplayer games can be played on any of the 25 maps from the single-player mode, as well as on 20 additional bespoke maps. The game has a boisterous, colourful look further improved by all new animation. The legendary saga continues with gameplay that promises to be addictive, compelling and humorous out and out fun. more