Worms Open Warfare 2 – PSP

Worms. Anyway you look at it; worms are nature's super creatures. Capable of chowing through just about any substance in the world given enough time, the humble worm is well known as an eating machine. But, thanks to the Worms series of games, Worms are also known as war machines, waging epic battles across the ages in a multitude of varied quality. So does Worms Open Warfare 2 continue this tradition? Or merely fall by the wayside?

The success of Worms Open Warfare 2 rests squarely on how familiar a player with is with the Worms series of games and how much variation on the age-old theme that they want. If the answer to those two questions are: "Very familiar: and "don't change a god-damn thing about my precious worms" then Worms Open Warfare 2 is probably right up your alley, for everyone else, finding a reason to keep playing is going to be difficult.

For anyone new to the Worms franchise the set-up is pretty simple. The game offers a couple of tutorials to help the novice understand the controls and the tactics associated with it. Two teams of Worms battle across a contoured and challenging landscape with the main objective being the annihilation of the other team.

Your cute little Worms, with their cute little voices, (in a selection of languages, including Irish!) have access to numerous weapons and tools to help in the complete destruction of the opposing forces and the weaponry is where the games true depth of play evolves.

Weapons range from the standard and reliable Bazooka to the ridiculously awesome sentry gun and also include banana bombs, cluster bombs, boomerangs, proximity mines and homing missiles. The more powerful weapons are limited in terms of ammo, so using the right weapon at the right time is crucial to win the worm wars.

Your worms also come with some clever little tools that they can use to transport themselves around the battlefield and gain strategic and logistical advantages. Having the higher ground or easy access to a med kit is vital to surviving any longer skirmishes. Multiplayer battles have the potential to be both nail biting and pretty fun when battling human opponents, as the computer controlled worms pull off some incredibly unbelievable shots at times.

So Worms Open Warfare 2 won't be for everyone, at its heart it's a puzzle game with humour and strategy by the spades, but the lack of sophistication and innovation after years of the same style of game is beginning to show. It's the best Worms game so far, but it's also the least inspiring.