Worms: Open Warfare 2

8.0

Format PlayStation Portable

Developer THQ

Publisher THQ

Genre Action

With its ill-advised jump to 3D for the last few PS2 games, the Worms series somehow managed to lose two of its most important selling points - accuracy and charm. Fans of the 2D incarnation can rejoice, as old-school wormage is back for good.

With Team 17 seemingly binning that unnecessary dimension for good after realizing that fans find most love for Worms in its side-on form, Open Warfare 2 continues down this retro route to excellent effect. Landscapes now have their own unique effects on the action, meaning that Pirate-themed levels will occasionally see you hit stormy seas which send the water level haywire; while the minimal gravity of the space stages makes jumping huge gaps rather simple. Rather than just sticking with randomly generated terrain, you're now also free to create your own battlegrounds from scratch using a surprisingly tight editor.

Customization seems to be OW2's primary focus, allowing you to tweak appearances, voices, names and flags to truly personalize your squiggly squad in preparation for the inevitable frantic multiplayer antics.

Perhaps the main reason that this new version of Worms is so good, though, is because it sticks so closely to the traditional template for the best instalments in the series.

All of the weapons, abilities and utilities upon which we've come to rely on are back, joined by a host of new tools such as the boomerang and the electromagnet to help mix things up. Even when it isn't following the standard blueprint, Team 17 still delivers - additions like Puzzle mode and multiplayer Rope Races prove that the ideas are still there.

This the definitive handheld version of one of the world's favourite multiplayer games. You can pass a PSP around, have a blast with local players or take the fight online. You're hardly going to want to put it down. Welcome to the party

PSM3 Staff