Format: PlayStation Portable | Developer: Team17 | Publisher: THQ | Genre: Strategy | Released: 29 June 2007

Worms is a bit of an industry Cinderella story. Originally developed by Andy Davidson in his spare time, he took it to Team17 at a games festival some years ago and said, "What do you think?", to which the reply was "Do you want it published?". Between Christmas '95 and mid '96, the original version of the game exploded its way across no less than ten separate formats. Since that initial release there have been nine sequels, three spin-offs, one cancelled kart-racing game and an expansion pack.

It's also somewhat of an oddity in the games industry. That first version popped up, as previously mentioned, in 1995 - the year of the PlayStation, arguably the starting point of the 3D revolution. In an age when all games had to be 3D, here stood a quirky, fun, simple turn-based2D game that didn't ask to be judged. It just asked to be loved. There have have been three 3D titles in the series to date, but the series has always found its core fanbase in the original 2-dimensional outings. In 2006, Team17 and THQ treated us to a brand new 2D game, Worms Open Warfare, which was by and large a "remake" of that very first game that started it all, give or take a few tweaks. It was good, but not perfect, and Team17 obviously took note of people's concerns when they started to develop Worms Open Warfare 2.

This time around, the game is noticeably more friendly towards first-time players. If the game doesn't find a Save file on the Memory Stick, it assumes you're a new player and asks if you'd like to create a team, walking you through the process as you go. It'll also give the opportunity to try out the Tutorials, but it doesn't force them upon you. A good start.

There have been a number of elemental changes to the core gameplay since the first Open Warfare outing. For starters, the physics engine has been noticably tweaked. One of the problems of the previous title was that it was a bit too sticky. Grenades didn't seem to roll, worms didn't seem to get knocked about quite so much, and the blast radius of the explosions was markedly stunted. This has, for the most part, been address in this title, and in fact some terrain styles take this further by increasing the gravity or friction - a feature not seen since the original Worms. There are still some awkward physics niggles with the game, notably that attempting to backflip onto some objects will still knock you away despite the fact that your worm is very clearly in the position to land perfectly, being awarded 9.8 by each of the judges, but it's something that fans of both the original WOW and the recent Xbox Live outing will be used to by now.

Zounds!

The weapons library has been suitably bolstered by a number of returning weapons as well as some brand-spanking new ones, and the single-player campaign has been considerably expanded upon the "challenges" set forth in its predecessor. Completing missions earns points which can, rather predictably, be used to unlock items such as speechbanks, hats and missions. I'm rather tired of the whole "earn X of Y to unlock Z" mechanic that has become too popular in games these days, as it feels like an artificial way of assessing one's "progress" through a game. I'm also a bit put off by the fact that some of the unlockables - specifically the speechbanks - were available straight out of the box in Worms Open Warfare. If you're going to lock content away it would be appreciated if it were, in fact, new content.

The game now features an online mode, allowing you to play against friends, foes and strangers via the Web of Intar. You can even form Clans and take part in Ranked Matches to climb the International leaderboard. However online play is dodged by lengthy pauses between turns, and from my experience there doesn't appear to be any way to decide which randomly-generated landscape you're going to play on. Pity.

The graphics look utterly superb, and the Worms themselves are exceptionally well animated as always. The terrain, the water, and the background all look fantastic, although the worm walk animation is a bit slow which ruins the pace for me somewhat, especially when compared to the DS version which seems a a lot quicker. The music is well-suited to the style, and the annoying repetitious tune included in the demo is, in fact, only a small slice of a rather spiffy piece of pirate-themed music.

The game is much better than it's PSP predecessor. However when compared to the DS version, it does start to lose some of its charm. As mentioned, the DS version is a lot quicker - much shorter load times, a faster walk cycle, and minimal delay between turns online. It's also a lot easier to find someone to play against on the DS version than the PSP, and the Laboratory mode on the DS version is utterly superb. Were I just reviewing the PSP version I would probably be inclined to give it an 8. But when compared to the DS version it starts to look a little lacking, and so a point is lost. Fiddlesticks!

Never mind that, though - this is still a damned fine Worms, certainly the finest of the two available on the PSP and definitely one of the best in the series period. If you have a PSP, you'll not do wrong to buy this game.

The following day...
I woke up this morning (harmonicas down, please) and I felt very displeased with myself. I enjoy playing the PSP version. I was playign it late into the night last night, in fact, and would have continued to do so were it not for a combination of a) my router acting up, and b) those meddling kids. 8 out of 10 for the DS version doesn't quite seem fair either. So I've decided to notch both up one point. That's just the sort of crazy, past-the-last-minute thing I do.

About our scoring system...