As you can see the series has quite a history and the legacy continues now with the next 'official' sequel, Worms 3D. As the name suggests this new game has entered the more modern 3D arena but given the poor track record of games that have made a similar leap from being highly popular in 2D we were at first very sceptical to say the least. However, we're very pleased to report that the scepticism was unfounded as unlike many of those other conversions Worms 3D has very carefully, and lovingly we might add, been brought up to date by the game's original creators, Team 17.

In fact Worms fans will be happy to know that this is still very much the Worms of old in just about every way albeit all wrapped in a new shiny 3D engine. All the quirky humour and vast array of wonderful weapons are still there as is the great pick-up-and-play style that made the original so popular. Also gameplay still basically revolves around 2 teams of worms taking turns to pummel each other with grenades, bazookas, missiles, cluster bombs, homing pigeons, flatulent old ladies (!) and a whole host of other standard and not-so-standard weaponry.

If this is your first bash at a Worms game let us fill you in on the basic premise. Essentially it's a turn-based strategy game where you control a team of little worm soldiers and attempt to wipe out the opposing team with all the weapons at your disposal. During battle you may start with a limited arsenal but scattered around the landscape are various crates containing extra weapons. There's also toolboxes harbouring various utilities such as jetpacks, parachutes and girders which allow you to reach out-of-the-way places where enemies are perched or more crates holding special weapons are sitting. The range and variety of these weapons and utilities is impressive indeed and you'll have a lot of fun trying them all out!

As this is the first fully 3D Worms game the obvious big difference to gameplay lies in the controls and movement around the landscapes. As previous games were basically side-scrolling in nature all you had to do was move into position, alter the elevation of your weapon with one control, the trajectory with another and fire. Now though moving into position is more similar to that in most 3rd-person shooters or platformers using the left analogue stick for movement and the right one for moving the camera around. Then you can engage your weapon either in that 3rd-person view or via a 1st-person one with a crosshair by pressing in and holding the R1 button. There's also a top-down view that can be utilised via the R2 button and this is really handy for locating enemies or items on the landscape as well as being used for targeting overhead weapons such as the Airstrike and Homing Missile. In fact the camera views work really well for a game where looking at things and pinpointing enemies and items is so important. Movement around the landscape is also handled well and your worms will quite often jump up small rises without any prompting. Larger climbs can be scaled by a jump or backflip (double-jump) using the square button.

Now what sets Worms 3D apart and makes it really interesting when using weapons is that this isn't just a shooter game where you line up a crosshair on the enemy and fire. As most of your shots are taken over a little distance you have to take into account the fall-line or arcing trajectory of shells, grenades or other items PLUS any effect the particular wind speed or direction at the time may have. To help you gauge the wind there's a handy little indicator on-screen at all times showing the current direction and speed. Ignore this and you'll be lucky to hit anything when the wind's a' blowin'! It's quite tough to master but after a good few maps you'll start to get the hang of it.

Luckily then there's a very good and fairly in-depth tutorial included in Worms 3D that is highly recommended, in fact pretty much essential, before you launch into the game. After completing this you can then try your hand at the various modes although the obvious first choice would be the main single-player game - Campaign Mode. This more or less carries on where the tutorial left off and is focused around completing a wide variety of increasingly difficult missions which also unlocks further weapons and some challenges plus allows completed levels to then be available for multiplayer games. The unlocked challenges are then added to the list in Challenge Mode where you can take on things like trying to beat Team 17's times in weapons training and collecting as many items around the landscape as possible using the jetpack or parachute. Doing well at these will then unlock further challenges and modes. There's also a Quick Blast Mode where you can play a quick single game against a team of AI worms on a randomly generated landscape. Fun, fun, fun!

While the single-player game in Worms 3D is arguably the best seen in any of the Worms games thus far, where it really shines is in Multiplayer. Old fans of Worms have long known the unbeatable enjoyment that sitting around a screen taking turns at trying to annihilate one another's teams provides. It's all back in great style here and up to 4 teams of 4 worms, either human-based or AI, can compete against each other. There's an almost endless array of options when setting games up from choosing customisable maps, to setting time limits, setting how fast the water rises, what weapons you want in or out to whether you can choose your worm each turn or let it cycle through the team.

That's only a few of the options though and there's a whole host of further customising that can be done within the teams themselves from choosing one of the numerous voice sets, to naming individuals, choosing a team flag and even choosing your gravestone type for when your worm is killed in action! Customisation is, and always has been, the best feature of Worms after the actual basic gameplay itself.

Now although the multiplayer game is supremely fun and has few rivals as a turn-based party piece on one screen there is one glaringly tragic omission from the PS2 version that is really quite unforgivable these days - there is no online option! In fact it was left out of the Xbox version too and we really can't understand why this was done in a game whose previous incarnations garnered such a hugely dedicated online following on PC. Worms World Party for instance was even available with online play for the Dreamcast!

Visually Worms 3D is definitely nothing revolutionary compared to other 3D action games on the PS2 but it is well put together and doesn't appear to contain any major problems or glitches. The general feel is a cartoony one, simple but colourful and full of nice little touches. The fully deformable landscapes work really well and a long, drawn out battle can produce some very battle-scarred environments full of holes and water-filled traps. Landscapes are also quite varied and there's some nicely themed maps providing a different challenge each time. The worms themselves are nicely recreated in 3D although again fairly simple detail-wise and the same design for every worm in the game. Their various expressions and reactions to imminent harm will crack you up though and this is one of the nice little touches mentioned above.

Visual effects such as explosions and smoke trails look very effective and the resulting damage is also well done and can in many cases completely change your approach to the next move. However, one little thing that we found mildly frustrating was how after an explosion that should have caused major damage your opponent often simply shook it off and said something like "Aw, leave me alone!" with hardly any loss of health points.

By far the best sound feature in Worms 3D is the fantastic selection of voice sets available that you can apply to your team. Our favourite at the moment is the Teen Angst one but there's a huge list to choose from including various international accents, Gangsta, Hippy, London Cabbie, Pirate and even a Nagging Wife amongst others! The background music is a similar mix of war theme and humorous tunes to that used in previous Worms games and the official soundtrack song "Shake Your Coconuts" by Junior Senior fits the game well at the main menu.