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To those that have never played Worms before, we'll give a brief rundown on how the game works. You have a squad of four worms, and your opposing teams (up to 3 enemy teams in total) have four worms also, each with 100 hit points. The object is quite simply to kill the other teams, whilst not getting all of your worms killed. To help with the despatching of enemies, you have a number of weapons available, ranging from the default bazooka, to exploding sheep, and with a bouncing banana bomb in between. Be careful, though, as wind will affect some weapons, so plan your shots well.

The environment is fully destructible, and also features various obstacles to hinder your progress towards enemy worms, and weapon trajectory. At the bottom of each map is water; the worms can drown if they fall in.

Each round though has a set time limit, when the time runs out, the remaining worms are placed into sudden death mode, where by all worms are reduced to one hit point health, and the water level rises after each turn. And that's the game in its simplest description. Worms: Open Warfare 2, at first glance it looks very similar to the original, although when you start playing, the differences are numerous. The first difference is in gameplay. In the previous version, there is no campaign mode, single player consists of a series of challenges with progressively harder enemies, and more teams against you. So by the end of the challenges, you have a total of 1200 HP, vs 3600 collective HP. In Open Warfare 2 there is a true blue campaign mode, featuring battles through the ages. Each of the six battles has four levels, and a boss level to finish, giving 30 levels total.

Unlike previous Worms games, in the single player mode, not all weapons are available at the start, so the crates which fall from the sky every other turn become more desirable as you try to find that elusive weapon to turn the tide of battle.

Weapons is something Worms has never been short on, but just in case there was an option not covered (and there was, which is now rectified), we have been given 50% more weapons to choose from. Originally there were 22 weapons available, now we have 33. They range from Super Sheep (like Superman, but woolly, and sheepish), and holy hand grenades, to a lightning strike that can revive a dead worm, or even heal a wounded worm.

The maps have changed considerably, too: not only are there the standard single- and double-layer horizontal maps found previously, but there are now also vertical type maps, meaning a lot of previous strategies won't work (no more grenade spamming for some of us). This new map layout has added quite a bit of difficulty to the game, because more often than not, you have worms placed precariously close to a sheer drop to the drink. So a clever opponent can fly over the map using a jet pack and plant a grenade at your feet sending you flying into the sea.

The best thing with Worms has always been multiplayer, and Open Warfare 2 doesn't disappoint. All options have been catered for. The most accessible for players is Hot Potato - up to fout players can play on one PSP, and after your turn you pass the PSP onto the next player until you have a winner. Or if you have three mates with PSPs, you can play with limited options in Game Sharing, or in Ad Hoc mode via Wireless multiplayer. Worms: Open Warfare 2 also supports Infrastructure mode, so if you have access to a wireless access point and broadband you can play online. Online play also gives access to worldwide leader boards, and downloads. Not only that, but with online play there is a community menu available, and in this menu is a list of recent players, a friends list and even what clan you are in.

In multiplayer the standard deathmatch mode is present, along with two new modes: Forts and Rope Race. In Forts you need to select a fort type and defend it whilst destroying your enemy's. The objective of Rope Race is to use the ninja rope and jetpack to get to the finish first, a good fun alternative.

Like earlier versions you are able to set up you own team and call them what you want. Well, almost it seems. The team name I choose for my squad has a 'ho' in its name and as it turns out, this gets changed to xx! However, customisation doesn't end there - playing through the game earns you points; these points can be redeemed for other previously locked weapons, new hats, and even character voices.

One gripe I do have is that every time I start a campaign, I have to select my squad from the list available. But when you first start the game, you are required to make a profile and then are given the option to set up your own team. Surely, this could be tied to your profile.

Worms: Open Warfare 2 is a good fun game, and we strongly recommend it to any fan of turn based strategy games or casual gamers.