Ever since I got addicted to Worms 2 almost a decade ago in 1998, it’s been a somewhat disappointing ride with Team 17 as the franchise became less and less true to its roots over the years. For those not familiar with the Worms series (which seems impossible for anyone that calls themselves a gamer) the game is essentially an old-school artillery game with the volume turned up to 11. Instead of little tanks shooting at each other, you’ve got a team of worms. And instead of launching cannonballs at the other team, you’re launching explosive homing pigeons, explosive sheep, exploding cows, and exploding little old ladies. Alright, so the weapons sound strange, but that’s just one of the reasons Worms was such an entertaining game. In an attempt to keep the Worms series fresh, Team 17 experimented with different gameplay mechanics, including base building and even branching the series into 3D. Unfortunately none of these new ideas worked very well, and gamers found themselves wishing for a return to glory with a spectacular 2D incarnation. Unfortunately last year’s Worms Open Warfare for the PSP and DS left a lot to be desired, with a lackluster presentation and most importantly, a lack of online play. The Worms series are best played with friends, so in the current age of online gaming it didn’t make sense to release a Worms game without it. Things began to look up when a new 2D Worms game was released in March of this year on Xbox Live Arcade, and the announcement of a new Open Warfare game in time for this holiday season. Promising a completely new experience from the ground up and online play this time around, I’ve been hesitantly optimistic for Open Warfare 2, if only because it still carries the Open Warfare name. Thankfully Team 17 delivered on their promise and gave us a Worms game that is easily the best in years, and brings the series to a new home on handhelds.

If you’re one of the unfortunate souls that bought Open Warfare or maybe just read some reviews for it, forget everything you heard about the game. It’s gone and Open Warfare 2 has basically nothing in common with its predecessor save for the name. In fact, my biggest complaint is that Open Warfare 2 doesn’t really feel like a sequel and might get hindered in the market by being associated with its lackluster predecessor. Regardless, Open Warfare 2 is a whole new experience that builds upon the series’ core gameplay. You’re still on a 2D map with a team of worms blasting away at each other, but that’s just the Deathmatch mode. You’ll also find Campaign, Puzzle, and Ninja Rope modes to enjoy, among others. Campaign mode attempts to include a story, but it’s not really important and thankfully doesn’t distract from the game itself. The missions are a little more varied than your typical team deathmatch, even including boss-type enemies to defeat. Puzzle mode is another interesting evolution of the core game that gives you goals to accomplish with limited weapon choices or movement options. Ninja Rope mode takes advantage of one of the series’ staple weapons and makes you put your Tarzan skills to the test. While these modes won’t hold a candle to the excitement of multiplayer matches, they’re a fun distraction for when you can’t find anyone to play with.