Are you worm enough to look a bazooka in the face? The classic Worms combat franchise makes its debut on Nintendo DS.

Features

• Classic turn-based gameplay
• Tons of unconventional weapons
• Battle via wireless LAN
• Randomly generated landscapes and tough AI

Retaining the same award-winning gameplay, unique sense of humor and clever mix of action and strategy that has epitomized the brand for almost a decade, Worms: Open Warfare brings the big guns and comes to life on the dual-screen Nintendo DS.

The second screen makes weapon selection the easiest it's ever been for the franchise. The top screen displays the basic gameplay: the battlefield and all its spoils and obstacles, the worms and the health of each worm. On the bottom screen, you'll notice a radar of the entire map, a timer indicating the seconds left to make your move and icons of weapons you have at your disposal. To arm yourself, just tap the icon. There's two screens of weapons and equipment for your Worms to use to destroy the enemy unit.

The game features four modes of play from the pick-up-and-go Quick Game to Challenges. If you want to dictate the scenario, select the Create Game mode. When you're with a friend who also has a DS, battle him in Multiplayer mode.

Up to four players can engage in wireless warfare with just one game card. The multiplayer game closely resembles the Quick Start mode where a map is randomly generated. You get to choose the difficulty level, setting for your battle (from jungle to space) and the type of Worms that will battle. This mostly affects the name and witty banter your Worms dish out to each other.

No two maps are the same as the game randomly generates a near infinite number of landscapes in Quick Start, Create Game and Multiplayer modes. If you're up for a good challenge, see if you can take what the computer AI can dish out in Challenge mode.

The destructible landscapes and physics of the game are such that you're often your own worst enemy. If you're not exact with your calculations and take wind speed into account, you may end up doing more damage to yourself than your opponent.

Like other Worms titles, the presentation of the game is simple with solid gameplay, especially when it comes weapon selection. The replay value of the game will depend on your competitive nature and if you have human rivals you like to square off against. There are not an overwhelming number of options, so the game feels pretty straightforward.

Bottom Line
Like the others in the Worms series, Worms: Open Warfare delivers a quality turn-based combat experience. It doesn't have a ton of options, but with the randomly generated landscapes and simple gameplay, it makes for a fun pastime on Nintendo DS.