The Worm's series has had a long history, but Worms 2: Open Warfare for the DS is quite simply one of the best versions - considerably better than the first Worms for the DS. From the dual-screen to the spare use of touch screen to slick Wi-fi modes, the developers have really streamlined this game into a very cohesive package.

If you're new to the series, Worms 2: Open Warfare is a turn-based strategy game in which, well, sarcastic worms do battle with rocket launchers and jet-packs. Each turn is timed for movement and one attack; you'll navigate wavy hills and obstacles as you look for the enemy worms. Once you find that little bugger, you can swipe up with the stylus or press Y and bring up your weapons cache. Worms has always been known for a large and hilarious assortment of weapons and technology, from air-strikes to Uzis to blowtorches. One of the funniest is the firepunch: when your worm hits the enemy with a fiery-upper cut, he'll let out a dramatic Mortal Kombat yell (KKAhhh YukeNNN!!). The wind is a factor though when firing a rocket or grenade, so you'll be calculating wind speed, a power meter that you control, and the obstacles in the path from you to your enemy worm.

The biggest drawback of the dual-screen is the position of the landscape vertically, so you can only see far above you as opposed to horizontally. The limitation is that, though you can scan the battleground by holding R, it's hard to chart the course of your rocket or grenade when making a long shot. Pretty much everything is controlled with the d-pad and buttons, and while some things can be done with the stylus (like swiping up to get the weapons menu), it's more comfortable to just set the stylus aside and play it old-school.

The graphics are a very nice blending of 2-D animation in the foreground and 3-D in the background, and give the game a lot of energy even while not that much may be going on in between turns. The worlds and battlegrounds that you'll be playing on range comically from pirate warfare to World War I to space battles on the moon.

The developers incorporated quite a few modes into Worms 2: Open Warfare, and none of them feel tacked on or over cooked. First off, after creating a custom team of 4, you can dive straight into the campaign mode, which features fully scripted CG cut scenes. You progress by winning each battle with as few attempts as possible and then, after receiving credits, you can buy items from the shop, like new skins for your worms, victory dances, and battlegrounds.

The "Labratory" mode is a very cool addition of 3 lasting mini-games. The first is called "Blow," which lets you blow into the mike to propel your parachuting worm around a mountainous obstacle course. In "Blast," you tap the worm with your stylus to blast your worm across a similar course, which gets progressively harder with each succeeding level. Finally, "Draw" is homage to Kirby: Canvas Curse where you draw with limited "ink" to get your worm around obstacles and explosives.

There is a puzzle mode that starts you controlling one worm that is out to destroy the other worms that are strategically scattered around the level. Much like the other games, there is a progression of harder levels that await the most dedicated, and masochistic Worms players.

The multiplayer is very well designed, featuring Wi-fi, single and multi-card play. Wi-fi can pit you against players you have swapped friend codes with or randomly assign you players you haven't. The only drawback with random matches is you don't get to keep the teams you made for the campaign in single player. The multiplayer is probably the most attractive aspect of this game and one thing that you'll want to keep in mind when looking for that next great Wi-fi DS game.

Gameplay: 8.0
Tightly woven gameplay makes this a great addition to the series. If only more touch screen could have been implemented.

Graphics: 7.5
Tasteful and artfully rendered 2-D and 3-D graphics.

Sound: 7.0
Funny quips from Worms and nice background music.

Difficulty: Medium
Slight learning curve, but tons of depth

Concept: 7.0
The series has been done many times over, so this isn’t exactly fresh, but it’s well done and nicely implemented on the DS.

Multiplayer: 9.0
Fantastic multiplayer experience, especially with Wi-fi. That really is the core of the game.

Overall: 7.5
A very solid Worms game and with the addition of Wi-fi, it is sure to please hardcore fans.