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Which self-respecting gamer would not admit to feeling at least the slightest tinge of nostalgia after hearing "Worms"? This series is the most old school game series that I could care to remember. I remember playing Worms in 2D when I was twelve, having fun blasting opponent worms to oblivion with the Holy Hand Grenade. After so many years, Worms has evolved from a 2D landscape, to a new 3D one.

Worms 4: Mayhem is by far, not a new game. It was launched in 2005, to mixed reactions. This was considered something like a follow-up/improvement to the earlier Worms 3D. Worms 4: Mayhem introduced several new additions to the Worms arsenal, notably poison arrows and a sniper rifle. The player will take control of the Worms on a 3D landscape (modeled after architecture during Medieval, the Old West and modern times). Basically, it is just the old Worms game slightly improved, thrown into a 3D arena.

However, despite having said that, it is an entirely new ballgame. The difference between marshaling your Worms in 2D and taking control of them individually in first-person in a 3D environment is vast. When firing bazookas, trajectory is no longer bi-directional, and this adds a significantly large degree of challenge to the players. Even basic navigation of the terrain is arduous in 3D, and you risk plunging your Worm to death in many cases. It adds a sense of novelty to the Worms franchise as gameplay feels more 'down-to-earth', with personal control of the individual Worms through their eyes.

The downside of this is that, although it adds a good measure of novelty to the game, the game becomes that much more difficult to play. Navigating the uneven 3D using the ungainly Worms is a nightmare; I often end up accidentally killing my Worms. Also, using the scope of a sniper rifle to take out enemy Worms do not have the same sadistic but entertaining effect of dropping a Holy Hand Grenade on them (while mouthing "Hallelujah!"). The visual effects are nothing to be proud of, in fact, I felt that the explosive effect was better in 2D. Worms 4: Mayhem does not provide much depth of play; for example, it's actually easier and more straightforward to hop up to a nearby enemy Worm and club him off the ground and into the water than trying to aim a bazooka through a scope. This takes the fun off blasting things up, which is the tried-and-tested-to-be-effective success formula for the Worms series.

Worms 4: Mayhem gives a new dimension to Worms play, but much of the gameplay is similar to that of the previous Worms 3D episode. Critics have argued that the little improvement made does not justify the purchase of this title. If you grew up loving the act of maniacally blowing up Worms with an assortment of incendiaries, you would do better to stick to Worms in a 2D landscape.

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