I love Worms. It remains one of my favorite franchises if only for its sheer multiplayer addictiveness and its ridiculous comic nature, something Team 17 has nailed time and time again with each of their developments. I've been hooked since the series was introduced on PlayStation and Saturn years ago, and still am, despite some people thinking that the latest 3-D attempts can't hold up to the originals. Hey, I dig 'em. But, if I had to choose one, I'd go 2-D. Can't go wrong with the old school.

And apparently Team 17 knows this. They're working closely with the publishers at THQ on the latest chapter in the series, Worms: Open Warfare, for both the Sony PSP and Nintendo DS, and both games look like they're coming along fine. For this latest chapter, Team 17 is returning to the 2-D format of the game, introducing it with 3-D style graphics to have a presentation that's kind of like a hybrid- 2.5-D, if you will. A number of new environments are being introduced to make the design just as wild as it's ever been, and humor will once again play a factor as you send these dedicated worm soldiers out onto the battlefield.

If you're unfamiliar with the series (or the thought of worms just makes you rather ill), let me sum up. It's basically tactical action mixed with humor. You're given a team of five worms and you're pitted against other teams of worms, and your goal is to obliterate them with a number of weapons and items that help you position yourself better. You can go simple and use rockets and shotgun blasts to chunk away at their energy, but the real fun comes in using unconventional weaponry, such as exploding sheep or banana bombs that have the ability of spreading around and digging a deeper grave for the enemy worms. That about covers it.

The game will once again return this weapon system, but Team 17 is promising a better balancing of the weapons and the AI to make the gameplay that much more enjoyable. This will probably mean the introduction of some new tools of the trade as well, combined with that sense of humor that made the games so hilarious to begin with. I'd like to see some kind of ninja monkey or ant unleashed, going off on a homicidal binge and slicing everything in his path. But that's just my wishful thinking, and Team 17 hasn't answered my letter of request yet so I'll just wait and see what they include. Heh.

Worms: Open Warfare will also offer an option that many will find rather handy in the mobile effort- mid-game saves. That means if you're in the middle of a battle and find yourself having to turn off the machine (like if you actually need to pay attention to an actual person, during an editorial meeting- God forbid), you can save your progress and return at a later time. This is an essential new feature that works perfectly with the handheld front, and will work with both single player and multiplayer efforts. No more "Buffa wins by default!" victory claims- we finish our fight, sir!

Ahh, multiplayer. Worms: Open Warfare will provide one of two options to take here. You can either play the old-fashioned way and pass around one unit between four people to get your war groove on, or you can link up to four players using a Wi-Fi connection and three other copies of the game and plan your tactics just a little bit better. The DS version should also find some usage of the touch-screen for weapon selection, so make sure you don't let others see what you pick for your devastating assault. No one will see your banana bombs coming.

Open Warfare should also stick to the delightful presentation we've been seeing for some time. The 2.5-D animation and settings should be cute and yet devilish, while the audio will include plenty of wormy taunts, screams, and commands. Ever have a worm yell out "I'll get you"? Well, you probably will here, and for the first time, you'll want to take it personal as you don't have the comfort of gooshing them under your boot.

Worms: Open Warfare declares war on the market next month for the PSP and the Nintendo DS, and you can bet we'll be back to cover the blow-by-blow action in a full-on assault of a review. After all, the action of Worms shall never find stoppage in my life. Unless I'm in a hospital bed or getting married. And even then, I got that save option on my side. Ahh, save option. Long live the battle of the worms.