Worms 4: Mayhem

Worms 4: Mayhem is the fourth major entry in Team17's turn-based war series, fully leveraging the 3D graphics from the earlier Worms 3D and adding new weapons, vehicles, and an RPG element in the form of the Worm Shop - a store where players spend earned money on gear and abilities for their team. The basic principle stays the same: alternating turns, destructible terrain, and squeezing every bit of humor and tactics out of an arsenal of bazookas, sheep, and holy hand grenades. Players name their team of four to eight worms and gradually build its reputation through a series of battles, where victory depends not only on weapon power but also on patiently judging wind and distance.

On PC the game launched alongside the PlayStation 2 and Xbox versions and offers essentially the same content as the consoles - the main difference is the controls. Mouse and keyboard give players a precision that a gamepad can barely match, which especially helps with weapons that depend on shot angle and power, such as the bazooka or mortar. The PC version also benefited from being the platform where Worms games were traditionally played at LAN parties and tournaments, making online and local multiplayer a natural choice for many fans. The keyboard also allows quick weapon switching via number-key shortcuts, which requires scrolling through a menu on a gamepad.

The campaign offers a series of missions with progressively tougher opponents and forces the player to combine running, jumping, and the rope with explosives. Between matches, players can spend earned money on new weapons or cosmetic extras, so the game gradually opens up and rewards patience and experimentation. Vehicles like tanks or motorbikes add a new dimension of movement to an otherwise purely on-foot turn-based game and open up room for unexpected tactics for moving between islands of terrain.

Why play it: The PC version of Worms 4: Mayhem suits players who want precise mouse controls and plan to play mainly multiplayer with friends on one computer or over a network - the chaotic turn-based worm warfare feels most natural of all the era's versions on keyboard and mouse, and the Worm Shop gives a reason to keep playing even after finishing the campaign.