"Leave me alone!" This cry rang out around countless living rooms to much merriment when the first Worms game appeared on PC and consoles nearly ten years ago. What started out as a comical, turn-based combat game quickly became a global success and spawned several sequels. Now, the title has evolved from its 2D roots into glorious 3D. By my rudimentary maths, it's gone from two to three so this game should be 50 per cent better, right?

The premise is simple. Control a team of plucky, military-trained earthworms, and use outlandish weapons to obliterate the opposite team. It sounds simple, but the real challenge comes in the art of firing the weapons. It's completely down to the player to correctly judge the aim, trajectory and power of their attacks, taking into account wind direction and speed. It sounds tricky, but soon becomes second nature, and you'll enjoy discovering the characteristics of each weapon. A wide arsenal is at your disposal, from the standard (Bazookas, Grenades, Cluster Bombs), and the devastating (Homing Missiles and AirStrikes), to the downright ludicrous (Banana Bombs, Sheep, and Exploding Old Ladies). This isn't your standard warfare strategy.

Although the original games gained notoriety as multiplayer titles, at the heart of Worms 3D is a very comprehensive single-player mode. Form a team of worms, and lead them to glory. Start with a handy tutorial, play a quick game against a CPU opponent, and then it's on to Campaign mode with more than 30 maps to conquer. There's a strong vein of off-the-wall humour, typified by some of the mission names, such as 'Take My Cherry' and 'In Space, No One Can Hear You Clean'. Add to this a huge Challenge mode, where you can unlock weapons, maps, soundbites and secret missions, and you've got a pretty complete one-player game. With random positioning options, customisable levels and weapon distribution, the game provides millions of different permutations, so you should be at this one a fair while.

The gameplay is, like the game itself, a novel yet simple concept. Each level can be played a variety of ways, and most areas are accessible. The 3D environment expands the strategic element, and a fully deformable landscape offers great scope for creating caves, shelter etc.

Multiplayer is usually the forte of the Worms series, but it's here that Worms 3D falls short. Up to four gamers can play, controlling a team each, but all sharing a single pad. This may promote a more social side of things, but it feels antiquated. With no System Link either, just giving the players a pad each would have been something, even in a turn-based game. Also, the PC Worms games were extremely popular online, and Worms 3D has missed a great opportunity. Xbox Live would have been an ideal platform to support cross-continent worm warfare, but alas it wasn't to be.

The camera is the only other main gripe. It's inverted during normal play, but then reverses when zoomed in. This can get really fiddly and frustrating, particularly when you're trying to select your weapon, aim and fire all within a 60-second time limit.

Worms 3D provides a good deal of fun and frolics but fails to be the great multiplayer game it could have been.

1. Great sense of humour
2. Loads of maps
3. More extravagant weapons

1. Annoying camera
2. No System Link or Xbox Live support

Power
There's a fully interactive 3D environment, but it's nothing too taxing for the Xbox.

Style
Hilarious dialogue and maps but the characters and landscapes lack real detail.

Immersion
Jump right in and blast away. It might take a while to master your technique, though.

Lifespan
Huge multiplayer and theoretically limitless map combinations mean you'll be at this for a long time.

Summary
Entertaining sequel that fans of the series will enjoy but let down by the frustrating camera controls and no Xbox Live.