Fightin' worms

I have been a huge fan of the "Worms" games since playing the original on the ill-fated Sega Saturn. \nFor those of you who haven't played one of the dozens of incarnations out there, "Worms" is, at its heart, the perfect blend of strategy and humor. \nUp to four teams of four worms face off on a randomly generated battlefield with everything from conventional weapons like bazookas to not-so-conventional weapons like exploding sheep, all the while mocking each other in high-pitched voices or funny stereotypical accents.\n"Worms HD" on Xbox Live Arcade follows the series' formula but includes some beautiful updated graphics so that explosions pack an extra "oomph" and of course, achievements and four-player support over Xbox Live.\nNow, as much as I do love the "Worms" games, I will not hesitate for one second to say that the single-player in these games usually sucks the big worm. The missions are usually too difficult and the computer AI seems to score ridiculously difficult kills every turn. The single-player game here doesn't stray from that norm.\nLuckily online four-player games are an absolute blast, and I didn't notice a hint of lag in any of the games I played.\nPlayers looking to boost their achievement score will be kept busy for several hours, trying to kill 100 worms total or 25 worms with just landmines.\nIf there's one complaint, it's that the weapon selection is severely lacking from some past "Worms" games. Exploding sheep and banana bombs are all well and good, but where the hell are my holy hand grenade or nuclear test?\nThere's the option that these and other weapons might be included in future downloadable content, but let's face it, paying extra for things that should have been in the basic game is a shady business move that is growing more and more prevalent in next-generation gaming.\nStill, what's here is a classic game and worth downloading for 800 Microsoft Points ($10) if you're a fan of the series or strategy games in general.