Team 17 has accomplished a very difficult feat, namely improving an already excellent product to gives us Worms, The Directors Cut.

In terms of graphics, variety, and scope, the game is an absolute peach. Both spec-wise and option-wise the game is pretty impressive. 300 colours on screen, 50 frames a second, 9 level parallax and super smooth quarter pixel scrolling is combined with an almost unlimited number of options and embellishments.

The real strength of this new Worms release and what makes it stand out from the original, is the sheer scope afforded by the vast amount of new options.

The ‘Graffiti Mode’ enables players to fight it out on an infinite number of battlefields. Using this little device the player can squiggle about with a mouse, write offensive words or pictures of the human anatomy, press a couple of buttons and transform their work of art into a worm battlefield.

Players have the choice to determine whether their graffiti creation will be above ground or in the same shape of caverns deep under ground. The Amiga will dress your creation with trees, houses and a picturesque back drop to look like a proper bona-fide wormy battlefield.

Invincible Invertibrates
This isn’t the only new options feature by a long shot – the game is absolutely packed with them. Before playing you can set the lethality of every weapon. You can choose short skirmishes with ultra deadly weapons or an epic protracted battle with weapons as lethal as a feather duster On the subject of weapons, the range available is huge.

Whilst the original Worms had a selection of comparatively unremarkable weapons, this little beauty uses the weirdest weapons ever seen in a game. Sheep for example, are definitely a force to be reckoned with.

The all-new Super Sheep is a deadly accurate flying sheep that, by using the cursors, can be directed around the battlefield at breakneck speed and sent careering into the enemies’ worms.

The Ninja-esqe Sheep-on-a-Rope will strike terror into the hearts of worms as they swing, Spiderman style, across the screen and drop on unfortunate wormy warriors. In addition to the sheep, exploding old women can be sent on suicide missions, they totter up to unsuspecting worms and explode.

However, the best weapons additions are the little topical embellishments such as the postal strike (five presumably overdue letters which drift down from the sky and wreak destruction). Mad cows bound with mental enthusiasm into the nearest obstacle and blow it to bits and using two or three of these will destroy an obstacle a worm is hiding behind and subsequent cows will blow the worm itself away.

The French nuclear testing option is probably the best though. Using this ecologically unfriendly tactic, explode a nuke to the tune of the French national anthem and watch the battlefield slip Muratora Atoll style, a few feet into the sea, drowning any worm unfortunate enough to be in the way of the rising waters.

Some of the worms seem to be developing a certain urban combat gangsta style approach to their battle tactics. Although not driving about hin chopped and lowered Mercedes 190s with huge airfoils at the back and tinted out windows, worms are now able to smack their opponents about with baseball bats or chuck petrol bombs at them.

At this point I should perhaps mention something about the rumoured appearance of a freaky looking 70s Garden ornament made out of highest concrete. But I won’t because it’s just a rumour… alright?

Subhead
The little pink heroes are much improved and filled out in this version. An unlimited number of worm teams can be saved and each of the battle worms have their unique speech. Just think, Jessica Lange’s swan song would be the ‘Murder She Wrote’ theme or Begbie worm could utter ‘Renton ya wee radge’ before shuffling his mortal worm coil. If you own a sampler there is the option to add your own pearls of wisdom for the worm to utter in moments of triumph or terror.

Another added touch to the new worms and one which brings a tear to my eye and makes me talk in a faltering croaky voice, is the ability to save all your worms, give them names and celebrate their birthdays. Thing is, can you face getting attached when the next moment they could be annihilated by an exploding granny or destroyed by a Ninja Sheep on a rope?

It appears this game has achieved something unique in modern computer games. By enabling players to decide the battlefield, the lethality of the weapons and even the speech of the individual worms, Andy Davidson has designed the game so it can be tailored exactly to the requirements of the individual.

This, coupled with the fact that the game can be played via a network or modem, more or less guarantees that for years to come the game will be constantly adapted and customised by its fans.

I could go on about everything new and unique in ‘Worms, the Directors Cut’ for ages; about the worm to worm ‘prod’ ability (where the player can gently shove an opposing worm off cliffs and ridges) or the networking and modem facilities or that you can have up to 16 people playing in any one game, but I just don’t have the time.

The truth is, Andy Davidson has breathed years of new life into a game that didn’t really need that much new life breathed in to it in the first place. Whilst retaining the playability of the original game, The Directors Cut has refined and polished the product to an almost unsurpassable degree.

When Team 17 decided to produce a new version of Worms it seems the brief was simple. "Just put any features in that you couldn't squeeze onto Worms when you first did it. Go mad, have fun!" And that's pretty much exactly what original Worms creator, Andy Davidson did with Worms - The Director's Cut.

And wy the devil not? Worms is a phenomenally successful game that's been enjoyed by thousands on many different platforms - even PlayStation gamers have realised that a game doesn't need polygon characters running around 3D worlds to be fun - and while Worms 2 is still some way off surely there's some mileage to be gained to adding new tweaks and twists to the existing engine?

And those twists and tweaks? A few more weapons (homing pigeons, mad cows, sheep on a rope, concrete donkeys - you get the picture) and the ability to scribble on a blank screen and have the game take that scribble and turn it into a landscape. Or you could do pictures if you want. Or maybe a combination?

The other major game change (well, more of an expansion) is the ability to change the stats for the weapons and things - if you now think a bazooka shot should be able to take an enemy down the first time, then change the strength of the bazooka's shot. There's a league, where two to four teams compete (there are five computer controlled teams of various abilities to play with but it's perfectly possible to create as many teams as you like with intelligence settings from 1 - 10).

There's the familiar 'friendly', plus a tournament mode where 4-8 teams compete in a knockout tournament, with each match lasting a pre-set number of rounds (sort of best out of three type thing)

So there you go. What you now need to know is whether to rush out and buy the game - especially if you've got a lovely AGA machine. I wouldn't bother mate. Shock, horror. Sorry everyone, I just don't think there's enough here to make it a worthwhile purchase for Worms fans.

Sure, if you don't already own Worms - which is a damn fine game, worthy of a Format Gold any day - then you should get yourself down the shops pronto. But if you do already own the original then you're not really missing anything if you save your money by not buying this.

But what about all the new landscapes and the cavern levels and things? I concede that they alter the 'flavour' of the game slightly, but not enough to make that much of a difference. The graffiti mode does make it very easy to create your own landscapes, and that can only be a good thing but it's just not enough to write home about.

I think you're getting the drift now. Sure, Worms is a top game because it's pure competition - in the same vein as something like Micro Machines - and that's why it's great fun and that's why you can keep playing and playing. But Worms - The Director's Cut is just Worms with a bit of icing. Much like Sensible Soccer European Championship Edition (but without the glaring errors, Sensi) which you'd be wasting your money on if you already owned Sensi Soccer in one of its various incarnations, this would be a waste of money for anyone who already had the original.

EASY WAY OUT
It's an increasing problem with games these days. Publishers and developers are increasingly scared of innovation. A game costs a substantial amount to develop and if publishers are going to recover that money they've got to make sure they're developing the right games - that often means they take the easy route of producing a sequel.

Call it 'The Director's Cut' or 'Special Edition' and sit back and hope the games hungry public lap it up. Most of the time it works (when there are enough new features to merit a new version) but the price we pay is a lack of innovation and inspiration when it comes to new designs.

Hatts off to Team 17 for having the balls to bring us Worms in the first place but Worms - The Director's Cut looks like old rope to me and I just hope they've got a lot of new ideas for any further games bearing the Worms name.