Worms 4: Mayhem coming to America

In July, Europe was infested by worms--of the good kind. That's when UK-based Codemasters published Worms 4: Mayhem for the PlayStation 2, Xbox, and PC. The latest installment in Team 17's annelid-related strategy series, the game follows another group of military-minded night crawlers as they do battle with one another. It also marked the 10th anniversary of the franchise, which has been a longtime cult favorite among gamers.

Despite the series' appeal, it was unclear whether Worms 4: Mayhem would make it onto American shores. Its previous US publisher, Acclaim, went bankrupt last August, leaving it without a North American distributor.

However, today that void was filled by Majesco, which announced it will publish Worms 4: Mayhem in the US this coming fall. No exact date was given, but Majesco did say the game would be available for the budget price of just $19.99. "This year, the successful Worms series celebrates 10 years of delighting gamers both young and old with its unique and comical approach to interactive strategy games,” said Majesco vice president of marketing Ken Gold.

Worms 4: Mayhem expands on the oddball invertebrate warfare of its predecessors. Players will be able to create their own six-worm team to do battle in a variety of terrain created by a random level generator. Players will also be able to customize their worm teams' look, sound, and fighting style. Furthermore, they will be able to equip said worms with new customized items from a weapons factory, including the tail nail, poison arrow, and sniper rifle.

Worms 4: Mayhem will also support several modes of play, including a 25-mission story mode for single players. Owners of Xbox and PC versions of the game can engage in online multiplayer bouts of up to four players. But if you own a PlayStation 2, you'll miss out on more than Worms 4: Mayhem's online play--the game isn't being released in North America for the console.

For more on Worms 4: Mayhem, slide on over to GameSpot's previous coverage. To try the PC version for yourself, download either the single-player demo or the brand-new multiplayer demo from GameSpot DLX.