The Worms return for 10th year celebration as Codemasters signs Worms 4: Mayhem

Codemasters | Codemasters today announces it has secured the PAL publishing rights to Worms 4: Mayhem, a new development that is set to be as infectious and accessible as classic Worms offerings.

The Worms series recently diversified with Worms Forts Under Siege, a tactical RTS-like spin-off created for Sega. However, Worms 4: Mayhem is a return to the series' trademark gameplay and sees Team 17's core Worms design and development team regrouping for a game of explosive annelid annihilation.

Worms 4: Mayhem is set to launch on PlayStation 2, Xbox and PC in Q2 2005 and, returning to the series' roots, our brave invertebrates are back to knock ten shades of hell out of each other in open arenas.

With players controlling the worms in single player or 4-player team games, everyone's armed with a massive variety of wild weapons, as ingenious as they are incendiary.

And for the first time in any Worms game, you can let your imagination run riot and create your own weapons! Using a genius device, called Weapons Factory, you'll be able to create your own weapon and enjoy the freedom to annihilate your opponents in your own unique way. You want to make Exploding Chickens or Toilet Bombs? You got it.

The worms' armoury of brilliantly conceived classic weapons return and is built on with even more devilish devices. Plus, prepare to cause chaos and humiliate your enemy with a host of new weapons that create new strategies and gameplay possibilities including the Poison Arrow, Sentry Gun, Tail Nail and the Bovine Blitz, which unleashes a bombing raid of cows.

The customisation options don't stop at crafting new weapons. Another first is the ability to customise your worms, choosing their hair, hands, faces, glasses and dying words - all with Worms trademark humour.

The multiplayer mayhem and single-player shenanigans are spread over five themed zones - Jurassic, Camelot, Arabian, Construction and Wild West - and, throughout the enlarged landscapes, the entirely destructible scenery is back with even greater effect.

In single-player modes there's even more beyond the day-to-day business of destroying worms. Through the 25 missions, you're also charged with objectives such as recovering items or smashing scenery. All the single-player maps are available to play in multiplayer mode, along with a further set of 20 multiplayer-specific maps.

With bold levels, an improved 3D camera and animation system, a stunning arsenal delivering comedy kabooms, the loveable, customisable, yet entirely destructible, worms will be back in force properly when Codemasters publishes Worms 4: Mayhem in Q2 2005 for PlayStation 2, Xbox and PC. Slither online to discover more at www.codemasters.co.uk/worms

ABOUT CODEMASTERS

Codemasters is a leading developer and publisher of best-selling interactive entertainment products for a global audience on current and future gaming platforms and channels. Established in 1986, the company's dominant brands include Colin McRae Rally, TOCA Race Driver, LMA Manager, and Operation Flashpoint. The company is headquartered in Southam, Warwickshire UK and maintains European operations in Germany, France, Spain, and Benelux. The company has its US headquarters in New York. More information about the company and its products is available online at http://www.codemasters.com

ABOUT TEAM 17

Team 17 Software Limited is a privately owned high calibre entertainment software development company headquartered in West Yorkshire, England. Team 17 has developed over 120 SKUs in its thirteen-year history and specialises in quality original titles using proprietary technology across all major hardware platforms. Key Team 17 franchises and brands include Worms, Alien Breed, Project X and Superfrog. For more information, visit the Team 17 website at www.team17.com