One day, as Jim, the earth-worm, was crawling around, he found himself chased by a crow... he was fortunate enough to escape to safety, but what made this particular day stand out was the fact that right after that event had played out, a super-suit fell from the sky, and landed right on Jim... transforming him into Earthworm Jim, the superhero that we know today. The game starts with you going out to find Princess What's-Her-Name, who's been kidnapped by her hideously ugly twin-sister, the appropriately named Queen-Slug-for-a-Butt, who employs Psy-Crow, and various other evil creatures, in trying to get their hands at the suit, since it will make the Queen beautiful. The controls are simple and easy to learn, letting you fire the gun in basically any direction. The graphics are good, and still hold up nicely. The humor is silly and the gags are plentiful... and almost all of it works really well. Personally, I could have done without quite so much gross-out comedy... but maybe the fans of the character like that, I really don't know(I've only played the first two games, I haven't seen the show that came later). The level design is pretty cool... the places you get to visit are imaginative and varied, and the challenges are good, if they don't always fit how far into the game they appear. The genre is action-adventure, with you alternating between blasting enemies with the red gun that goes with the suit(or whipping them with Jim's worm-part) and solving puzzles. You work your way through about twenty levels, to the almost impossibly and frustratingly hard last level. You get to play around with a few vehicles during the course of the levels, and some of the levels consist of racing Psy-Crow through increasingly thick asteroid fields, on a small one-person jet. Apart from the standard machine-gun blast, you can also pick up ammo for a few other weapons; two, I believe, one, a blast of plasma, that does massive damage to anything in its path, and the other being seeking missiles. The sound is excellent, with both the music and the sound effects also adding to the hilarity. As you fly through the aforementioned asteroid fields, you are accompanied by a number of instruments(which are unrelated to each other) playing a merry tune... occasionally interrupted by a dog barking, a Jew's-harp or the sound of a farm animal. This is a game that takes you to Heck(as it is known in this game) and back... and on your trip down there, you'll encounter lawyers that attack you with case-files, and, when hit by your weapons, retort "I'll sue!" The entire thing has that silly and goofy tone throughout. If that is how you like your games, then this is a must-have. With an entirely linear level design and a lack of high-scores(or even anything to collect that gives points; everything that you can pick up is extra lives, more health and more ammo for the weapons), the replay value really lies only in selecting a higher difficulty to complete the game at. The main levels are platform, with a dynamic camera which is mostly locked on Jim. Fast-paced, hopping, floating(since Jim is, in fact, a worm, he can use his head as a propeller to keep himself afloat, though he can't stay in the air for very long, and will continually drop downwards, slowly) and fighting fun. The game is exciting and addicting, and the boss fights and occasional unique level keep things interesting. Made by David Perry, who later went on to be the lead designer on Enter the Matrix, the simple controls and interface let you do quite a lot of fun feats. The sequel went on to add more weapons and a feature or two more, but only featured half as many levels, several of which weren't different from each other. I personally prefer this game, and one has to admire the fact that this was apparently what started the show, instead of the other way around. It certainly isn't hard to tell why this begot more games, and a television show. I haven't heard Castellaneta's Jim, so I can't say how good Douglas TenNapel(the character creator who does the voice here), is comparatively, but whilst Dan(no, I'm not putting myself through spelling out his last name again) is known for his comic voices, on The Simpsons, Douglas does quite good, with a wacky, spaced Jim. Though I haven't tried the original version, I would advise anyone who intends to play this game, expecting to like it, to get the Special Edition, as it adds several things(which you can read about in Alternate Versions), and improves on what is there. I would guess that children are the main audience that is aimed for, here, though basically anyone can play this game. It does take good reflexes and a bit of patience, however. You are given a level selector, though you cannot choose to start in a level that you haven't reached by playing through the previous ones, first. You start out with only a few lives, based on the difficulty... and though most levels have a few continue-points, which, if reached, allow you to start from there, instead of starting over on the level. But, if you run out of extra lives and Jim passes on, you will be sent to the "continue" screen... and you'll have to start the level all over, not necessarily knowing how to pass the part that cost you your level progress. That, and the gross parts of the comedy is pretty much the only problem I have with the game. If you plan on purchasing and playing this game, know that it can be very difficult. But through that, it's usually fun, always silly and makes for great escapism. I recommend this to any fan of the character, as well as anyone who enjoys silly, goofy fun. Cartoony, creative and colorful... and a great game for all ages. 8/10
Review of Earthworm Jim
Earthworm Jim
(1994 Video Game)
Silly, fast-paced fun... if unevenly difficult, and, well, we could have done without quite so much gross-out comedy
25 December 2006