Earthworm Jim

Earthworm Jim was a flagship title back in the early 90′s. As Joe said in our podcast last Saturday, it was a case of struggling through the first level and then dying embarrassingly by the second. It was a difficult game and, for the very young, things like Sonic the Hedgehog were that little bit more easy to grasp and enjoy.

Now that I’ve gone from child who enjoys games to adult who dedicates his working life to them, I felt going in to Gameloft’s remake of the original Earthworm Jim game that I was probably better equipped than ever to get through this game with my manliness, and controller, intact.

How wrong I was.

The first thing you’ll notice, upon downloading Earthworm Jim HD from the XBLA, is that it is almost identical to the game you’ll no doubt remember pixel-by-pixel. You can still launch cows, the dog is still a bitch in the first level (In both senses of the word – not that I checked to closely…) and I still can’t get through it in any less than about 7 minutes without seeing the continue screen. The graphics may have been completely overhauled but the levels play out as a fan of the original game would expect them to.

Now, depending on your opinion of the source material, this may be a good thing or a bad thing. Personally, I enjoyed this remake and would recommend it to kids too young to remember this sort of side-scroller but who enjoyed the likes of last years ‘Splosion Man. That said, Earthworm Jim HD is certainly not without it’s problems.

Firstly, you cannot talk about this game without mentioning just how awesome the updated graphics really are. The whole style matches the cartoon visuals of the original and still managed to keep the heart and soul intact.

However, the ’3D’ visuals – coming back on yourself while walking down a hill, for instance – still make me feel a little seasick. This counts for the asteroid levels as well, which don’t seem to have the excellently finished vibe that the rest of the game gives off.

That said, 95% of the time you won’t even question that this was anything other than perfectly designed.

The difficulty level has been segregated to allow younger players a less challenging ride, but for those who want it you can jump straight into ‘original’ mode, which can be like eating a glass taco at times – painful but incredibly tasty.

The point of ‘Original mode’ is that it matches the complexity of the original. Want to get ripped to shreds by Evil the Cat? This is the mode to do it in. And that particular boss fight is the reason we had to move out last weekend, screaming in the middle of the night in frustration is apparently frowned upon.

The music is no longer the screaming midi-fest I seem to remember it being in the original. Music seems like an odd mix of real and computerised instruments, although I could be wrong on that, but everything sounds as it should and, like the original, the soundtrack can be quite catchy at times.

While the cosmetic changes are fantastic, there are problems inherent in the gameplay that will frustrate time and time again. At times it feels like the collisions are off somewhat, meaning you will constantly be hit by things that you managed to avoid entirely. This makes much of avoiding damage more about luck than skill, especially in those difficult boss battles and at times when you’re surrounded by enemies.

The second problem that I found, although not a problem of the game itself, was that the few times I have tried to get into a multiplayer game I haven’t been able to find anyone to play with. Considering that several of the achievements are online, this isn’t great, but I reserve judgement on the online mode itself. Hopefully as more people buy it, there should become more games available and as soon as I get the internet back in my new place, I’ll be sure to post a multiplayer review for anybody who is curious.

This usually doesn’t stop the game being fun, even on Original Mode, because all of the quirky animation, enemies and levels have returned and they’ve lost none of their charm or appeal over the past two decades.

Gameloft has managed to recreate a classic in HD and there is no bigger accolade than that they did it without ruining anything that made the original special and worth remaking in the first place. However, there are times that you can feel the age of the game and very small children may prefer something like ‘Splosion Man, keeping this release very much for Dad’s and older gamers.

Apart from that, this is a very awesome game that will keep you entertained, as well as ready to jump up and down in frustration, for hours.

And, because I’ve been avoiding it all this review, GROOOVAY.

8/10

Earthworm Jim is available from the XBLA for 800 points. We received a review copy for this game.