| Introduction
When Earthworm Jim first arrived in our homes, in
the heyday of the SNES, he was indeed a revolutionary
character. We'd rarely seen such off-beat humour or
platform games that weren't simply left to right affairs
but had an element of exploration in them. Since then
he's made numerous appearances on almost every console
including the GameBoy and GameBoy Color. The question
is, can he compete with all the new leading platform
characters and do we really need yet another platform
remake on the GBA at this early stage?
GamePlay
The hero of the game is a normal worm and his daily
routine consists of being chased by crows for food.
But now he's found the 'Super Space Cyber Suit' and
everything has changed. Now he's a super hero (well
a super worm anyway) and with your help and some nimble
button pressing he's off to sort out the Universe armed
only with a plasma gun and his cat-like reflexes. He
can also do a nasty 'head whip' but we'll save that
for later.
The game itself spans over nine levels with all manner
of weird and wonderful titles. You'll be taken to 'Buttville',
a level titled 'What the Heck?' and even 'Level 5' (which
is actually level 5). This pretty much sets the tone
for the type of humor you're in for during this game.
The object will always be to get from point 'A' to
point 'B'. I say this because there's a good chance
you may need to travel below or above your starting
point and it's never straight forward getting there.
Within these various levels you'll do bungee jumping
using snot with Major Mucus, use cows as missiles and
fight it out with mad dogs. Almost as soon as you start
the first level you'll need to shoot at a fridge, which
is suspended above a 'see-saw', to catapult a cow into
space. Why? Who knows, but it's all in a days work for
Earthworm Jim. This is where the game shines though
as there's a great deal of variety in the levels and
you never get bored with the straight forward platform
feel. It is however quite a tough game and the options
only allow for a 'normal' or 'hard' game.
The game screen is very uncluttered which is a real
plus as there's usually so much going on. There are
a few icons though including lives (there are more of
these scattered around so keep an eye out or you'll
never finish it), plasma shots (don't just shoot at
anything as you'll run out of these before you know
it) and your energy suit. This is where your element
of strategy comes in as you'll need this at a 100 percent
to stand any chance with the end of level bosses. You'll
also need to keep this intact when travelling through
levels as without this Jim is just a worm. There are
pieces of energy that will replenish your suit on all
levels but never enough to make it easy.
The 'save game' feature is the same as in Pitfall.
It doesn't exist. Instead it is replaced with a continues
option and although this does make the game last longer
you will be completely sick to death of 'New Junk City'
(the first level) and pretty much know it in your sleep.
There is help though and, if you can't resist, some
cheat codes around that allow you to jump levels.
Controls
Everything's used here and it resembles the SNES
controls very closely and is remarkably easy to use.
As with some other conversions though if you really
don't feel comfortable with them they're easily changed
via the options menu. Jim is very responsive and his
ease of use improves the game a great deal.
Graphics
I played the original of this on the SNES and the
first thing you'll notice is that Jim simply isn't as
smooth as he once was. There is a great deal expected
of him as the player will regularly ask him to do a
variety of moves. It's just that some of this appears
a little choppy. Like some frames of animation have
been accidental missed out. That being said the rest
of the game is very faithful to its SNES version and
looks wonderful on the GBA's screen. There's also no
slowdown which is essential in a game of this nature
as some of the screens whiz by. Overall though a good
looking game, if only they'd taken a little more care
on the main character.
Sound & Music
All the sound from the game was actually converted
by Shin'en (IRIDION 3D) from the SNES original and they
have done a wonderful job. Both the background music
and incidental sounds complement the game well and you'll
be turning the sound up rather than down. There are
also some pretty clear samples in there too.
Final Comments
There really is nothing original here anymore but
Earthworm Jim has aged well and he was the first to
introduce this humorous angel on the platform genre.
However, for everyone who sold their consoles on to
buy the 'next big thing' and who haven't played this
for a while, you'll find it's as much fun as you remember.
For everyone else, there are better platform games out
there already for the GBA such as Lady Sia and Klonoa
(which we'll review soon) so I'd suggest that you try
before you buy. If you are missing some fun in your
life though, just buy it.
|
Hardware
Reviews 
Game
Title
