Earthworm Jim HD Review

"Gameloft reintroduces that other thing I discovered when I was 13 that almost gave me carpal tunnel."

Written by Entrepreneur of Awesome: Corey Atwood

Published By:  Gameloft

Developed By:  Gameloft

Release Date:  June 09, 2010

Available on:  XBLA, PSN, WiiWare

Rated:  E10+

Number of Players:  1 – 4 players co-op both offline and online

It’s impossible to explain how insanely awesome it was when Earthworm Jim first made his debut on the Genesis and SNES to someone who didn’t play video games in 1994.  You may was well try and explain to today’s teenagers why your first set of walkie-talkies kicked ass as they text their friends while looking at Facebook.  They won’t understand.   In fact, some of you may not have even been alive in 1994.  (Wow, I feel old as fuck!)

Let me preface this review by admitting that I have a pretty big nostalgia boner for EWJ.  This game has been in my top three of “God I hope they make an HD remake for this game”, right behind NBA Jam and Ducktails.  When I learned that an HD remake of Earthworm Jim was a reality, it was like a handjob in a dark-roomed orgy; joy, followed up quickly by suspicion, defensiveness and a need to investigate.  If they remake one of my faves, it better kick ass. 

This is definitely one of the first TRUE HD remakes of an old-school game.  Even though the graphics for EWJ were considered awesome back in the day, the HD treatment really does a body good.  The animations are crisp, clear, and perfectly cleaned up for HD.    Rather than take “creative liberties” with the characters and levels as some remakes do, Gameloft knows that if it wasn’t broke, don’t fix it. 

All the classic sound effects and original musical scores for each level are present and like all the other aspects of the game, have received a nice spit-shine and polish.

The sweet platformer action that you remember from the original still holds up well.  Especially with all the little tweaks added such as an added life bar for bosses and the ability to switch between plasma and regular fire for your blaster. 

The other big additions to the game are a few new bonus levels with new bosses, and 4-player co-op.  The new levels and bosses fit perfectly into the warped EWJ universe and feel right at home.  I especially enjoyed battling Gameloft’s homage to keyboard cat.  Other additions include the achievements (or trophies), and a few avatar awards that actually made me a little jealous of my little Xbox dude.

            My only real gripe with the game is the clunky controls.  Although whip-swinging seemed easier in this version than the old, it’s clear that this game was never intended to be played with an analog stick.  I often found myself randomly walking off ledges for no apparent reason.  This is probably the only game I have played where I preferred using the Xbox’s shitty D-pad over the analog stick.  Also, although it’s not a major complaint, the EWJ-nerd-purist in me was a little bummed when I discovered that they didn’t use the EXACT same music and sound effects from the original.  However, the new music and sound effects are nearly identical and I doubt most people would even notice.

Even if this game doesn’t massage your nostalgia prostate, Earthworm Jim stands the test of time and is still a great platformer.  With all the new content, 4-player co-op, and the slight tweaks to the gameplay, it is definitely worth ten bucks for the grooviest version of any Earthworm Jim game out there.

Overall Score:  8 out of 10