I come into this review from a really strange standpoint. Sure, my age is high enough to have been playing this when it originally came out on the SNES and Mega Drive back in the 90’s, but I never did. Shiny Entertainment’s infamous mascot was a big seller at the time, spawning a fair share of sequels and his own cartoon show, but like Sam & Max before him (who are also reviewed elsewhere on the site) he disappeared before his time.
Step forward to the present and the chance has come for me to correct that problem by giving the original game a run through with some souped-up graphics and some fresh scraps of meat chucked in to add flavour. It looked lovely before, but the facelift has been truly beautiful. If you had no knowledge of its previous incarnation you would have never known it had been out over 10 years ago. Colours throw themselves at you like fans at an overpaid pop stars concert and it fills your eyes with joy. The cartoon feel of the 16-bit game is even more so now, with some beautifully animated characters throughout the piece, from Jim himself to the extravagant bosses he has to deal with (for some reason including a granny who can fire deadly knitting needles at you, but that’s allowed).
The music is a mix of revamped tunes from the original and some totally fresh stuff, resulting in enough memory lane nostalgia to keep the old ones happy, while allowing for a more modern feel instead of going down the route of other downloadables like Doom II that get the urge to use the MIDI files and therefore do not allow for a feeling of progression from time. A lot of the voice acting is intact too, including multiple uses of “groovy” and “whoa Nelly”, which again keeps the games integrity solid, as well as still bringing an occasional smile to others.
As far as platforming goes, it is pretty sound. For every standard level completed you then end up with a rocket racing mini game where you’re up against Psy-Crow. This can get just a little bit annoying after a while, as instead of breaking the game up a bit, it acts as quite the opposite with you praying and hoping for a normal level to break up these irritations. This layout has not aged that greatly and you do feel a little drawn out towards the end because every time you get through a bit you like, those bleeding intermissions come up.
A lot of the enemies and bosses are well thought out, as well as downright funny, which really brings an affectionate emotional liking towards Earthworm Jim. Remember, this is where the infamous launching cow came from that people who never even played it in the first place knew about. The whole feel of it really makes you appreciate what love for your craft can do. There is a warped imagination behind all of this, of that there is no doubt, but it is usually from these brain cells that the most fun and exciting things originate. And in terms of content for our worm in a suit, that resonates highly.
Gameloft have added some extra stuff too. There are 3 totally new levels with a computer theme available to play by collecting soda cans that are hidden in the game, which allows for some totally new content. The best addition though is a 4 player, 4 level multiplayer which lets you and your friends work together to reach the end of each stage. It works really well and the best compliment I can give is that even though this was never in the original code, it fits in so very nicely that you would have thought it was on the cartridge to start with without the modern day makeover.
On a personal note, my fear is that because games have come such a long way in terms of what people expect from their software nowadays, like decent longevity and huge online capability, that previous classics such as this will not get the look at they deserve from the kids of today. Certainly people of my generation will want to get into this and go down memory lane, but is there enough to warrant the new generation to get it? I would say there is, the multiplayer brings the package nicely together and does just about enough to cover over the niggles.
Earthworm Jim HD revives a brand that should not have really been so close to death in the first place. The quality of the characters is still very strong and the conversion allows the pixelated classic another chance to perform. It has never looked better and in some instances, I feel anyway, beats a lot of the original content out there in terms of looks because in both roster and visuals there is so much colour and vibrancy that you can’t fail to like what you see. The original title in gameplay terms hasn’t aged greatly, as I’ve already mentioned, but there are some nuggets of the good stuff out there that just about make things equal, as well as those nice additions of fresh levels and an all new multiplayer.
Whether you are a nostalgia freak or someone who wants a half hour break from playing the newest first person shooter, there is something for everyone in here. Online multiplayer and a solid enough main game give decent value for money, especially when other platform titles out there demand an extra 400 points for the privilege. What Earthworm Jim HD does show is that not enough developers are looking back to their old back catalogue and revamping their older games in glorious new visuals to give a new generation the chance to sample classic gameplay that got us into this business in the first place. Donkey Kong Country Returns and Kirby’s Epic Yarn are showing the tide is turning, but fair play to this (and Rocket Knight too) for getting the ball rolling, as sometimes the way to go forward is to go back.
VideogameUK verdict: 7.5/10
