Earthworm Jim 3D

"Fans will enjoy Jim's 3D adventure."

Now, thanks to Vis Interactive and Interplay, Jim takes on the third dimension in Earthworm Jim 3D.

The story opens with Jim playing his accordion, innocently enjoying his leisure time. Unfortunately, his fun is cut short by a cow that plummets from the heavens, crushing him. The bovine bombardment sends him into a coma and traps him within his own mind. Players guide Jim's superego -- which conveniently looks just like him -- through the corridors of his tortured subconscious. His psyche is divided into four levels, each lorded over by super-villains from his past. In order to complete these levels, he must collect both marbles and golden cow udders, which are scattered throughout his mind. Once he gathers all of these items, he can uncover the shadowy presence that lies behind his unconscious state. Get Ready to Play!

Graphics 8/10
Earthworm Jim 3D's graphics do their job nicely, presenting a solid, cartoon-like world for Jim to explore. They run extremely smoothly in 640x480 and 800x600 resolutions, with no apparent clipping or slowdown. Lighting effects are tastefully done, and greatly enhance the atmosphere. Also, the environments are highly detailed, from the dusty plains of the Old West to the barnyards of Jim's memory.

The characters are also quite sharp, and our hero's visual upgrade from his 2D roots is well done. Jim is designed in a reassuringly bulky way, although I would have liked to see more of his personality come through in the graphics. As it is, he's limited to a couple of expressions and standard animations. The ally and enemy characters are designed with a somewhat minimalist approach, but this works rather well with the cartoon atmosphere. It's amazing how much emotion a pickle with eyes can convey in this game.

Interface 7/10
Since Earthworm Jim 3D has been simultaneously developed for consoles as well as the PC, it has a fairly simple interface. The controls are fully customizable, which makes Jim easy to handle with either a keyboard or a directional gamepad. Unfortunately, the simplified save function seems redundant; the process takes you back to the beginning of the level, but your progress is charted regardless.

As Jim is controlled in the third person, the camera problems that plague many 3D action titles are also present in Earthworm Jim 3Dand this is annoying to say the least. The camera stays behind Jim for the most part, but swings around of its own volition sometimes, making it difficult to time a precise jump. Too often, off-screen enemies will toast Jim or something will obscure three-quarters of the action, leaving the player helpless. The developers have included a few options for manual camera movement, but even moving the camera yourself doesn't alleviate all of the problems.

Gameplay 7/10
Unfortunately, Earthworm Jim 3D's gameplay isn't as engaging as its surroundings. The puzzles are extremely linear, consisting of "find the switch" or "defeat all the enemies" objectives. Fairly standard jumping puzzles are also included, which are rather difficult at times due to the positioning of the 3D camera. There are a few interesting exceptions, such as a stint at a military training camp, but these are few and far between. The game also suffers from a good amount of backtracking through areas you've already explored. Combined with the console-like save feature -- where you're dumped back at the beginning of a level after saving -- this makes for some frustrating moments. Though the gameplay provides a fair variety of challenges, they are ones that most gamers have seen before. Platform-jumping and switch-hitting just don't hold the allure that they did in past Earthworm Jim offerings. Even the sequences stray from the formula, such as when Jim "pork-boards" by surfing on a pig, and seem like watered down versions of other titles. Although each level's visual presentation is extremely different, the same repetitive puzzles are featured throughout.

Though there is little innovation and variation in the way that Earthworm Jim 3D plays, the similar obstacles are implemented solidly, and with the insane flair of Jim's world. The humor present throughout Earthworm Jim 3D is a mix of absurdity and really bad puns, which made me laugh, but might just make others roll their eyes. I knew that I was in for some abnormal material when Jim whipped out a set of golden udders and used them like bagpipes to play a Scottish air.

Sound FX 10/10
Dan Castellaneta -- the voice of Homer Simpson, among others -- returns as the voice of Earthworm Jim, and his acting is a high point. I wanted to hear more from our hero, but his comments are limited to a few in-level quips and comments upon being injured. The rest of the sound effects are adequate if unimpressive, evoking Jim's crazy surroundings nicely. Standout noises included the gentle lapping of waves of nacho cheese and the satisfying chatter of Jim's raygun.

Music 9/10
From the opening polka piece onward, Earthworm Jim 3D's music is very well done. The music ranges from what sounds like a strange blend of Aerosmith and Johnny Cash to madcap themes reminiscent of film composer Danny Elfman's work. The music does a good job of setting the mood of a level, such as the jungle rhythms of the level titled "Lord of the Fries." However, the musical cues are extremely repetitive. Although they are composed and performed well, hearing the same tune over and over again tends to grate on one's nerves. In addition, the music is often very overpowering, drowning out other sounds. Unfortunately, the volume level cannot be adjusted.

Intelligence & Difficulty 7/10
The difficulty level in Earthworm Jim 3D isn't adjustable. It varies widely, from no-brainer "blast everything that moves" moments, to jumping sequences that challenge your dexterity. At times, such as the battle between Jim and Psycrow, the frustration level is abnormally high for what seems to be no good reason.

The enemies don't present much of a challenge, as they are afflicted with the extremely limited AI of their side-scrolling ancestors. They move back and forth on the same basic path, pausing only to attack Jim. After seeing enemies with more personality even in older games like MDK, this was a disappointment.

Overall 7/10
Although I was a big fan of the cartoon and the earlier titles, I found Earthworm Jim 3D to be solidly constructed, yet rather unengaging. I laughed out loud at several points, but found myself groaning when I discovered that the twisted humor was just setting up another puzzle where I had to find more switches to flip. In the end, Earthworm Jim 3D lacks innovation, something that defined the character from the beginning. Fans of Jim's exploits will enjoy it, but gamers looking for new experiences will be disappointed.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 02/01/05