Earthworm Jim 2

"One Word To Describe This Game? GROOVY!"

In 1994, we got a game called Earthworm Jim, a new creation from Shiny/Playmates. Was the game good? Hell yes, and it soon turned into a television series on the WB. But enough about the first, lets get onto the second!(For your information, most of the story I took from the book)

Earthworm Jim 2 is packed with everything from explosive cows to angry innocent looking Peter Puppy. From the Barn Blaster to the Bubble Gun, Earthworm Jim 2 will keep you playing for a long time. Now does the game have a plot? Of course it does, more than you would know of. Our worm was successful in defeating Evil Queen Pulsating, Bloated, Festering, Sweaty, Pus-Filled, Malformed, Slug-for-a-Butt(Her actual name). Her sister, Princess Whats-Her-Name(Her actual name too), was crushed by an errant flying cow, which was, in fact, fired by Jim. After removing the cow from on top of her, Jim quickly reinflated her. Jim quickly fell for her, but Jim did not resemble the prince her mother had told her stories about in any way. Therefore, she refused his love. Jim quickly showed off his physical fitness, composed love songs, and did everything he could to wow her. Impressed by his really way cool 'Annelid w/ Attitude' bumper sticker, personal grooming habits, and his Tiny Elvis Collection(Which was in fact, a mini Elvis collection), she fell for him.

Jim was composing a song for her one day, when suddenly from behind a large, comically nearby and out of place rock, Psy-Crow swooped out from behind the rock and took off with Princess Whats-Her-Name. He is running away with her to Lost Vegas where he will marry her and become ultra king destroyer reigner of the galaxy! It's up to Jim and his arsenal of weapons to stop her, and we certainly can't forget his snot swinger.

Now let's talk about graphics. Were they good? Kind of. I would give them a 7/10. The backgrounds were drawn dark and whatever could move, such as Jim and his guns and enemies and such were lighter colored, like a cartoon. It was like playing a cartoon, but it was drawn nicely, and made it more comic, therefore making it more fun. There really isn't much more to say about the graphics, except the fact there wasn't THAT much detail put into Jim, which all in all wasn't a bad thing. As doing to much detail to some things can ruin it sometimes.

The control is kind of easy, as it will vary on some levels as you have different things to do. The control can be tricky on some levels, such as Puppy Love, where you must bounce baby puppies on a giant marshmallow to the shack where Peter Puppy stands, and if you drop to many, its curtains for you. Overall, Jim isn't TO tricky to control, maybe aiming the guns sometimes, but that's about it. You pretty much learn when you get used to it.

Fun factor? I would give it a 9. The game was extremely fun, and mainly was based on a comical approach. The game starts out on a level called ''Anything but Tangerines'', don't ask, it's a weird name for a first level, hell, it's a weird name for ANY level, seeing as there are NO tangerines in the damn level. You use your snot swinger too, it's tricky at first, but you get the hang of it. Plus, there is a bonus part where you must take a chair up a slanted platform and avoid raining old ladies. And if they hit you, it's Jim being clobbered by a purse the whole way back down. And get this, the end of the level, he eats a goldfish and you win. Very Groovy.

Damage was pretty simple, you start out at 100%, and for each hit it takes a certain percentage away, and when you get to 0, his head shoots out of his body, which reveals him to be just a worm with eyes, in a body. The game was fun, from extinguishing explosive cows in a giant bathtub to bouncing a giant balloon while on a small hovercraft, the game packed lots of crazy things.

The sound wasn't bad at all. Music was cool, had some cool beats. Plus hearing Jim go ''Groovy!'' was just plain funky. It was pretty clear too, even his screams of pain.

Overall, I give this game an 8/10. It was a very good, groovy game, and it deserves a go from anyone who seems interested.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 02/10/02, Updated 10/05/02