Earthworm Jim 2

"Did you know that Earthworm Jim spelled backwords is mij mrowhtrae? On a seperate note, I was wondering if anyone has actually beaten this game?"

Hands down Earthworm Jim may be the oddest game ever made, but who’s to say that is necessarily a bad thing? I mean how many games do you know of where you save cows, whip lava riding a bicycle, and use snot as a parachute? The answer is not many. Earthworm Jim 2 is one of a kind (er 2 I guess since there are 2 games here). Earthworm Jim was a good game but had some flaws that prevented it from being great. Earthworm Jim 2 has improved upon some these flaws and provides a sometimes fun and always original gaming experience

Gameplay – 7/10
First things first, this game is incredibly difficult. Beating the game on any difficulty is next to impossible. There are 2 kinds of difficult games. Kind #1: where the game is just naturally difficult and you have to be very skilled to progress in it. Kind #2: I think we all know this kind of a game, its one that is cheap, enemies have 89,459 gazillion life, they do enough damage to kill you in ½ a hit, they have superior speed, agility, defense, attacks, etc. Well Earthworm Jim is the 1st. Its possible to win but you will just have a really, really, really, really difficult time doing it. Completing the game with cheats on is almost just as impossible (I put infinite life on and I couldn’t beat the last level). That is the major flaw in the game. I don’t mind difficult games, but difficult and Earthworm Jim difficult are 2 different concepts. Well aside from that the game is good… sometimes. When you are playing the normal side scrolling levels the game is fun. When you are flying in air and trying to push a balloon to the end of a level, or racing a stupid bird in a space suit it gets really hard and is enough to make you pause to set your controller down, go outside, and scream obscenities at the top of your lungs. In Earthworm Jim 2 you are Jim, a worm in a space suit (odd, ha! That is the most normal concept in this game). You have a gun and you jog merrily from one end of the level to the next shooting all that opose you. Jim can get different kinds of power ups for your gun: Plasma shots, bubble gun, homing missiles, barn busters, etc. Jim can also remove his head and use it as a whip to latch onto different hooks and thingies. Also this time around Jim has waiting in his backpack ready for use, his trusty companion Snot. Snot is, well, how do I say this? A blob of snot. He sticks to certain ceilings allowing Jim to scale gaps or acting as a parachute to slow Jim’s decent from a jump/fall. There are different kinds of levels but the normal basic side scrolling ones are the only ones fun to play. Every other kind is garbage. This game could have been really great, but the combination of insane difficulty and stupid levels make this only above average.

Funfactor – 10/10
This game is very fun. Earthworm Jim will provide you with a one of a kind, kinky experience. Carrying pigs to platforms to weigh them down, saving cows from UFO’s, and battling mucus are just too much fun to pass up. However there is that difficulty issue…*shivers*…

Control – 8/10
Jim seems like he has ice on the bottom of his shoes. He slips and slides every which way out of falls and jumps. Using the snot swing and snot parachute are difficult because using the swing requires precision accuracy. This game requires a lot of patience.

Graphics – 10/10
This game looks marvelous. The characters look excellent, as do the levels. The backgrounds in the levels are awesome.

Replayability – 6/10
This game is so difficult I would say it is impossible to beat your first time through. So you will have to play it more than once. Is there more to it after beating it though? I dunno, since I can’t beat it. You would have to ask someone who has. I don’t know if such a person really exists though.

Music/Sound – 10/10
Awesome music. Real composed music is used here. The music sounds wonderful. The sound effects sound good too.

Story - 4/10
Once upon the time there was a regular earthworm named Jim. One day while Jim was minding his own business a space suit with incredible powers fell from the sky and landed near Jim. Well curiosity took over and Jim entered the space suit. Once he did he gained super-human powers and the strength of many men. Ever since then Jim has been frantically trying to impress his girlfriend. One day while showing his musical talents she is abducted. Guess who has to go find her? Well it ain’t Mario…

Conclusion – 7/10

Pros
- Interesting concept for a game
- Very original
- Funny
- Fun to play…sometimes…

Cons
- Difficult…
- Difficult…
- Difficult…

An interesting and original game, that is VERY HARD. If you gain one thing from this review, let it be remembering that Earthworm Jim 2 is very hard. Nevertheless, this game is still worth trying out, but may not be enjoyed by everyone.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 03/07/04