Having enjoyed the first two games and the cartoon as a kid, I excitedly rented this game on the spot from Blockbuster, expecting another wacky, fun game. Instead, I was introduced to a disappointing and unsuccessful transition from 2D to 3D that essentially destroyed the Earthworm Jim franchise.
Jim has been rendered comatose by a falling cow and is bed-ridden at a hospital. Jim's brain releases his super-ego, which descends deep into the depths of his mind in a last-ditch effort to prevent total insanity. The game takes place entirely inside Jim's mind, which is divided into four different hubs: memories, happiness, fear, and fantasy. In traditional 3D platforms at the time, Jim's main objective is to gather golden udders and green marbles to restore his sanity. You can easily see a similarity to collecting notes and Jiggys in Banjo Kazooie respectively.
The game lacked the imagination of the previous Sega Genesis titles. I find this inexcusable, because of the game took place within Jim's mind. The creative possibilities were endless, but what we got was bland and unimpressive.
The music isn't terrible for the most part, but I found most of the songs to be too short, so you'll probably hear them loop multiple times on any given level. This can become outright annoying on levels like "Coup D'etat" and "Hungry Tonite". They really should have cut down on the accordion.
The gameplay was a mix of third person run and gun and a collectathon, which wouldn't be bad if not for one glaring flaw you'll soon learn about. And, as befitting an Earthworm Jim game, you have access to an arsenal of wacky weapons besides our hero's standard blaster. You can wield a meat cleaver launcher, laser gun, and an old-fashioned six-shooter.
The sound effects were good, consisting of an amusing mix of Jim screaming, animal noises, kooky weapon sounds, and others that gave it the typical "Earthworm Jim" feeling. Plus, the voice acting from legendary voice actors, Jim Castellaneta, Jim Cummings reprised their roles from the cartoon was a nice touch for me.
The graphics are acceptable for an N64 game, which could only hold so much memory on that cartridge. Even so, most of the level designs are large, barren, and unpolished. The character models looked chunky and untextured. Jim's mouth isn't even visible.
The controls for Jim are manageable for the most part. But I CAN'T say the same about the horrible camera controls. The camera is cumbersome occasionally even gets stuck on corners. I think I spent more time wrestling with and adjusting the camera than actually playing the game.
The worst part of the game is the boss battles. Instead of conventional fights, Jim uses a pig as a surfboard to engage his enemies in a marble collecting match. Not only is this concept dull and tedious, but the horrible pig controls and flawed camera make the boss battles outright agonizing. For me, this was the final straw and I quit playing when I was unable to beat Psycrow.
Overall, this is a mediocre game that even hardcore Earthworm Jim fans found difficult to enjoy, and consequently the franchise remains all but dead to this day.
Jim has been rendered comatose by a falling cow and is bed-ridden at a hospital. Jim's brain releases his super-ego, which descends deep into the depths of his mind in a last-ditch effort to prevent total insanity. The game takes place entirely inside Jim's mind, which is divided into four different hubs: memories, happiness, fear, and fantasy. In traditional 3D platforms at the time, Jim's main objective is to gather golden udders and green marbles to restore his sanity. You can easily see a similarity to collecting notes and Jiggys in Banjo Kazooie respectively.
The game lacked the imagination of the previous Sega Genesis titles. I find this inexcusable, because of the game took place within Jim's mind. The creative possibilities were endless, but what we got was bland and unimpressive.
The music isn't terrible for the most part, but I found most of the songs to be too short, so you'll probably hear them loop multiple times on any given level. This can become outright annoying on levels like "Coup D'etat" and "Hungry Tonite". They really should have cut down on the accordion.
The gameplay was a mix of third person run and gun and a collectathon, which wouldn't be bad if not for one glaring flaw you'll soon learn about. And, as befitting an Earthworm Jim game, you have access to an arsenal of wacky weapons besides our hero's standard blaster. You can wield a meat cleaver launcher, laser gun, and an old-fashioned six-shooter.
The sound effects were good, consisting of an amusing mix of Jim screaming, animal noises, kooky weapon sounds, and others that gave it the typical "Earthworm Jim" feeling. Plus, the voice acting from legendary voice actors, Jim Castellaneta, Jim Cummings reprised their roles from the cartoon was a nice touch for me.
The graphics are acceptable for an N64 game, which could only hold so much memory on that cartridge. Even so, most of the level designs are large, barren, and unpolished. The character models looked chunky and untextured. Jim's mouth isn't even visible.
The controls for Jim are manageable for the most part. But I CAN'T say the same about the horrible camera controls. The camera is cumbersome occasionally even gets stuck on corners. I think I spent more time wrestling with and adjusting the camera than actually playing the game.
The worst part of the game is the boss battles. Instead of conventional fights, Jim uses a pig as a surfboard to engage his enemies in a marble collecting match. Not only is this concept dull and tedious, but the horrible pig controls and flawed camera make the boss battles outright agonizing. For me, this was the final straw and I quit playing when I was unable to beat Psycrow.
Overall, this is a mediocre game that even hardcore Earthworm Jim fans found difficult to enjoy, and consequently the franchise remains all but dead to this day.
