Game Review: Earthworm Jim HD

 

Earthworm Jim is a classic game that ranges back to the Genesis in 1994, but thanks to Gameloft, finds a new home in WP7 (Video Review).

Overall Score: 3/5

While Earthworm Jim is a loved title, its visuals and gameplay is still stuck in the 90’s and doesn’t stand out compared to games two decades newer than it.

Gameplay: 3/5

I haven’t really played a game like this on WP7 yet, so it’s great to see this style of gameplay come to our phones, but it disappointed me a number of times. My biggest problem was that I couldn’t get past this one level! I spent a good 15 minutes trying everything I could think of, but nothing ever worked. If there was a way to get past it but I couldn’t figure it out, that is probably a sign of bad level design, since the visual design should give the player hints as to what can be done next. And the control scheme works, but occasionally suffers from the fact that touchscreen controls aren’t a replacement to classic game controllers. If you can get past the part I was stuck on, then the gameplay is actually pretty good, with some great variation of levels, enemies, and challenges. The boss fights make you change your techniques each time you come to a new boss.

Visuals: 3/5

Yes, the game is supposed to be designed with this animated theme in mind, but it is 2011 now, and I feel like the character animations could be more polished. The general jerkiness of the animations sometimes affect the gameplay. And I did encounter some short freezes while playing. The sounds are great though, and the game has a great soundtrack too.

Lasting Value: 4/5

I can’t really comment on the lasting value since I couldn’t get past that one level, but I will estimate that it’ll take you about 4 hours to complete the game, based on how far I got in the game and how long that took. That’s a nice amount of gameplay, but there’s not much incentive to come back and play after you finish the game. You could go for achievements and time records, but that’s about it. You can also play the 4 different difficulty settings.

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Title: Earthworm Jim HD
Price: $4.99
Publisher: Gameloft