Groovy!! Review

Groovy!!

After defeating Queen Pulsating, Bloated, Festering, Sweaty, Pus-filled, Malformed, Slug-for-a-Butt (Whew, try saying that five times fast!), Earth Worm Jim, our hero, was high on life. With his new girlfriend, Princess What’s-Her-Name, and finally finding out what was in his backpack, Jim’s life couldn’t be better. That is until (There always has to be an ‘until’) Psy-Crow hops out from behind a nearby rock and kidnaps the Princess. Now Jim has to hurry and catch them before they get to Lost Vegas, the home of the 24 hour quick, non-consenting wedding chapel, and Psy-Crow can get crowned RULER OF THE UNIVERSE!!! On the way, our pal Jim has to face some old acquaintances, like Evil the Cat, Bob the Goldfish, and Major Mucus. Only after defeating these evil do-ers will Jim be able to have his hunny bunny back in his arms. Sounds like a great idea for a video game. . .

Earthworm Jim 2 has finally made it to the Saturn, and, boy, does it look good. With CD sound, beautiful backgrounds, and a quick loading time, Screaming Pink did a great job bringing our pal Jim to the Saturn. Though this game comes out long after its Genesis and SNES counterparts, it was well worth the wait.

“Mmmm, that background looks good enough to eat!” That’s what you’ll be thinking when you see the beautiful graphics in Earthworm Jim 2. Totally redone for the Saturn, these new backgrounds are brighter and cleaner. Some of them are completely different, like the background of Puppy Love. The rest of the graphics and animation are just as smooth and deranged as their cartridge counterparts. The homing natives are so fast after being launched from the catapults, that they are really hard to avoid. The twisted designers even rigged a cow to explode unless you dunk it in water. The load time isn’t that bad either. You have to wait about 10 seconds between each level in order for the graphics to load. You can even use this time to write down the level password, so technically you’re not wasting any time. Visually, this game is everything you’d expect of Earthworm Jim, and more.

The sound is even more kooky on the Saturn than on any other system. The game still opens with what I consider to be the best music ever in a video game. Each level has its own separate piece of music that ranges from classical to just plain bizarre. The sound effects are just as twisted as even. Let your heart soar at the melodious moo of a cow in trouble and cringe at the splat of a puppy, hitting the ground. The designers made each sound in Earthworm Jim 2 perfectly tailored for each action. It is a rare occasion when game designers are able to put that much work into a title.

The control is easy and still only uses a few buttons. Jim has gotten a little lazy in his second adventure, so he has his friend Snot do a lot of the work. Instead of the helicopter head (Which was really annoying in the first game.), Snot will form a parachute. Likewise, you swing from snot instead of from your own body. Guess Jim is trying to kick his sado-masochistic tendencies.

The only real drawback to Earthworm Jim 2 is that it is nothing new. We’ve seen this same game about a year ago on the Genesis and SNES. Even though this is the best version so far released, it doesn’t have any new levels or enemies. (Side note: There was a version of Earthworm Jim for the Sega CD which did have an additional level.) Fans of Jim are eagerly awaiting a new game that takes full advantage of the next generation machines. With the success of both Earthworm Jim and Earthworm Jim 2, we’re sure to see our favorite invertebrate again.