Genesis

Earthworm Jim 2

If you want a good workout, sign on with Jim. It worms your heart to find a 16-bit game this good.

I love this game. I personally feel that EWJ 2 outperforms it's predecessor in almost everyway imaginable. The animation is smoother, the game is much more balanced and diverse, the graphics are better and this game has even more personality. Those crazy guys at Shiny made a game that is even wackier and funnier than the first EWJ. I just want to know one thing? How are they going to top this game? Amazing!

That lankiest of Texans is back, with more of the zany antics that made the original so popular. This game is great! What are you waiting for? Go get it!

Each stage seems to introduce a novel new gameplay mechanic, like "Lorenzo's Soil" where you traverse an underground maze by blasting through its soil. There's even a side-scrolling shooter stage where you glide over beautiful islands and shimmering blue water. A password feature and "easy" difficulty setting keep the level of frustration to a minimum. Earthworm Jim 2's graphics are absolutely brilliant, and the audio is no less impressive. Clever sound effects include old ladies who accuse you of being "fresh" as they fall into your lap. After viewing the humorous ending, I finally realized EJ2 has a distinct Monty Python influence. So if you tried the first Earthworm Jim but couldn't overcome its insane difficulty, give this quality sequel a go.

Sonic niggles aside, Earthworm Jim 2 is a wonderfully done run-and-jump side-scroller, and belongs in every Genesis user's collection.

Earthworm Jim 2 isn't a full blown sequel as much as it is an extension of the first game. The sight gags are different --- such as the level where you use a giant marshmallow to catch a gaggle of puppies being tossed out a third-party window --- but the play mechanics are mostly the same. Jim has a few new weapons and can stretch his body a few new ways, but otherwise, it's more of the goofy gameplay, it's more of the goofy gameplay you know and love. Between Jim 2 and Sega's own Vectorman, Genesis platform games are going out with one heck of a bang.

To its credit, the fun factor is high and with all the gadgets to try out and some very fun stages (like the game show level), your interest will be maintained throughout the game. If you played the original or enjoyed the cartoon then I highly suggest this one too.

It's the creativity put into the situations and the variety of gameplay that make this cartridge as good as it is.

The first EWJ really got my attention when it was released and the second version was no different. I imagined all of the wackiness was used up in the initial EWJ, but to my surprise it wasn't. The entire game remains basically the same with the only change being the levels, which are even crazier than before: slugs running from salt, saving puppies being thrown from windows and racing chickens through levels all make EWJ2 well worth the wait.