Earthworm Jim 3D

by Nintendo

• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S. and to APO/FPO addresses. For APO/FPO shipments, please check with the manufacturer regarding warranty and support issues.
• ASIN: B00001ZULZ
• Media: Game Cartridge
• Average Customer Review:
   

  16 Reviews 5 star:  (9) 4 star:  (2) 3 star:    (0) 2 star:  (2) 1 star:  (3) See all 16 customer reviews...

    (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #8,653 in Video Games (See Bestsellers in Video Games)

Product Description

Editorial Review
The world's favorite spineless superhero returns in a 3-D adventure that, at first glance, appears to be a worthy successor to the original 16-bit version of this classic action arcade game. However, there's no squirming past the squeamish truth of Earthworm Jim 3D--this game suffers from the dreaded bad camera angle syndrome. EWJ could have been a sleeper hit, but unless you have a strong tolerance for frustration, it's recommended that you avoid this one.

A trademark feature of all EWJ games is the title character's ongoing (and highly unfortunate) collision with cows--and this adventure is no different. The wiggly worm gets smacked in the cranium with a certain bovine and ends up in a cow-induced coma. So, the game takes place within Jim's mind, where he must collect his marbles in order to awaken again.

Despite having decently colored (but far from spectacular) graphics and a surprisingly cool soundtrack, EWJ is often unplayable. In a fully 3-D game that features so much running, jumping, and searching for goodies, a good view of the action is most important. But here, you'll spend way too much time attempting to manually adjust the camera. This, of course, is never any fun. And even if you decide to risk your sanity and play, you'll find a game that really doesn't improve on the 3-D gameplay standards of the N64 classic Super Mario World.

With a bit more work, this could've been at least marginally interesting. As it is, EWJ is better off buried underground with the other worms. --Mark Brooks

Pros:

• Decent graphics that are brightly colored
• Odd mishmash of music styles that fits the wackiness of the gaming world

Cons:

• Simply horrendous camera that requires too much manual input to be of any use
• Uninspired gameplay gives EWJ a rather tired feeling
• Possibility of a sequel has us terrified

Product Description
Don't take Earthworm Jim 3D seriously. Yeah, this Nintendo 64 game boasts cool graphics, fast and challenging gameplay, a bunch of cool player moves, and so on, but it's all a big joke--and a very playable one at that.

At its core, Earthworm Jim 3D--starring the video-game turned animated-TV-series hero--is a platform shooter set in a detailed 3-D world in which players negotiate physical obstacles, defeat enemies, and find items. The big difference is that Earthworm Jim must battle his own demons, so to speak. After Jim is knocked unconscious by a falling cow, his worst fears and anxieties are released, and it's up to our hero to turn inward, venture through his gray matter in search of his lost marbles, and restore his sanity. To succeed, Jim must navigate four huge regions of his brain, defeating such bizarrely exotic enemies as Psy-Crow and Evil the Cat. Those familiar with the series' quirky sense of humor can only imagine what oddities Earthworm Jim's subconscious will unveil. --Eric Twelker

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