Earthworm Jim 2

OK, so the game's been out on the Genesis for ages. It's still one of the best platformers on any console. Now that Shiny is preparing for their first true 32-bit games, it's nice to know their roots stand up to today's standards.

The premise is simple enough. Rescue the Princess, travel through different worlds, get powerups, defeat the evil villain. Sound familiar. However, you're an earthworm, you need to rescue a princess bee, your best power is a snot rope, and the villain's a tiny-headed space crow. Along the way, you need to milk cows, rescue puppies, and play with pigs. Are we living on a farm?

Shiny's is known to wed a twisted sense of humor to excellent game design. Earthworm Jim comes with the basic platform moves, but he needs to use them in ways you'd never imagine. For example, to travel from one side of a chasm to the other, he needs to use his trusty friend Snot to create a rope, so he can swing across on mucousy threads. Wouldn't his mother be so proud. Add in old ladies, marshmallows, babies, and ants, and you'll get the idea.

Gameplay is nicely balanced, and the platforming levels build well on a core set of rules. Consistent and entertaining, nowhere does it seem too challenging or too easy. Earthworm Jim is here to provide you with good entertainment, not to frustrate you. If you're into platformers, try Earthworm Jim.