Earthworm Jim
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Earthworm Jim is set to return in a new TV series
The cult classic '90s game Earthworm Jim is coming back to TV as a new series.
'Earthworm Jim' returns after 20 years as an Intellivision exclusive
It's been 20 years since there was a genuinely new Earthworm Jim game, and longer still since the original team was involved. However, the gang is coming back -- if you're willing to take a chance on a retro console. Intellivision Entertainment is reuniting ten members of the Earthworm Jim team to work on a new game in the franchise made solely for the Intellivision Amico. The title is still in the very early stages. In fact, Intellivision is livestreaming part of the first design meeting on May 4th at 3PM Eastern. However, it might be comforting news if you want to see more of the anthropomorphic annelid beyond remasters and ports of the classics.
Earthworm Jim joins backer-exclusive Boogerman 20th Anniversary co-op mode
Toy Ghost has added a new donation tier to its ongoing Boogerman 20th Anniversary Kickstarter campaign, awarding an exclusive co-op mode featuring 16-bit platforming star Earthworm Jim to backers who pledge $40 or more. The new mode is available as a backer-exclusive add-on, and is not included as part of the core Boogerman revival itself. The pack adds Earthworm Jim as a playable partner character, along with a batch of exclusive levels designed for co-op play. Backers will also receive a t-shirt emblazoned with EWJ and Boogerman himself. This crowdfunded team-up marks the first time Boogerman and Earthworm Jim have worked together since 1997's Clayfighter 63 1/3 for the Nintendo 64. Regarding Boogerman's oddly clean-shaven look in the picture above, Toy Ghost notes that the team "forced him to clean up a bit for the picture." Earthworm Jim has standards, after all. Earthworm Jim creator Doug TenNapel wrapped up his own Kickstarter campaign earlier this year for the Neverhood follow-up game Armikrog. Since its launch last week, the Boogerman 20th Anniversary Kickstarter project has earned over $25,000 toward its funding goal of $375,000.
Armikrog stop-motions you toward a Kickstarter from Neverhood vets
Pencil Test Studios, a company manned by one of the designers and two of the artists responsible for 1996's classic The Neverhood, is seeking $900,000 in crowdsourced funding via Kickstarter in order to fuel the creation of its new claymation point-and-click adventure project, Armikrog. While story details are sparse, the game's overall premise is pretty straightforward: Tommynaut, a space explorer, and Beak-Beak, his blind, talking alien dog, crash land onto a "weird planet" and are somehow imprisoned in a fortress called "Armikrog." Assuming it's fully funded, the game will be available in both Steam and DRM-free flavors for PC, OSX and Linux. In addition to being helmed by Neverhood alumni Doug TenNapel, Mike Dietz and Ed Schofield, Armikrog will also feature a soundtrack scored by Neverhood/Skullmonkeys composer Terry S. Taylor, in addition to voice work by Mystery Science Theater 3000/RiffTrax's Michael J. Nelson, Napoleon Dynamite's Jon Heder, Rob Paulsen of every cartoon from your childhood, Tekzilla's Veronica Belmont and PvPOnline's Scott Kurtz.
Pay-what-you-want Interplay bundles on GOG for a limited time
In addition to all that Mac OSX hoo-haa that happened earlier today, GOG announced a trio of pay-what-you-want Interplay bundles, featuring games such as Shattered Steel, Messiah, Earthworm Jim and Fallout.Available for the next 14 days, the bundles' incentivized pricing structure should be familiar to anyone who's bought a Humble Bundle. Any price entered will purchase the basic bundle of eight Interplay games, which includes Conquest of the New World and Evolva, among other things. Paying more than the average price ($11.50 as of press time) unlocks 12 more games, and dropping down $35.00 or more brings the bundle's total up to 32 games.The $35 bundle also includes 21 different soundtracks, 37 wallpapers, 410 pieces of artwork, a 205-page "Fallout Bible" and "much more." Click here for the full list of games in each bundle.
David Perry 'sure' new Earthworm Jim will eventually happen
David Perry, aside from now being a part of Sony, is perhaps best known for his contributions on the Earthworm Jim series, once 16-bit pride of the '90s that now rests beneath the soil from whence it came. Perry doesn't see that earthly retreat lasting forever."It's one of those things that, no one's got the time right now. I'm sure it's going to happen, I just can't tell you exactly when," Perry told Eurogamer during last week's Develop conference in Brighton, England. "It's just a bunch of guys who all have their own thing. Everyone has their own company. So, to get them to stop what they're doing and work on a game is very difficult, but it's something they all want to do." Perry explains some of the old gang keep in touch on Facebook, and says the obvious idea of doing a Kickstarter campaign was considered."The thing we had talked about in the past is Jim had been in retirement. So, he's been sitting at home watching movies and eating popcorn. He's grossly overweight now. The plan was to start with him literally getting off the sofa, and it's a disaster because he just hasn't done anything since. But he's got to get back into action again." Perry also explained that this hypothetical new game would definitely be 2D, with "little" camera control.
Good Old Games taking half off Interplay titles this weekend
Good Old Games is hosting an Interplay 50 percent off sale this weekend, cutting the prices of 32 games right in half. Or, as we like to call it, this is GOG's "buy 16 games, get 16 games free" sale.The sale includes Fallout 2, Earthworm Jim 1 and 2, MDK, Freespace and Invictus: In the Shadow of Olympus, for $3 each. Every title is $3, actually, making the entire bundle $96 -- a savings of $96. Yes, that's what we meant with "buy 16, get 16 free." This could also be the "buy one, get two half off" sale, or the "buy 8, get 16 half off" sale. Take your pick; any way they're all good old games for a great new price.The sale runs from now until Monday at 11:59 p.m. EDT.
Gaikai: Delivering instant MMOs to your browser
Imagine that you're reading up on an MMO on a site such as Massively (far-fetched, but stay with us on this). The words intrigue you and you think it might be worth checking out. You make a mental note to do so in the future -- to head over to the game's site, see if there's a trial, download it, set up an account, and give it a whirl -- but time gets away from you and none of that actually happens. Now imagine that right after you read that article there was a single button or link. Clicking on it, a Java window opens up on top of your screen and tells you that you're now playing a trial of the game. There's no wait, no download, no lengthy form to fill out -- just click and play, right away. You go from interested to inside the game within mere seconds, your computer specs (mostly) aren't an issue, and your curiosity is immediately sated. This isn't a far-fetched dream but the here-and-now reality. This is cloud-streaming MMOs brought to you by Gaikai. And it just might be the future of MMOs as we know it.
Earthworm Jim HD wriggles onto PSN August 3
PS3 owners who've been jealous of nearly every other platform's chance to get their hands on the unbridled power of "puh-laaazmuh" will be pleased to learn Gameloft's HD remake of Earthworm Jim, appropriately titled Earthworm Jim HD, will hit the PlayStation Store next Tuesday, August 3. So, what bonus features has Gameloft injected into this version of the game as an apology for its tardiness? Well, it's available for $9.99, which is ... the exact same price as the Xbox 360 version. However, you don't have to do any conversions to arbitrary "Microbucks" -- it's just ten dollars, plain and simple. That's what the PS3 version offers: Convenience.
Earthworm Jim HD trailer wriggles out
So there's a trailer out for Earthworm Jim HD. Don't worry, it looks just fine. Gameloft was even kind enough to toss in some footage of the game's new co-op levels. Heck, we even get to see some entirely new single-player levels, replete with jet-packing grandmas and ... keyboard cat. That's all well and good, but what is up with Jim's voice? Maybe it's just the difference between old, muffled 16-bit samples and the modern sound clarity we enjoy today, but something seems off. Like "someone just grabbed the janitor and told him to say 'groovy' into a microphone" off. Come on, Gameloft. Surely someone over there has Tommy Tallarico's number*. *Or Dan Castellaneta's.
Earthworm Jim HD features 4-player co-op [update]
Update: Commenter Troy points us to an interview on The 8th Circuit, which has a few details on Earthworm Jim HD's multiplayer. According to Gameloft's Anne-Joelle Casenaz, the XBLA and PSN versions will feature "brand new levels with exclusive enemies and up to 4 players in co-op multiplayer!" So there you go: It's co-op. According to a list of Achievements unearthed by Xbox 360 Achievements, it looks like the upcoming Earthworm Jim HD will feature some form of multiplayer. There are two Achievements for multiplayer, one awarded for being "'No. 1' in each Xbox Live multiplayer level" and another for completing all multiplayer levels. It's hard to imagine how multiplayer would work, though GamerBytes offers up the possibility of speed run competitions or a multiplayer variant of the snot bungee mini-game. We'd also suggest that the space races between levels could work as well. Also, given the title of the second Achievement is "World Partnership," the multiplayer could be cooperative in nature.
NintendoWare Weekly: Photo Dojo, Earthworm Jim, Phoenix Wright
If you've had the slightest interest in Photo Dojo, Nintendo's weird DSiWare fighting game that uses the camera to make its fighters, you should download it today. If you don't have any interest in that, you should download it today. If you've never heard of Photo Dojo, go ahead and load up the DSi Shop anyway. If you have a DSi, there's basically no reason you shouldn't download Photo Dojo today. It's free for the next month, is what we're saying. %Gallery-86444%
Bit.Trip Runner sprints to WiiWare May 17; Summer DSiWare releases dated
The main highlight of the latest transmission from Fort Nintendo is that Bit.Trip Runner, the quirky rhythm-platformer from Aksys Games, is scheduled for release on WiiWare on May 17. Seriously, guys -- get on the hype train before it pulls out of the station. As for DSiWare, there's a whole bunch of games being released over the next few months, including Photo Dojo, X-Scape and Metal Torrent. Head past the break for the full list of whats and whens.
Earthworm Jim HD trailer introduces snazzy t-shirts
Rather than posit that, yes, we are obviously the biggest non-arthropod invertebrate fans out there, we'll just point out how neat we think these "I love Jim" shirts are. They can be found, appropriately, in the latest trailer for upcoming digitally distributed HD re-release Earthworm Jim HD. We could use a bit more video from the gameplay department, sure, but what we see looks as good (if not better) than what we last saw last September in screenshots. The video also introduces a contest for fans of the series that sees five winners being flown to NY to Gameloft's studio for an early chance to check out EJHD on Xbox Live Arcade this May. To enter, interested parties should head over to the Gameloft Facebook page and sign up, write a 500 character or less message on "Jim's wall" explaining your "most memorable moment playing Earthworm Jim" (like that time your brother Charlie slipped a sleeping pill into your chocolate milk so he could play it uninterrupted for four hours straight), and voila ici! The directions also note that the entry period ends on May 2, so we'd suggest you get to it -- right after you check out the trailer we've dropped below the fold. [Thanks, Gavin Burbidge]
Earthworm Jim available on DSiWare in Europe next week
Next Friday, Gameloft's DSiWare port of Earthworm Jim will be available on DSiWare in Europe for 500 points. Nintendo of America hasn't made any announcements about a release date, but this opens the slim possibility that we could see it in North America next week as well! It's not exactly Earthworm Jim as we remember: Nintendo of Europe's info page for the game reveals that, in addition to what looks like a faithful port of the Super NES game, the DSiWare version has " facial-expression-based challenges" that require you to make a particular face at the DSi's camera. Hopefully every single challenge will require a "simultaneously frustrated and delighted" expression, because that's the face we all make unconsciously while playing Earthworm Jim.
Earthworm Jim headed to DSiWare, first screens released
GamerBytes has stumbled (wriggled?) across the first screenshots for a newly announced DSiWare version of the original Earthworm Jim -- not to be confused with the upcoming HD remake. Unsurprisingly, it looks an awful lot like Earthworm Jim. The top screen is where the classic action takes place, while the touchscreen has been reserved for a level progress meter and a pause button (because the start button is just so hard to reach, right?). Another screenshot shows the bottom screen offering gameplay tips as well (hint: shoot the bad guys). All in all, as GamerBytes also points out, it looks essentially like the iPhone version of the game. There is, however, a fairly obvious distinction between the two: The physical buttons of the DSi will make the submarine level significantly less impossible.
VC in Brief: Blaster Master (NES), Earthworm Jim 2 (Sega Genesis)
We've got a duo of high-profile titles to check out here on VC in Brief this week. Come for the shooting stuff, stay for the Pig Chutes. Blaster Master (NES, 1 player, 500 Wii Points) Earthworm Jim 2 (Sega Genesis, 1 player, 800 Wii Points) Every week, we like to check out what's new on the Virtual Console. We offer these videos as a sort of taste to help you decide whether or not you would want the game in question. We also toss in our own two cents because we're pushy jerks like that.
NintendoWare weekly: Bejeweled, Blaster Master, Earthworm Jim 2
As promised, Sunsoft's brought Blaster Master to the Virtual Console -- though we think the impact is somewhat dulled by the quantity of other games available for download this week. There's a total of 11 different games available, so head past the break for the full list.
Earthworm Jim now launching cows on iPhone
Gameloft's iPhone remake of Shiny's classic Earthworm Jim has found its way to the App Store, at a price of $4.99. It's a great game, but trying the iPhone version means you're willing to punish yourself by attempting the already-difficult run-and-gun without the benefit of a D-pad or buttons. We're going to have nightmares if we think too long about playing the submarine level that way.In addition to the download-anywhere convenience and painful controller substitution, the iPhone/iPod Touch release lets you play your own iPod music as you play. That should be a welcome addition to one intentionally annoying level.After the break, see gameplay footage captured by Touch Arcade.Earthworm Jim ($4.99) [Via AppShopper]
Earthworm Jim on iPhone looks familiar
We recently found out that when Gameloft announced intentions to make a new Earthworm Jim game, the company really meant it intended to remake the first one. And while the next-gen version has some cleaned-up graphics, the iPhone release, as seen in the new trailer (after the break) might as well be a port. If you ignore the total lack of buttons, it might as well be the Genesis or SNES game. And speaking of buttons, have fun playing that submarine level on a touchscreen.If the graphical improvements aren't more obvious in the WiiWare release, then the only real difference between the game on Virtual Console and WiiWare will be one extra level and difficulty selection. Awkward!
