Earthworm Jim 3D
| Earthworm Jim 3D | |
|---|---|
European N64 boxart
|
|
| Developer(s) | VIS Entertainment (N64/PC) |
| Publisher(s) |
Interplay Entertainment (PC/PAL N64) Rockstar Games (US N64) |
| Director(s) | Kirk Ewing |
| Artist(s) | Paul Munro |
| Composer(s) | Lee Banyard |
| Series | Earthworm Jim |
| Platform(s) | Microsoft Windows Nintendo 64 |
| Release date(s) |
Nintendo 64 Windows |
| Genre(s) | Platformer |
| Mode(s) | Single player |
| Aggregate score | |
|---|---|
| Aggregator | Score |
| GameRankings | (N64) 59.32% (PC) 55.70% |
| Review scores | |
| Publication | Score |
| AllGame | (N64)    (PC)
|
| GameFan | 72% |
| Game Informer | 5.75/10 |
| GamePro | |
| GameSpot | (N64) 6.3/10 (PC) 3.2/10 |
| GameSpy | 75% |
| IGN | (N64) 7.3/10 (PC) 6/10 |
| Nintendo Power | 6.8/10 |
| PC Gamer (UK) | 45% |
| PC Zone | 44% |
Earthworm Jim 3D is the third game in the Earthworm Jim series. It is a sequel to Earthworm Jim and Earthworm Jim 2, but is the first game in the series to not be developed by Shiny Entertainment, as the rights had been sold to Interplay Entertainment, who handed the franchise off to VIS Entertainment. The game suffered a difficult, prolonged development cycle that was repeatedly delayed until it was released in 1999 for the Nintendo 64 and Microsoft Windows. The game was not received well, with critics claiming that the charm of the originals was lost, and that despite the long development period, the game still felt sloppy and lacked previously promoted features.
Earthworm Jim 3D borrows much of its gameplay from other platformers of the era, notably competing with Super Mario 64, Banjo-Kazooie, and Donkey Kong 64. New locations in Jim's brain are opened up by collecting Golden Udders, and new levels in each location are opened by collecting Jim's marbles. Like previous Earthworm Jim games, despite many platforming elements, Jim's primary method of combat comes from shooting his blaster.
Earthworm Jim is hit by a flying cow that sends him into a coma. Jim awakens within his own subconscious and discovers he has gone insane. His past villains have entered his subconscious and if something doesn't happen soon, Jim will be in the coma forever. His super ego has been unleashed within his subconscious to stop the madness. To restore his sanity he must find the Golden Udders of lucidity. When Jim enters his subconscious, he finds out that his four mind chambers have been taken over by his worst fears. He must collect Golden Udders to unlock the other three chambers and Green Marbles to unlock the levels within the chamber. Jim defeats four villains who took over his mind chambers, and finally faces the personification of his trauma: Earthworm Kim.
Shortly after the release of Earthworm Jim 2, its original developer, Shiny Entertainment was bought by Interplay Entertainment, and then put onto other projects. With them busy, the franchise was given to VIS Entertainment, and it was decided that, much like many platform game series at the time, like Super Mario or Sonic the Hedgehog, that gameplay would transition from 2D to 3D. Development started shortly after Earthworm Jim 2 in 1996, and had a drawn-out three year development cycle, so much so that it was at times believed it would become vaporware.
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