The Header:
What is Earthworm Jim HD?
http://www.xbox.com/en-US/games/e/earthwormjimxbla/
Release Date and Price
http://dualshockers.com/2010/06/08/earthworm-jim-hd-out-tomorrow/
PSN Release Date:
Interview:
http://8th-circuit.com/?q=content/exclusive-earthworm-jim-hd-interview-anne-joelle-casenaz
Screenshots:
Trailers:
I LOVE JIM Preview Trailer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=odAc7A6z9e0
Co-Op Keyboard Cat Trailer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CrqaAidbkfo
Achievements/Trophies
http://www.xbox360achievements.org/game/earthworm-jim/achievements/
Reviews: Pending
What is Earthworm Jim HD?
http://www.xbox.com/en-US/games/e/earthwormjimxbla/
Rediscover the grooviest action game of all time in full hi-def glory with Earthworm Jim HD! For the first time, grab friends and combine your wormy powers in four-player co-op locally or online. Explore all the original levels, experience wild gameplay, and rock to the remastered cult soundtrack. There's even more to discover with brand new enemies to blast into pieces and never-before-seen locations. Now that's groooovy!
Original levels: Explore all the original levels, now with an HD facelift. Enjoy two to four player co-op mode with 15 multiplayer levels as you rock out to the re-mastered cult soundtrack.
New adventures: Venture into three exclusive levels in a never-before-seen setting. Prepare for a slew of new enemies to blast into pieces.
Bonus extras: Become the #1 hero in the universe on the online leaderboard. Show off your crazy skills by earning achievements, and unlock Jim's costumes for your Xbox LIVE avatar.
Release Date and Price
http://dualshockers.com/2010/06/08/earthworm-jim-hd-out-tomorrow/
Earthworm Jim HD Out Tomorrow
Earthworm Jim HD. A game that will spawn fond memories and bewildering atrocities; a game more disturbing than watching your grandparents make out; a game which will be released tomorrow, finally, on Xbox Live Arcade for the affordable price of 800 Microsoft Points ($10).
Anyone who grew up in the era of 16-bit gaming more than likely remembers the abnormal 2D platformer for being a fun, yet grotesque, experience that practically made its rounds on just about every console in the mid 1990s. Originally developed by Shiny Entertainment, the HD iteration of the title has gone some rather improved visuals (hence the HD) thanks to developer Gameloft. Jim, for those of you who arent familiar with the game, uses his head which is latched into a super space suit to whip things, grab hooks, and god knows what else. Again, a very disturbing game at heart.
The HD update aims to take the most of all that is Earthworm Jim (the whipping and shooting) and introduce a four-player co-op mode. What exactly goes on in the four-player co-op mode, I cant tell you. But once we get our review in, well be able to fill you in.
At this juncture, PlayStation 3 and Wii fans are curiously staring at their monitors consciously aware that a release date for their consoles hasnt been given. Well, thats because Earthworm HD isnt hitting either console this month. According to previous reports, the game should follow suit on both consoles sometime next month. If youre an iPhone owner, Gamelof has already ported a non-HD version for you to download and get your worm-spanking on. I cant wait to dive into the world of New Junk City once again.
PSN Release Date:
"NEW YORK, August 17 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Gameloft, a leading developer and publisher of downloadable video games, today announced a multi-year licensing agreement with Interplay to develop, distribute and publish Earthworm Jim, a popular run and gun platform video game featuring an earthworm who dresses up in a Super Suit to fight evil. The game will make its way to mobile, WiiWare(TM), PlayStation Network, with an exclusive one month run on Xbox Live(R) Arcade.
"We are delighted to partner with Interplay to bring Earthworm Jim to multiple downloadable platforms," said Gonzague de Vallois, senior vice president, Gameloft. "The game, with its humorous and edgy style, is a great fit for today's gamer who craves a fully immersive experience that is fun and easily accessible. We look forward to delivering a fantastic game."
"Earthworm Jim resonates with millions of people worldwide and we are excited to have one of the best developers in the industry create this game for a new audience," said Herve Caen, CEO, Interplay. "Gameloft's creativity coupled with its innate knack for innovative games, makes us 100% confident that the result will be nothing short of stellar."
Initially released in 1994, Earthworm Jim's games garnered such a cult following that the character's popularity took him far beyond video games into an animated TV series, Toys and Comic books. Earthworm Jim centers around an ordinary earthworm who engages in normal worm activities- eating dirt, crawling and fleeing from hungry birds- that is until he comes across a high tech indestructible space suit. Jim takes refuge in the space suit while fleeing from hungry birds. The suit's powerful atomic particles cause him to grow and obtain newfound powers."
Interview:
http://8th-circuit.com/?q=content/exclusive-earthworm-jim-hd-interview-anne-joelle-casenaz
Exclusive: Earthworm Jim HD Interview with Anne-Joelle Casenaz
Hey 8th-Circuiters I'm back with another groovy interview, this time it's with the people who are taking the coolest, most bad-ass worm in the galaxy, Earthworm Jim of course, and giving him a fancy HD makeover. I loved Earthworm Jim as a kid and I cannot wait to sit down and play the new game, which I now have a rough release date for thanks to this interview.
8th-Circuit: What was it about Earthworm Jim that attracted Gameloft?
Anne-Joelle Casenaz: Earthworm Jim was a unique experience when it was released and still is by todays standards. From the character to the level design, everything in Earthworm Jims universe screams originality and wackiness that still hasnt been matched today. When is the last time you rode a hamster and used your head to whip a fridge to launch a cow? Its humorous, nonsensical tone is as fresh as ever, and we believed it could easily reach new audiences.
8th: Why choose to remake the character and the original game over creating Jim a totally new adventure?
A-JC: Basically, we wanted to recreate what we consider one of the best episodes of Earthworm Jim and one of the all-time greatest video games. It was so good that we wished to revive it for grown-up fans, and also give the opportunity to new players to discover one of the most emblematic video games in history. Aside from the graphical refresh to current standards, we did not restrict ourselves to make straight remakes. For instance, the DSiWare version includes unique features that take advantage of the inner camera and the dual screen. The HD remakes on XBLA and PSN feature exclusive new content.
8th: Earthworm Jim has a lot of fans who are in love with the original game. What are you doing to appease and surprise those fans? Similarly, what are you doing to attract new fans to the series?
A-JC: We wanted to make a game that stays very true to the original game. Almost everyone at Gameloft grew up playing on Genesis or Super NES, and Earthworm Jim was definitely one of the most beautiful and memorable games of this era. So it was not difficult for the dev team to recreate the game they used to love knowing exactly what fans liked and would expect from these remakes. With updated standards and additional content, we hope our games will surprise fans and please new players.
8th: How much has the DSi's dual screen and other unique features been implemented in the game?
A-JC: The DSiWare version, which is already available in the US and Europe, features unique facial expression-based challenges using the inner camera. In these challenges, you must mimic Jims face to earn bonuses. Moreover, it takes advantage of the dual screen to display a progress gauge on the bottom screen so that you know exactly how much of the current level youve played.
8th: With Jim also heading to Xbox Live, WiiWare and PSN, how different are these versions of the game from the DSi version?
A-JC: Since a port of the Genesis game is already available on the Wii Shop Channel, we did not think it would make sense to add a remake there. So, we decided to focus on HD versions for home consoles like Xbox Live Arcade and PlayStation Network. Theses HD versions will obviously be different from the Nintendo DSi version as they will feature entirely reworked graphics to fit HD standards. But theres more: Achievements and Trophies can be unlocked respectively in the XBLA and PSN versions. And were promising many exclusive features, such as brand new levels with exclusive enemies and up to 4 players in co-op multiplayer!
8th: The competition you are currently running allows gamers the chance to play Jim at a World Premiere gaming session. When exactly will Earthworm Jim be available for Live, WiiWare and PSN?
A-JC: Earthworm Jim HD will first release on XBLA in June. The PSN version will follow one month later.
8th: According to the Internet, the release date for Earthworm Jim HD was supposed to be the final quarter of '09. Was this ever a solid release date? If so, what caused the game to be delayed?
A-JC: We initially planned to release for the final quarter of 09, but at the last moment, we thought that we wanted to offer something more than a simple HD remake of the original game. So we decided to allow ourselves more time to extend the zany universe of Earthworm Jim HD. We worked on creating additional levels with new settings and enemies, plus a co-operative multiplayer mode.
8th: Finally, what are your plans for the future? Will Jim be getting a new adventure soon or will your attention focus elsewhere first?
A-JC: If the games are successful, we would surely consider working on a new adventure with the grooviest earthworm in the universe.
Thanks go out to Anne-Joelle and the guys at Gameloft for taking time out of their schedules to give me this interview, even though they are still hard at work on Earthworm Jim HD. Bring on June is all I can say, that and 4 player Earthworm Jim co-op. That's insane!!
Screenshots:
Trailers:
I LOVE JIM Preview Trailer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=odAc7A6z9e0
Co-Op Keyboard Cat Trailer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CrqaAidbkfo
Achievements/Trophies
http://www.xbox360achievements.org/game/earthworm-jim/achievements/
Bin Collector 10
Kill Billy the Bin in New Junk City
Atom Raider 10
Collect 100 atoms (without exiting the game)
Atom Jefferson 15
Collect 500 atoms (without exiting the game)
Groovy Leader 25
Be "No.1" in each Xbox LIVE multiplayer level
Canadian Stunt 5
Use the whip to swing from any moose head in Single Player mode
Superhero! 35
Get through Single Player mode in Original difficulty in one sitting in under 50 minutes
Banker Whipper 5
Whip the banker twice in What The Heck?
Space Collector 15
Collect more than 100 Blue Orbs (without exiting the game)
Super Space Collector 20
Collect more than 300 Blue Orbs (without exiting the game)
Snot an Achievement 10
Launch the cow in New Junk City
Earthworm Never Dies 35
Clear Single Player mode in Original difficulty in one sitting without losing a life
World Partnership 15
Complete all the Xbox LIVE multiplayer game levels
Reviews: Pending
