Between an initial post on Joystiq starting the rumor, and then the same post updating to confirmation status, this Friday can’t get any more groovy than it already is. Earthworm Jim HD will official see 4-player co-op. Talk about madness, this sounds nuts.
The initial information came in the form of an achievement list. Twice on the list is the mention of multiplayer. Also on the list are some achievements that state that players must accomplish a difficult act without exiting the game. This is probably the most awesome way to recreate the old, never-saving console style a lot of us grew up with. Remember passwords? Ahhhhh passwords. Probably the only thing any gamer ever wrote in the “Notes” section of an instruction manual.
Oh, right, co-op…
Joystiq then updated their original story with a shout out to one of their illustrious commenters. Turns out an interview concerning Earthworm Jim HD already completely outed 4-player co-op for the game. In an interview with 8th-Circuit (read the interview, it’s solid), Anne-Joelle Casenaz of Gameloft offered this about the downloadable versions of their game:
“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 there’s more: Achievements and Trophies can be unlocked respectively in the XBLA and PSN versions. And we’re promising many exclusive features, such as brand new levels with exclusive enemies and up to 4 players in co-op multiplayer!”
New content AND co-op multiplayer. Like we said, groovy.
The original Earthworm Jim was already difficult, but imagine the difficulty if friendly fire and more enemies exist. We know, we’ve been crying since we considered this as well.
Once one considers the overall picture where Earthworm Jim is concerned, the gameplay seems like it would be perfect for a Castle Crashers style co-op. Not so much in the realm of player customization (although Earthworm Bill, Earthworm Jack and Earthworm Francis companions would be incredible), but where teaming up against hordes of stylized badies is the focus. Sounds awesome.
This HD version of Jim will see release on LIVE and the PSN.
