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Our story begins in a leafy suburban garden. Creatures of all shapes and sizes go about their daily business as card-carrying members of the food chain. A peckish crow swoops overhead looking for his lunch. Between the blades of glass he spies a lone, juicy, wiggling worm with the word 'Tasty' tattooed in his back...

Meanwhile, somewhere on the other side of the stratosphere, a battle rages. The all-round intergalactic battle, Psy-Crow, has been on the trail of the stolen Cybernetic War Suit since it disappeared from the armoury of his ruler, her royal highness Queen Pulsating, Bloated, Festering, Sweaty, Puss-Filed, Malformed, Slug-for-a-Butt. The ether sizzles with plasma blasts discharged from the hilts of the warring factions. In a desperate bid to snatch the precious suit, Psy-Crow vapourises the thief's craft, only to witness the suit's plummeting descent into the Earth's atmosphere.

Returning to Earth, we find the crow in hot pursuit of his potential meal ticket. The pace quickens as the worm realises his dirt-munching days are rapidly coming to a close. But what's this? There's a large boom overhead as something hurtles into view. With a crash and a band, the while object from above comes to a sudden standstill. The race is still on, however, and the crow opens his beak in anticipation of this tasty morsel.

There's only one hope for the worm, and that is to throw himself into an opening up ahead. Reacting to the presence of a carbon-based life form, the suit powers up, transmogrifying our humble earthworm into Jim, Earthworm Jim, Saviour of the Universe!

Jim is the latest superhero to come from the Dave Perry stable of platform antics.

Using the power of the Cybernetic War Suit, rescue the beautiful Princess What's Her Name.

Is there nothing this boy can't do? Well, it does help that he's got his suit. But the combination of common household worm and ultra technology is the key to success:

1. Worm Whip
   In times of low ammo, the whip is always a useful substitute. In a move of selflessness, Jim lets the suit take control and use his wormly body as a bull-whip. Extremely useful for swinging across chasms and scaling heights.
2. Plasma Blaster
   A cross between an Uzi and a particle beam, this baby sure packs a punch. It is essential though to keep a watchful eye on the ammo counter as mindless blasting drains it quickly. Ungradable to an almighty death ray with a power icon.
3. Helicopter Head
   There's no need to worry if Jim falls off a high ledge as his worm talents allow you to use his head as a helicopter, resulting in a soft landing.
4. Hanging Out
   A superb example of wormy harmony with machine is the way Jim crosses rope bridges. Suspended from the line above, Jim uses his head and one suit hand to swing ape-like to the other side. The spare hand is vital to combat any grief from the skies or ground.

With another level complete, Jim is forced to race Psy-Crow to the next location. The dash through hyperspace is fraught with danger as they pass through the asteroid belt. To protect himself from the oncoming chunks of rock, Jim can pick up shields and rocket packs to zip him along with invincibility. To add a hint of danger to the proceedings, if Jim is beaten by Psy-Crow to the next stage, he has to fight him to enter the level.

A vast selection of extremely unsavoury characters have been brought in to give Jim one heck of a time! But not satisfied with just one end-of-level meanie, a mid-level boss has been included. It's not your standard shoot-'em-up 'til they die though. Jim has to find a weak spot to finish them off.

Now a cartoon wouldn't be a cartoon if it didn't have bangs and crashes. All kinds of squeaks, poings, and thuds, punctuate the platforms of peril. And to give ol' Jim more personality, he shouts out cries of pain and glee. Groovy!

There's never a dull moment when Jim's in town. Aside from his movements in motion, the team at Shiny have included quirky tricks for Jim to perform when left idle. From his operatic performance, to accidentally blasting his head to smithereens, Earthworm Jim's comedy capers are ceaseless.

So just who are these Shiny people - the programmers of this fine platform fest? Well, they're a bit of a mixed bunch, half American, half British. Among them they've developed some extremely well-known titles, including Aladdin, Cool Spot, Global Gladiators, Alien 3, Smash TV and Jurassic Park.

Roll over Sonic, a new kid has come to town, and he means business. No longer will platformers suffer from their present reputation of being samey and unoriginal, thanks to Earthworm Jim.

This game is so stunning, it has attracted gasps of admiration from everyone who has seen it. We were promised an interactive cartoon, and we've got it! Truly, Earthworm Jim is a benchmark in Megadrive gaming, pushing the animation and the sound to their very limits. The character of Jim has been immaculately put together, combining humour and artistry in an unbeatable formula, the same going for the remainder of the character sprites.

What's more, unlike many of its contemporaries, this game has an ideal difficulty setting, allowing progression once it's truly earned. Quite simply, Earthworm Jim is, in my opinion, one of the greatest games to grace the console. For the others, there are no longer any excuses.

Before this little gem arrived in the office, I have to admit that on hearing it was a Dave Perry platformer, I cynically presumed it would be yet another revamp of Aladdin, Jungle Book, Cool Spot etc - amazing graphics but shallow and too-easy gameplay. I am delighted to say I was forced to eat my words.

Oh I was right about the graphics - they're absolutely stunning with stacks of most excellent animation - but this time the gameplay lives up to the looks with large, inventive levels, smoothly responsive controls and lots of variety in playing styles such as the between-levels flying sections, the submarine thrusting level and many thinking-mans' bosses to conquer.

The whole game is packed with humour, which, unusually for a console game, actually works and it sounds great too with apt sound effects and groovy tunes abounding. And it's hard. Damn hard in places but not quite frustrating enough to stop you coming back again and again and again...

Yes, this game absolutely oozes addictiveness as well - I haven't been able to tear myself away from it for the last five days and I'm not even close to completing it yet. All in all, a damn fine game - possibly the best platformer ever - and well worth a look by everybody.

Graphics 95%
P. Poetry in motion. Superb animation coupled with stunningly sumptuous sprites and backgrounds.

Sound 93%
P. An absolute feast for the ears. The music has been beautifully composed, and the FX have to be heard to be believed.

Playability 92%
P. One go and you're hooked. Responds like a dream to your every command. Bliss.

Lastability 93%
P. This is one tough cookie to crack, with a cleverly constructed success and reward formula.
N. Sometimes it can be a little bit too hard for its own good.

Value For Money 91%
P. If this is released at around the £45 mark, then this is most worthy of the cash.

Overall 93%
One of the most beautiful and playable platform games to ever land on the shores of Megadrive gaming. Earthworm Jim is quite simply superb.