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October 21, 2009 3:00 PM PDT

Sega classic Earthworm Jim wriggles onto iPhones

by Rick Broida
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He's back! And he's still a worm (but in a good way). Earthworm Jim for iPhone recaptures the original's fun, funny gameplay.

Everything old is new again. Earthworm Jim, a run-and-gun platform game that debuted on the Sega Genesis in 1994, just hit the App Store.

Earthworm Jim, brought to you by Gameloft (do these guys ever stop working?), offers the same terrific tongue-in-cheek sci-fi action as its predecessor.

As the titular mutated character, you'll run, swing, blast, and bungee-jump your way through 16 levels as you attempt to rescue Princess What's-Her-Name from the evil Psy-Crow and Queen Slug-for-a-Butt. (I didn't say it was a particularly sophisticated game.)

The onscreen d-pad control makes movement a little challenging until you get the hang of it, and it can be frustrating to miss a jump because you accidentally grazed the wrong part of the controller.

Even so, the graphics, sound effects, and gameplay are all here, making Earthworm Jim ($4.99) a worthwhile buy for nostalgia buffs and fans of platform games.

Other PC/console classics that have made their way to the iPhone:

What legendary games are you hoping to see remade for the iPhone? Me, I'm waiting on The Neverhood, a 1996 Claymation game.

Rick Broida, a technology writer for nearly 20 years, is the author of more than a dozen books. In addition to writing CNET's The Cheapskate blog, he oversees BNET's Business Hacks. Rick is a member of the CNET Blog Network and is not an employee of CBS Interactive. Disclosure. Deals found on The Cheapskate are subject to availability, expiration, and other terms determined by sellers. Follow Rick on Twitter at cheapskateblog.
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by mdub311 October 21, 2009 3:09 PM PDT
i want to see Toejam and Earl! I was hoping it would be on the release of the Sega Genesis classics, but it wasn't and I haven't bought that collection because of that omission. But seriously Toejam and Earl rocked!
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by Amdrew77uk October 21, 2009 4:37 PM PDT
I want to see a game pad :( Touch is great, if you have a larger surface, but the iPhone is to small
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by Shinespark October 21, 2009 9:21 PM PDT
Hey, it's Queen Pulsating, Bloated, Festering, Sweaty, Pus-filled, Malformed, Slug-for-a-Butt.
This is yet another app that begs for a physical gamepad peripheral.
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by drjesus616 October 22, 2009 4:28 AM PDT
too bad thanks to SNES emulator snesoid and my android phone ive been playing earthworm jim ( the original ) as well as many other super nintendo and nintendo games including duckhunt ... lets see the iphone come out with an emulator ???

sorry usually not a fanboy but felt obligated since cnet seems to only love iphones
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by rickbroida October 22, 2009 5:48 AM PDT
Well, the blog IS called iPhone Atlas. :) Maybe we spin off an Android Atlas blog?
by eg6motion October 22, 2009 6:18 AM PDT
nice fanboi comment. the iphone has actually had emulators since it's release, via the jailbreak community. We have NES, SNES, Gameboy, Sega, PSX/PS1, and DS to name a few.
by Weeji October 22, 2009 6:24 AM PDT
you said "the original", so you may already know this, but they DID re-do all the graphics to make it look more modern for this version. I know it's the same game, but if given the choice, I'd rather play an HD re-drawn version than playing the original at this point.
by jcmark42 October 22, 2009 7:49 AM PDT
This was a great game. I'll definitely download this one.
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by Rod Roddy October 22, 2009 8:45 AM PDT
Great game, schitty hardware. Where's the control pad...on the screen?
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