Software:Earthworm Jim: Menace 2 the Galaxy

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Short description: 1999 video game

Earthworm Jim: Menace 2 the Galaxy
North American box art
Developer(s)David A. Palmer Productions
Publisher(s)Crave Entertainment
Designer(s)Ike Melton
Nima Taghavi
Composer(s)Mark Cooksey
SeriesEarthworm Jim
Platform(s)Game Boy Color
Release
Genre(s)Platform
Mode(s)Single-player

Earthworm Jim: Menace 2 the Galaxy is a 1999 platform video game developed by David A. Palmer Productions[3] and published by Crave Entertainment for the Game Boy Color. It is the fourth installment in the Earthworm Jim series and is the most recent new game in the series as of 2025. The game received mixed reviews, with critics considering it inferior to the first two games in the series.

Gameplay

Earthworm Jim's evil doppelgänger, Evil Jim, has stolen an interdimensional teleporter and is causing a rampage through the galaxy. Jim must embark on yet another adventure to stop him. The game plays as a 2D sidescrolling platformer with run and gun elements, similar to the original games. However, the game is much more centralized towards exploring levels to collect items, rather than the constantly changing gimmicks present in the original two games.[4] Levels typically involve goals such as collecting 100 or more coins to progress,[4] and if Jim takes too much damage, the player must start the level over again, without any items collected.[5]

The game retains some features from past games. Four different guns can be collected and used to defeat enemies: the standard gun, plasma gun, machine gun, and a rocket launcher.[6] An early preview of the game posted by IGN listed a grenade launcher instead of a machine gun as the fourth weapon in the game, perhaps indicating that this was changed later in development.[6] The player can also find Jim's friend, Snott, and ride him to jump higher, or obtain Jim's rocket, which allows Jim to fly and shoot across the level for a small amount of time.

After every two levels, Jim faces a boss fight including characters from past games and the Earthworm Jim television series, which include Bob the Killer Goldfish, Evil the Cat and Henchrat, Queen Slug-for-a-Butt and Evil Jim.[6]

The game is compatible with both the Game Boy and Game Boy Color video game consoles.[6] However, the level named "Happiness" is only available if the game is played on the Game Boy Color, being playable upon the game's completion.[6]

Reception

The game received generally negative reception, with reviewers criticizing the game's inability to capture the fun gameplay found in the original two games in the series. IGN gave the game a 6 out of 10, criticizing the game's tedious collecting of items as "quite frustrating" and complaining that the game has "total disregard to what makes Earthworm Jim, Earthworm Jim...There's not enough 'cleverness' here, the same element that made Earthworm Jim one of the best and funniest action games on the 16-bit systems."[5] Nintendo Power gave the game a similar 6.3 out of 10.[7] AllGame also criticized the tedious collecting, stating "Unfortunately, I found each search to be more of a chore than a form of entertainment" and the fact that Jim no longer had a "whip" attack like prior games in the series.[8] They concluded that the game was "marginally interesting when it came time to advance to a new level or battle a major enemy, but tiresome more often than not".[8]

References

  1. ↑ "Earthworm Jim: Menace 2 the Galaxy". http://www.chipsworld.co.uk/detProd.asp?ProductCode=2584. 
  2. ↑ "Recently Released". http://www.gbstation.com/releases.html. 
  3. ↑ "Earthworm Jim: Menace 2 the Galaxy". GameSpot.com. 1999-11-10. http://www.gamespot.com/earthworm-jim-menace-2-the-galaxy/. Retrieved 2013-09-08. 
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Earthworm Jim". http://hardcoregaming101.net/earthwormjim/earthwormjim3.htm. Retrieved 2013-09-08. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Earthworm Jim: Menace 2 the Galaxy - IGN". Gameboy.ign.com. 1999-11-17. https://www.ign.com/articles/1999/11/18/earthworm-jim-menace-2-the-galaxy. Retrieved 2024-08-31. 
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 "Earthworm Jim: Menace 2 the Galaxy - IGN". 1999-08-25. https://www.ign.com/articles/1999/08/26/earthworm-jim-menace-2-the-galaxy-2. Retrieved 2024-08-31. 
  7. ↑ "Earthworm Jim: Menace 2 the Galaxy for Game Boy Color". GameRankings. 1999-11-10. http://www.gamerankings.com/gbc/576085-earthworm-jim-menace-2-the-galaxy/index.html. Retrieved 2013-09-08. 
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Alan, Brett (2010-10-03). "Earthworm Jim: Menace 2 the Galaxy - Review". allgame. http://www.allgame.com/game.php?id=20314&tab=review. Retrieved 2013-09-08. 
  • MobyGames is a commercial database website that catalogs information on video games and the people and companies behind them via crowdsourcing. This includes over 300,000 games for hundreds of platforms.[1] Founded in 1999, ownership of the site has changed hands several times. It has been owned by Atari SA since 2022.

Features

Edits and submissions to the site (including screenshots, box art, developer information, game summaries, and more) go through a verification process of fact-checking by volunteer "approvers".[2] This approval process after submission can range from minutes to days or months.[3] The most commonly used sources are the video game's website, packaging, and credit screens. There is a published standard for game information and copy-editing.[4] A ranking system allows users to earn points for contributing accurate information.[5]

Registered users can rate and review games. Users can create private or public "have" and "want" lists, which can generate a list of games available for trade with other registered users. The site contains an integrated forum. Each listed game can have its own sub-forum.

History

Logo used until March 2014

MobyGames was founded on March 1, 1999, by Jim Leonard and Brian Hirt, and joined by David Berk 18 months later, the three of which had been friends since high school.[6][7] Leonard had the idea of sharing information about computer games with a larger audience. The database began with information about games for IBM PC compatibles, relying on the founders' personal collections. Eventually, the site was opened up to allow general users to contribute information.[5] In a 2003 interview, Berk emphasized MobyGames' dedication to taking video games more seriously than broader society and to preserving games for their important cultural influence.[5]

In mid-2010, MobyGames was purchased by GameFly for an undisclosed amount.[8] This was announced to the community post factum , and the site's interface was given an unpopular redesign.[7] A few major contributors left, refusing to do volunteer work for a commercial website.{{Citation needed|date=June 2025} On December 18, 2013, MobyGames was acquired by Jeremiah Freyholtz, owner of Blue Flame Labs (a San Francisco-based game and web development company) and VGBoxArt (a site for fan-made video game box art).[9] Blue Flame Labs reverted MobyGames' interface to its pre-overhaul look and feel,[10] and for the next eight years, the site was run by Freyholtz and Independent Games Festival organizer Simon Carless.[7]

On November 24, 2021, Atari SA announced a potential deal with Blue Flame Labs to purchase MobyGames for $1.5 million.[11] The purchase was completed on 8 March 2022, with Freyholtz remaining as general manager.[12][13][14] Over the next year, the financial boost given by Atari led to a rework of the site being built from scratch with a new backend codebase, as well as updates improving the mobile and desktop user interface.[1] This was accomplished by investing in full-time development of the site instead of its previously part-time development.[15]

In 2024, MobyGames began offering a paid "Pro" membership option for the site to generate additional revenue.[16] Previously, the site had generated income exclusively through banner ads and (from March 2014 onward) a small number of patrons via the Patreon website.[17]

On February 13, 2025, Freyholtz stepped down as the site lead to move onto new projects, leaving operations to Tracy Poff, a veteran coder on the site, and Atari staff.[18]

See also

  • IGDB – game database used by Twitch for its search and discovery functions

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Sheehan, Gavin (2023-02-22). "Atari Relaunches The Fully Rebuilt & Optimized MobyGames Website". https://bleedingcool.com/games/atari-relaunches-the-fully-rebuilt-optimized-mobygames-website/. 
  2. ↑ Litchfield, Ted (2021-11-26). "Zombie company Atari to devour MobyGames". https://www.pcgamer.com/zombie-company-atari-to-devour-mobygames/. 
  3. ↑ "MobyGames FAQ: Emails Answered § When will my submission be approved?". Blue Flame Labs. 30 March 2014. http://www.mobygames.com/info/faq7#g1. 
  4. ↑ "The MobyGames Standards and Practices". Blue Flame Labs. 6 January 2016. http://www.mobygames.com/info/standards. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Miller, Stanley A. (2003-04-22). "People's choice awards honor favorite Web sites". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. 
  6. ↑ "20 Years of MobyGames" (in en). 2019-02-28. https://trixter.oldskool.org/2019/02/28/20-years-of-mobygames/. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Plunkett, Luke (2022-03-10). "Atari Buys MobyGames For $1.5 Million". https://kotaku.com/mobygames-retro-credits-database-imdb-atari-freyholtz-b-1848638521. 
  8. ↑ "Report: MobyGames Acquired By GameFly Media". Gamasutra. 2011-02-07. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/game-platforms/report-mobygames-acquired-by-gamefly-media. 
  9. ↑ Corriea, Alexa Ray (December 31, 2013). "MobyGames purchased from GameFly, improvements planned". http://www.polygon.com/2013/12/31/5261414/mobygames-purchased-from-gamefly-improvements-planned. 
  10. ↑ Wawro, Alex (31 December 2013). "Game dev database MobyGames getting some TLC under new owner". Gamasutra. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/game-dev-database-mobygames-getting-some-tlc-under-new-owner. 
  11. ↑ "Atari invests in Anstream, may buy MobyGames". November 24, 2021. https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2021-11-24-atari-invests-in-anstream-may-buy-mobygames. 
  12. ↑ Rousseau, Jeffrey (2022-03-09). "Atari purchases Moby Games". https://www.gamesindustry.biz/atari-purchases-moby-games. 
  13. ↑ "Atari Completes MobyGames Acquisition, Details Plans for the Site's Continued Support". March 8, 2022. https://www.atari.com/atari-completes-mobygames-acquisition-details-plans-for-the-sites-continued-support/. 
  14. ↑ "Atari has acquired game database MobyGames for $1.5 million" (in en-GB). 2022-03-09. https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/atari-has-acquired-game-database-mobygames-for-1-5-million/. 
  15. ↑ Stanton, Rich (2022-03-10). "Atari buys videogame database MobyGames for $1.5 million". https://www.pcgamer.com/atari-buys-videogame-database-mobygames-for-dollar15-million/. 
  16. ↑ Harris, John (2024-03-09). "MobyGames Offering “Pro” Membership". https://setsideb.com/mobygames-offering-pro-membership/. 
  17. ↑ "MobyGames on Patreon". http://www.patreon.com/mobygames. 
  18. ↑ "An update on MobyGames leadership". 2025-02-13. https://www.mobygames.com/forum/3/thread/269628/an-update-on-mobygames-leadership/#post-269628. 
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