2021/1/10: NES: Bump N Jump, Wurm: Journey to the Center of the Earth

[VideoGameCritic]

I'm kind of proud of these reviews. Wurm is a pretty sophisticated adventure, so I think it deserved a lengthy review.

Bump N Jump is one of those "make up" re-reviews. The original was barely a review at all - just two or three sentences. This new one is very thorough I think.

Let's hear your thoughts on the reviews or the games in general.

[Zack Burner]

That Wurm: Journey to the Center of the Earth, not only looks good to play, but makes me want to watch "Love and Monsters" as well! A hidden gem indeed, I like the anime style graphics.

[ASalvaro]

back in the day i hated when i would buy an NES game it was different than what i expected from the arcade like with Bump n Jump and Gyruss

[Mpls_Vato]

Thanks for taking my Wurm recommendation a little while back. Great review too. It is certainly a curious game. A unique cross-platform mash-up which I’ve never seen done before or after it. I was intrigued by the story-line captured in cut scenes and dialogue snippets between stages. Yet despite great presentation for the era, I found myself tripping over the clunky gameplay in every one of the segments. Shots felt like they didn’t land half the time in the shooter segment. Similarly I felt like I was whiffing enemies in the side scrolling segments. The boss segments were probably the best executed but even they played rather clumsily. Fortunately the game is forgiving and not overly difficult so I was able to get to the finish line. Not a classic by any means but it has enough going for it that I think most people will find it a worthwhile play-through. B- is a fair grade I think.

[mbd36]

Bump n Jump is one of my favorites.

There's a final boss and ending if you complete all 16 levels. I have completed this and it's one of the toughest NES games to actually try to beat rather than just play casually for high score.

[Gleebergloben123]

Hey Dave, just a couple typos in the Bump N Jump review:

Middle third: “In stage three has you navigating...” (should be “Stage three has you navigating...” or “In stage three you navigate...”)

A few sentences below: “What Bump N Jump is missing that sense of unbridled speed.” (Should be “Bump N Jump is missing that sense of unbridled speed” or “What Bump N Jump is missing is that sense of unbridled speed.”)

And with the sentence regarding truck being 500 points: “...you don’t have to worry (about) the mounds of trash...”

No typos in the Wurm review. And Bump N Jump is one of my favorite INTV games, so it was fun reading the comparison NES review.

[VideoGameCritic]

Thanks for taking the time to list those typos Gleeber (I always want to call you Goblin for some reason!)

[Paul Campbell]

You obviously forgot to add the "May Contain Bus-Sized Hotties" picture in the corner of the Bump-N-Jump review...

[ActRaiser]

You obviously forgot to add the "May Contain Bus-Sized Hotties" picture in the corner of the Bump-N-Jump review...

This.

I read the review and this one line was what stuck out to me. What does a bus sized hottie look like. As in a bus compared to the car? To another person?

[mbd36]

back in the day i hated when i would buy an NES game it was different than what i expected from the arcade like with Bump n Jump and Gyruss

Gyruss is one that I'd like to see the Critic re-evaluate. I think it's better than a D. It's a unique game for the NES and fun. It starts easy, but if you stick with it, it's a decent challenge to actually beat the game. There is a final boss where you fight the sun and an ending. He also complains about enemies being too easy to hit, but consistently getting combo points by hitting enemies in a row is a challenge as well. Based on the Critic's listed high score I'm not sure that he gave this game more than five minutes. The enemies and bosses get much tougher, especially the bosses. There are no continues so it's all about racking up enough lives and missiles to survive the later levels and actually beat the game.