• Earthworm Jim (Genesis) - An invertebrate finds a special suit -- action ensues.
  
• Earthworm Jim 2 (Genesis) - Bigger, badder and wormier than the original.
• Earthworm Jim 3D (Windows) - The transition to 3D was not kind on the hero.
  
• Earthwo ... Sacred Gold - A Baldur's Gate/Diablo-style game that stood out from the glut of clones based on the aforementioned titles.

GameTap's list of free games can be found after the break. This week, arcade classic Burger Time joins the lineup. If you've never played, you'll never turn your back on eggs or sausage again without fearing it's trying to kill you.

Earthworm Jim is sort of an anomaly. It's been 13 years since he last starred in a good game, but people still call out for his return. If Kid Icarus had been a good game, he'd be the Pit of the annelid world. Now, after breaking our hearts with the 2007 cancellation of his PSP game, it seems that Jim is finally poised to make his return. Interplay has announced a new deal with original creator Douglas TenNapel to revive Jim.

So far, plans reportedly include "an animated series and feature film to expand the well known brand" and, most importantly, Earthworm Jim 4 for unspecified consoles (which we sort of knew about already). As much as we'd like to be excited, after being strung along on Jim's hook for more than a decade, "cautiously optimistic" is the best we can muster.

[Via X3F]

Four classic Interplay Sega Genesis games are en route to the Wii's Virtual Console. Dave Perry's classic platformers Earthworm Jim and Earthworm Jim 2 will both be gracing the download service, along with the campy claymation action of Clayfighter, and the gross-out humor of Boogerman.

According to the press release, all four titles will be the Sega Genesis versions of the games, despite having appeared on both Genesis and SNES. No word yet on when these titles we be released (but we're guessing it'll be on a Monday).

Whatever last remnants of identity clung to by both Shiny and The Collective were lost today as the duo were merged together by owner Foundation 9, creating a new, wholly unfamiliar entity known as Double Helix. Studio head Michael Saxs Persson calls the new name and logo, which were chosen from a pool of employee submissions, a "perfect" match for the company, adding that "making games is in our DNA."

The founding follows the initial merger, announced last October, and according to Foundation 9 creates a studio "that is now able to build upon its previous experience to gain new heights in quality and efficiency." And all it cost us was our fond memories of a simpler time spent playing the likes of MDK and Earthworm Jim. While the company remains coy regarding what it's up to currently, today's announcement notes that Double Helix is developing a trio of multi-platform licensed games, one of which we assume to be the already announced Silent Hill V.

With help from money it gleaned from selling the Fallout franchise to Bethesda, Interplay intends to revitalize its in-house game development studio and "has hired a veteran game developer," according to an SEC filing. Interplay also noted that, should it be able to obtain further financing, the developer intends to "develop sequels to some of the most successful games, including Earthworm Jim, Dark Alliance, Descent and MDK." The developer also plans to continue work on a Fallout MMO.

The connection to Interplay's former post-apocalyptic franchise doesn't end there; it's as interwoven into this story as the characters from LOST are to each other. The "veteran game developer," as it turns out, is former Fallout designer Jason Anderson, who worked on the first and second games before leaving with fellow Fallout devs Tim Cain and Leonard Boyarsky to form Troika games. Anderson is reportedly working on an MMO for Interplay unrelated to Fallout.

[Via Gamasutra]