Toe Jam & Earl III: Mission to Earth

Toe Jam and Earl are classic Genesis characters that many gamers remember fondly. They starred in two games back in the day and after a long, long absence reappear with this title.

The game is really built around the personalities and humour of the characters. Toe Jam, Earl, and Latisha are alien rappers from the planet Funkatron and the game is full of terms and references to the hip-hop lifestyle, or at least a caricature of it: lots of "bling-bling," "in the house," and underwear showing.

The game's premise is as simple as they come and really not of much consequence. Toe Jam, Earl and Latisha have to recover the Twelve Sacred Albums of Funk that have been stolen from planet Funkatron and return them to the Funkapotamus (also known as Lamont). You run around exploring traditional videogame worlds (snow, water, desert, urban, and grass) in a third person view and completing mission goals while fighting off unfunky earthlings. You've also got to collect keys to open further missions and areas. There are an abundance of power-ups to collect as well; everything from Rocket Skates and Orgasmic Food, to the protective Bad Opera (which makes enemies run away and jump off of cliffs), and Icarus Wings.

Mission goals usually involve finding a bunch of things, converting earthlings to the ways of funk, or delivering a present to a character. Every now and then you'll come across a mini-game to mix things up a bit: shoving bunnies off of cliffs, or bouncing around the tops of buildings with springy shoes, for example.

You fend off enemies with your funk-fu (hitting the X button), and by throwing funkify musical notes. You regain health by eating (being sure to avoid the bad food such as moldy cheese--though Earl can eat anything). As the game progresses, you have the opportunity to complete Funk Rhythms to convert the earthlings around you. Funk Rhythms play you a beat, which you then have to tap out with the X and Y buttons. The better you do, the more converted the surrounding earthlings will become.

The humour and goofiness of the characters is what Sega is counting on to fuel your desire to play this game. You'll come up against cheerleaders, chickens, construction workers, dentists, country singers, and pomeranians. Also be on the watch out for the gospel singers, sushi seller, and wiseman in a carrot suit. It works for a while. The voicework is well done and some of the dialog is witty and funny. The lines repeat too often however, and if the humour and characters don't rub you the wrong way right up front, their charm will certainly wear off.

Toe Jam & Earl III has very solid production values. The environments are detailed and crisp and the characters well animated and fun to watch. The camera works well, with objects in front of it becoming transparent when they might otherwise block your view. I do wish you could tilt the camera up and down though, to get a view of what's below you as you stand on a ledge.

The sounds and music are also of satisfactory quality. As I mentioned, some of the dialog is clever, funny, and very well voiced and the sound effects are serviceable. The music is not as prominent or as remarkable as you might think given the game's premise, but it�s quite good. In front of every mission there are a couple of brief lines sung by female gospel-style singers and I soon came to wish that I could skip their little ditty.

Control is straightforward and easy, though remembering to use all your presents at the opportune times can be tricky. The game is incredibly easy--and to be honest, dull--to begin with (luckily you're probably still amused by the humour at this point), but it does become more challenging as you meet tougher enemies and must make good use of your power-up inventory.

Though the basic gameplay in Toe Jam & Earl III is pretty much yawn-inducing, the two player gaming is somewhat better. A second player can join in at any time--just pick up a controller and hit "Start" to turn the single player game into a co-op experience. Both characters will appear on the same screen as long as they are close enough together. Once they stray too far apart, the game automatically shifts to a split screen presentation. This is a super cool idea that works well. Too bad there wasn't an involving adventure for you and your gaming buddy to partake of.

Toe Jam & Earl III just isn't very much fun. I never felt like I was accomplishing anything by advancing in the game. There's no zen underneath the zaniness, no pith under the perkiness, and no meat beneath the mirth. Toe Jam & Earl III does offer fresh content (characters, levels, presents) via Xbox Live. I wonder how many folks will be interested enough to bother?

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