ToeJam & Earl III: Mission to Earth

"It's like pulling a tooth. Painful, yet addictive."

I was a kid when the first TJE game was released. This was the era before you could check online to see if a game was garbage. You won some, you lost some. TJE was a winner. IT was followed by a second installment which was a painful insult to the first. Now, TJE returns in it's former glory.

Music 10/10. The funk is back, and it's clean and awesome. It does have that hint of being a bit too repetitive, but the game gives you the option to change the bgm if it gets a little stale.

Sounds 6/10. I have to admit, a lot of the puns are really bad. Lazy bad. Some of them could be cool, had they added more of them. You can only deal with the hula dancer's "coconut cliches." I'm also including the "soul sisters" under sounds, because their little announcements, though sung, can not qualify as music. They are barely words. I cannot express how painful these women are. They are the biggest, most stereotypical, baptist style black choir women. These women belong in a 1930s cartoon about the south. Have your mute button ready for in between levels.

Control 10/10. Flawless.You haven't dealt with controls tighter. Everything from spring shoes to rocket skates makes it's return. Each item/present works with the greatest of ease. Unless it's a bad present, which it will work any way it wants to.

Graphics 9.5/10 I really wanted to give it the total thumbs up here. However, the closeups of any non-player 3d model is just ugly as hell. Luckily you very rarely use the first person view.

Overall Game play 8/10. Although the game is fantastic, it suffers a bit from being a little too repetitive. And once you get used to the repetitiveness, the game is over WAY too fast. There isn't much in the way of bosses, but they have "challenges" you must complete which are fun and just as satisfying to beat. The only real boss is the "Anti-Funk," and he comes off a bit easy if you prepare and load up on presents beforehand.

The format of this game is timeless, borrowing heavy on the first game. I hope that with time SEGA will produce more in this series. I would hate to see this as the swan song of the TJE empire. This game is now bargain bin fodder, so if you're looking for a sweet game to pick up for cheap, look no further. If you have an X-box this is one title I think everyone should have in their collection.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 09/08/09

Game Release: ToeJam & Earl III: Mission to Earth (US, 10/23/02)