ToeJam & Earl III: Mission to Earth

by Sega

Product Features

• XBox Game

Product Details

• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B00006JBS7
• Item Weight: 6.1 ounces
• Media: Video Game
• Release Date: October 22, 2002
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (33 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,577 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games)

Product Description

Amazon.com Review

The Toe Jam & Earl franchise is an anomaly to the trend of hyper-realism and violence in video games, and this latest addition to the series excels at creating another gloriously fun and wacky cartoon experience. The goal of Toe Jam & Earl III: Mission to Earth is to recover the stolen Twelve Sacred Albums of Funk by exploring various levels on Earth, befriending Earthlings, and finding keys and presents to aid in the journey. The real fun of the game, however, is its funk theme. You can convert unfunky Earthlings to the ways of funk, and there are inspired funky touches throughout the game, including a gospel vocal trio that sings whenever a new level loads. The game doesn't take itself seriously, and to enjoy it, a competitive gaming mindset should be set aside. In two-player mode, the game promotes teamwork by allowing players to share health (just high-five each other) and immunity to attacks. The game's combination of 80s funk and overall goofiness won't appeal to everyone, but it's an ideal mix for parents in search of a game that they can enjoy with their kids (the game is rated Teen for animated blood and violence, but the gore is all cartoonish) and anyone else with an offbeat sense of humor. --Sung Nicholas Kim

Pros:

• Excellent 3-D graphics
• Kitschy fun for all ages

Cons:

• Erratic split-screen view in the two-player mode
• Older gamers may find the game too simple

Product Description

This is the game ToeJam & Earl III: Mission to Earth for the Xbox. This game may not come with the original case and instructions. We stand by our products and offer a 60 day guarantee. If a game does not work within 60 days from the time you receive it we will gladly exchange it for you.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Insert Title With The Word "Funk" In It Here., August 30, 2003

By 

[e-mail] (Melbourne, Australia.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: ToeJam & Earl III: Mission to Earth (Video Game)

I loved ToeJam and Earl 1. When I was... ooh.. 13 we'll call it, me and my mates were playing TJ&E whenever we could get our hands on it.

III is I, but 3D. That's really all there is to it. The elevators, the presents, the food, the baddies, the chickens, the tomatoes. I must admit the voices weren't exactly as I'd placed them, but you get used to 'em.

But, this is a great game even if you haven't played TJ&E1 - OK, so it's a fairly easy collect-em-up, it's just so... funky. It sounds unimaginative to describe this "funk"-laden game as just funky - surely I could think of some better adjectives than one used every ten seconds in the plot scenes? - but that's what it is. It's funky. It's chilling (sorry, chillin'). It's so laid-back it's damn near horizontal. It also comes in PG and G-rated flavours, so get the irritating brat that kicks shins in YOUR house and teach them the Ways of the Funk. Really.

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Spyro-ish gameplay in a Funky world!, December 1, 2002

By 

Lisa Shea "medieval swordfighting enthusiast" - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (TOP 50 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: ToeJam & Earl III: Mission to Earth (Video Game)

ToeJam and Earl III for the XBox is a great game for funk-loving teenagers, and even features a naughty/nice setting so younger kids can play too!

You're in control of three funky space aliens who love funk music. There's the slim, hip DJ ToeJam, the portly, upbeat Earl, and their female sassy chick Latisha. All three have unique personalities and really get along well together, while poking fun at each other too.

The general plot is about as meaningful as any other capture-coins-and-solve-quests game, which means not much at all :). It's very similar to Spyro. You start out in a "world" (The Grassy Zone) with a look. In this case everything is grassy and green. From there you gather keys and go into sub-worlds, each with its own keys to collect, items to gather, enemies to "funkify". Your ultimate aim is to find all of the funk albums that were lost by your leader.

The graphics are great. Each character has his or her own moves, and is nicely 3D rendered. The worlds through which they jump, swim, fly and crawl are great. The trees in the grassy land are different from each other and look like trees. The water ripples. The city streets of the Urban Zone have graffiti on them and have street lights and other objects. The sky cycles from day to night. It's very well done!

Combat is great, too. You're not actually "killing" things, unlike Spyro and other similar games. Instead, you're trying to "funkify" all these poor musically-inept humans! You run after them blasting them with your funk rays and notes, and eventually they get a shining disco ball over their head indicating that they now appreciate funk music. It is TOOOO funny!

Add in to that the wicked sense of humor the characters have. Note again that there is that nice-naughty setting. So if kids are playing, the comments are pretty tame. "Why don't you have a mouth?", one girl asks TJ. "I wanna be just like you, Latisha" says another. Each player's comments are unique, and they say different things to different people. Some are hilarious! Even the naughty setting isn't "bad", it's just a little risque.

We've played this game both with adults and kids and everyone has loved it. Get with the funk, and get your own copy!

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I bought an XBOX for this game, November 30, 2002

By 

R. McAdams (CA, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: ToeJam & Earl III: Mission to Earth (Video Game)

I steadfastly refused to purchase an XBOX when they came out. I am not a huge fan of Microsoft­® products, and the XBOX didn't really have any games that I wanted to play anyway.

However, when Sega® pulled out of the hardware market, the up and coming Toe Jam & Earl 3 game that had been slated to come out on the Dreamcast -- was suddenly in limbo. When the game developers announced they would be releasing TJ&E3 on the XBOX, as an EXCLUSIVE title, a lot of long time Sega fans went into hysterical convulsions -- including me.

I dragged my feet for a long time on this issue, but the bottom line was I wanted this game, and I needed an XBOX to play it (and I didn't want to rent the system or the game) -- so I went out and bought both the game and the system on the same night.

I got the XBOX bundled with two games (GT Racing and Jet Set Future -- neither one of which I care for), and the new S-controllers. And popped in the game. All I can say is ...

***WOW!!***

[Let us pause for a moment of silence to appreciate that "wow"]

The game is wonderful! It is almost EXACTLY like the first game in almost every detail, except it is bigger, better, and beautiful!

The graphics are stunning, the controls are crisp and responsive, and the game play is out of this world (pun intended). I won't bore you with the storyline because I am sure you already know the story line from the Editorial Review, and past history.

I cannot say enough good things about this game. New earthlings to play with, along with most of our favorites -- devils, tourists, shopping cart lady, lawn mower man, cupid, crazy mortar chickens, insane dentist, etc.

Then to add a REALLY neat aspect to the game, the developers gave the characters the ability to fight the earthlings without presents (it was a real drag in the first game to have to run from earthlings if you ran out of presents) -- by using what Lamont the Funkapotamus calls "Funk Fu." Which is a silly title for a martial art based on being funky. You can progress in belt rank all the way up to black belt -- and if you outrank or equal an earthling in Funk Fu, then you can use your Funk Fu attacks to convert them to the ways of Funk! If the earthling outranks you, then you need presents or other special techniques to convert them, but it can still be done.

The only complaint I have about this game is that once you reach the rank of black belt (and the title of FunkLord) then all the points you earn after that point don't count towards anything. The points cap out at 125,000. Which then gives you zero incentive to convert any more earthlings after that point. But I suppose the developers were trying to create the frantic pacing of the last few levels in the first game where you just popped in, grabbed what you needed then hightailed it to the elevator!

If I could give this game 10 stars I would!