ToeJam & Earl in Panic on Funkotron

ToeJam & Earl in Panic on Funkotron, released on PC, Wii, X360 and PS3, is the second installment of a trilogy of games depicting the adventures of two absurd aliens stylized as representatives of 1990s rap subculture. Unlike the first part of the series, the creators abandoned the roguelike genre in favor of a classic side-scrolling platformer, in which we observe the action from the side and move to the right. This title was originally released in 1993 on the Sega Mega Drive console. The re-edition is only slightly different from the original - the developers decided to keep the original audio-visuals and the focus only on eliminating minor mistakes and refining the cooperation mode for two players.

Plot

The plot is a continuation of the story told in the first game. ToeJam and Earl manage to repair the spacecraft and return to their home planet Funkotron. After some time, it turns out that uninvited guests from the Earth got on board and caused a huge commotion. The pair of rappers decide to solve this problem by finding the Earthlings and putting them into special jars to later send them back to the Earth.

Mechanics

This task will not be easy, because among the opponents there is no shortage of absurd characters like crazy workers with pneumatic hammers, tourists with cameras and children shooting peas. To diversify the fun, the creators have prepared several power-ups allowing the player to, for example, teleport or discover the secrets in the vicinity. The game also has mini-games consisting in rapping to the rhythm of music and participating in a swimming tournament.

Game modes

As in the first part, we can play alone or in cooperation with another player. In this mode, we can, among other things, listen to new dialogue lines.

Technical aspects

The two-dimensional graphics design has been faithfully transferred from the original meaning that the game now looks archaic. Again, we are dealing with slightly abstract colors dominated to a large extent by the purple rocks of the planet Funkotron.

Last updated on 15 October 2012