From: portuesi@tweezers.esd.sgi.com (Michael Portuesi)
Newsgroups: rec.games.video
Subject: Re: Is Toejam & Earl a good game?
Date: 5 Oct 92 20:46:58 GMT
Organization: Silicon Graphics, Inc.  Mountain View, CA


In article <9227912.19942@mulga.cs.mu.OZ.AU>, curmi@munta.cs.mu.OZ.AU writes:
> The subject says it all?
> Is it fun to play?  Is it too easy (ie. can you finish it within a few
> days and you never want to play it again)?  Are the graphics any good
> etc. etc.
> 
> Any opinions would be appreciated.
> 


I think Toe Jam & Earl ties with Road Rash for being the
best game available for the Genesis, and I think it's one
of the best games available for a console system in many
years.

I wrote a long and detailed review for the (now apparently
defunct) Digital Games Review Digest.  It is included below.
I also have a list of hints and tips for playing that game
which I have discovered.  I can post that also if there is
interest.


-------

ToeJam and Earl (Genesis): a review


A disappointing trend with many current video games is that they are
over-scripted and preprogrammed -- The landscape is always laid out
in exactly the same arrangement, the same characters and objects
appear in the same places, at the same times, and they always act the
same way.  Your part in the game is to simply to discover the script
of the game and master it.  While it might be fun to unravel the
puzzles the game designers laid out for you, once you've solved them
all there isn't a game left to play.

ToeJam and Earl, from Sega for the Sega Genesis, advertises itself as
being different every time you play.  Indeed, the randomness,
free-form nature, and lack of "boss" characters makes TJ & E feel
just like a pre-Nintendo era video game, except that the visuals,
audio and sophistication of the game are what you would expect from
one of the current 16-bit game systems.  It is one of the most
refreshing new titles for the Genesis that has appeared in a long
time.

Basically, here's the story behind the game: ToeJam and Earl are two
highly funky aliens from the planet Funkotron.  ToeJam is a skinny
red thing with big eyes and three legs.  Earl is a big amorphous blob
with sunglasses and sneakers.  Sometimes his pants fall down.
Anyway, ToeJam and Earl were out cruising in their rapmaster
spaceship, which looks kind of like a rocket sled with two huge
boombox speakers on each side.  One day while crusing through the
galaxy, ToeJam (against his better judgement) let Earl take the
wheel.  They crashed into an asteroid and landed on the planet Earth.

Now it's your job to help ToeJam and Earl find the 10 missing pieces
of their rocketship scattered over the 20 levels of Planet Earth.
Each time you find a piece, it is filled in on a diagram of the
rocketship.  Elevators transport TJ & E from one level to the next,
and if one of the characters should happen to fall off the edge of
the landscape, they land on the previous level.

As you wander around the landscape, searching for rocketship pieces,
you also find some gift-wrapped presents.  Some of the presents
contain good things, such as hi-top sneakers (which allow TJ & E to
run very quickly), extra lives, wings (which allow TJ & E to fly for a
short period), inner tubes (which allow TJ & E to navigate water
without drowning), and tomatoes (which TJ & E can throw at their
enemies to make them go "pop" and disappear).  There are also bad
presents, such as a rain cloud which follows TJ & E around and shocks
them with a cartoon lightning bolt; a rain of tomatoes falling from
the sky; a school book which makes them fall asleep, and a "major
bummer" present which cause TJ & E to lose a life.

The contents of the presents remain a mystery until you open them.
Each present contains a unique gift wrapping, so once you open one,
you know what any other present with the same gift wrapping in that
game will be.  However, there are some complications.  The
"randomizer" present scrambles up the contents of all the presents
and makes them a mystery again.  The Mystery Present, labeled with a
question mark on the outside, always contains something different
every time it is opened.

TJ & E can also find food, which they can use to replenish themselves
when their life runs low.  Fried and sugary foods (pizza, fudge
sundaes, burgers and fries) are good; other foods (like moldy cheese,
fish bones, rotted cabbage and fungus) are bad, and can even cause TJ
& E to feel ill.

Along the way, TJ & E meet all kinds of strange earthlings.  Most of
them are out to do harm to ToeJam and Earl, such as the Lil Devil who
pokes them with his pitchfork, the Nerd Herd which runs them over, a
swarm of bees which chase them down and sting them, or the Boogie Man
who sneaks up on TJ or E and scares them by shouting "Boogie Boogie".
All of the enemies are very well animated, and are very hilarious.
But TJ & E also have some friends, such as a wizard who can heal
them, a Wise Man (dressed in a carrot suit) who can identify the
contents of presents, and an Opera Singer who can pop all of the
enemies on the screen with her voice.

There is also a mailbox, from which TJ & E may order presents via
mail.  But watch out for the Mailbox Monster, who looks just like a
mailbox except that he blinks his eyes every now and then.  He will
attack if you get too close.

All of TJ & E's friends want a small amount of money for their
services.  TJ & E can find money either lying on the ground, or as a
present.

Each of the levels in the game is randomly generated.  The terrain,
enemies, and contents of presents are all diferent every time you
play.  However, if you would like the security of playing the same
game every time, you can choose the "fixed world" game.

All of the animated characters are very detailed, colorful, and
humorous.  The animation, while not as silky smooth as in the best
Genesis carts (Sonic The Hedgehog or Mickey Mouse Castle of
Illusion), is nevertheless very well done and very entertaining.  The
game makes use of the widest variety of sampled sound effects I've
heard from a Genesis game cartridge.  Just about every sound effect
from Saturday morning cartoons can be found here, including the Road
Runner beep, the screeching of shoes against the pavement, sproingy
noises when TJ or E jump, and so on.

TJ & E offers two one-player games, one with ToeJam, and the other
with Earl.  ToeJam is faster than Earl, but Earl has more life
points than ToeJam.  Also, you can play a two-player cooperative
game, in which one player controls ToeJam and the other player
controls Earl.  If ToeJam and Earl stray off the same screen, the
game automatically splits the screen in half, providing both players
with a window on their portion of the game.

I would especially recommend this game for younger children, for
several reasons.  The first is that TJ & E provides a "jam session"
where you get to play along.  You can choose the accompanying
background tune. Then, ToeJam and Earl dance on the screen against a
colorful, constantly changing music video-style background.  While
the background accompaniment plays, you can play percussion and
samples by pressing the buttons on both game controllers.  It's lots
of fun, and younger kids (especially pre-schoolers) might like this
as much as the game itself.

Another reason is that the game is very free-form; it doesn't really
force you to do anything.  If you don't want to find the parts to the
spaceship, you can simply wander around, collecting presents and
having a good time.  Because the difficulty of the game increases
smoothly and gradually as you progress though the game, you can go
through several levels of exploration before the game becomes too
challenging to just wander around and have a good time.

But the biggest reason why this is a good children's game is because
it allows two people to play at once.  The game really shines when
you play with two players, because the designers worked to exploit
the potential of a two-player cooperative game.  For example, if one
player opens a present when both ToeJam and Earl are on the same
screen, they both get the present.  This encourages children to
share presents with each other.  Players also learn to share food
between themselves, by allowing the other player to grab food if they
are more in need.

The game also provides many opportunities to teach children the value
of teamwork.  ToeJam and Earl will cover sandy areas best if they
team up to do it together, because one of them will sink unless they
touch their partner nearby.  (In fact, if you try to go it alone,
your character will sink in the sand, and he'll cry to his partner
for help!)  And if either ToeJam or Earl is running low on life, the
two players can do a "high five" by slapping their hands together.
This will add up the remaining life for both players and average it
out between them.  There is even a present called "Togetherness"
which will bring ToeJam and Earl together, no matter where they are
in the game.  In its own little way, this game actually teaches kids
several of the values of friendship.

Final ratings:

	        Fun Factor: 10 The game is a blast to play, especially 	
			       with another player.  You feel as if
			       you are playing a Saturday morning
			       cartoon.

	       Playability: 9  The control layout is very easy to use,
	       		       though sometimes you can get caught up
			       in the screen to open/drop presents.
			       The split screen feature in the
			       two-player game works well.

	      Replay Value: 8  The jokes might wear out after the
	      		       first few times you play, but the game
			       remains solid and fun. Because it is
			       totally random, you won't "memorize
			       the script" like many other video
			       games.

	         Challenge: 7  I made it to level 17 the first few
		 	       times I played, though the higher
			       levels do get very difficult.  Video
			       game wizards might find this game too
			       easy, but I'm not a video game wizard,
			       so I don't consider myself the best
			       judge.

	Graphics/Animation: 8  The animation is one step short of the
			       best Genesis carts, but it has a lot of
			       style and humor, and all of the game
			       characters are very detailed and
			       colorful.

		     Audio: 9  Liberal use of digitized sound effects.
		     	       The music is way groovy.

		   Overall: 9  This game is a winner, especially if
		   	       you like something besides shooters
			       and hack-and-slash games.

ToeJam and Earl, by Sega of America for the Sega Genesis (about $55
retail, I purchased it mail-order for $45 plus tax and shipping).

--
Michael Portuesi   Silicon Graphics, Inc.   portuesi@sgi.com