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Yo! Chilli! And other such confusing Californian expressions! It would appear that ToeJam and Earl are having a couple of problems. On the way home to the planet Funkatron, Earl went and crashed their rocket. Now this wouldn't be so bad, but by a twist of fate, they've crashed on Earth, and now they're being hunted by such everyday sights as man-eating mailboxes and gangs of tomato-hurling police-chickens. Fortunately, the other inhabitants of the planet have left lots of goodies lying around, like spring shoes and munchies, which prove invaluable to our pals.

To escape the planet, the two alien funksters must find the ten lost pieces of their ship, including their twin four-hundred megawatt speakers, and achieve the dizzy heights of Supreme Funk Lords. If they don't they'll be doomed to spend an eternity evading bogey-men, giant hamsters and a jet-packed Father Christmas...

ToeJam and Earl would probably never make it off the planet if it weren't for the fabola gifts left for them by sympathetic Earthlings. The Icarus wings, for example, allow the player to fly over the "islands" in space and collect otherwise unobtainable rocket pieces.

ToeJam and Early is much more fun when two players are participating. When the pair split up, the screen splits in two to show a view of each chracter as he rambles around. When the pair meet up, the screens combine and you have a larger view of the pair - and they also interact with each other, making jokes, slapping high fives and other such malarkey.

And just watch their reaction when they both get hit by the cherubs' arrows!

As you might expect, a lot of work has been put into the soundtracks for ToeJam and Earl. The sound test at the start allows you to listen to any of the eight tunes, and make ToeJam and Earl dance along to the music by pressing different buttons!

If you crave for even further participation, then you can even lay certain sound effects over the music!

This would mean nothing if the gameplay wasn't up to scratch, but, fortunately, there is little to worry about in that department. The going is a little slow for the first couple of levels, but once you get into the swing of hunting for food and rocketship pieces and experimenting with the mystery items, it's a great game.

However, the game does move a tad on the slow side, which does detract from the action. If you're after fun and frolics in a Megadrive cartridge, ToeJam And Earl is a very worthwhile purchase.

The gameplay is quite laid back, but then it needs to be so that you can appreciate all the completely mental features. There are loads of really funny touches, especially when two players strut out together, and it's these that give the game its incredible addictive qualities - you just want to keep playing and playing to see what comes next.

It's not a difficult game to finish, but it's the compulsion to find and do everything possible that keeps you coming back. ToeJam And Earl is definitely the strangest game I've played. Not everyone will like it - it's not normal enough for mass appeal - but I think it's destined to become a massive cult classic with those who like to hang out on the weird side...

Graphics 90%
Weirdo central, with loads of small, but well detailed sprites.

Sound 96%
Some of the best and most varied tunes and speech yet heard on the Megadrive.

Lastability 79%
It's not particularly difficult to finish, but there are tons of things to discover, and you'll want to find them all.

Overall 87%
A wild 'n wacky game with a sense of humour so weird you've just got to check it out!