Bringing Back the Funk

Toejam and Earl may be making a comeback as a crowd-funding campaign for a brand new entry to the series has launched on Kickstarter.

Toejam and Earl: Back in the Groove will see the alien duo return to their roots with the RPG style gameplay of the original Mega Drive/Genesis classic. I've just watched the pitch video and the developer comments on Sega influencing the design choices of the second and third games, claiming Back in the Groove will be a true sequel to the first game.

The graphics have been changed to a comic book style and it looks pretty sweet. The game is currently in development for PC (Windows and Linux) and Mac, with a view to bring the game to other platforms but nothing has been confirmed at the moment.

Back in the Groove is promising 4 player multiplayer (AWESOME), new presents (with popular oldies returning), and also new earthlings (again, with some oldies returning).

There's obvious risks to backing projects on Kickstarter but the prospect of another entry to a much loved series is very exciting indeed! Here's a link to the Kickstarter page.

Day Ten: Toejam and Earl

Is there a game that's funkier than Toejam and Earl? ...probably not.

Toejam and Earl have crashed their spaceship on a hostile and deranged planet, otherwise known as Earth, and they've got to find all of the scattered pieces to put their ship back together. It's a great top-down adventure game best played in co-op mode with a friend; that way you can cover more ground when exploring the map while also sharing items and health as well.

The game has a fantastic soundtrack with some of the most recognisable melodies of all time, perfect funk rhythms to match your casual strolls across the Earth. The only thing that keeps the game from being a walk in the park is the eccentric earthlings that attack TJ & E wherever they go. There's Boogie Men holding pitchforks, cackling dentists with drills and even a platoon of chickens armed with tomato launching mortars.

TJ & E aren't entirely helpless however, as there are presents scattered throughout the world that contain a wide variety of power ups. For instance Super Hi-Tops that allow for sprinting, Icarus Wings for flying and Boom boxes to distract enemies with a funky groove.

Sega have released Toejam and Earl on every platform imaginable now so there's no excuse for you not to have played this classic game. So grab a friend and give these two aliens a hand putting their spaceship back together.