Toe Jam, Earl and the focus of Toe Jam's affections, Latisha, are sent down to earth to retrieve the Funkopotumus' twelve Sacred Albums of Funk. While you're there, of course, it's imperative that you convert as many clueless earthlings as you can to a life of funk. Each player, up to two, chooses a character and you're off. It's a colorful, lush version of earth consisting of sprawling fantasy islands that could be mistaken for a three-dimensional version of Candyland. Each level is generated randomly and there is just enough detail to the earthlings wandering around in need of funkification. One problem the game does not have that almost all others do is the camera. It's an easy matter to spin the camera view behind you. If there's a building in your way, you're treated to an outline view and can see through it temporarily. Why this is such an issue in so many other games is beyond me.

The audio is far below par, particularly for a game whose main characters base their lives on music. Toe Jam's comment to a cheerleader that he wants to grab her pom-pom's is mildly amusing at first, but that's as good as it gets and it's indicative of the rest of the speech sound bites in the game. The music consists mostly of generic bass thumping to go along with the rap and gospel, but the personality of the game is supposed to be based on the funk of the 70s. This odd mix of music and the fact that it seems to be bad on purpose implies that it's a tongue-in-cheek shot at hip-hop and rap. If you're a fan of the real thing, this will get annoying. If you're not a fan, it will still be annoying. None of it is funny enough to be classified as satire. It's just bad rap with some bad singing thrown in here and there.

Whether you play as Toe Jam, Earl or Latisha, you'll have a few resources at your disposal for the dispersion of funk: A talk button, so you can convince those in need of funk to get funked, or Funk-Fu, an earthling-friendly "attack" that spreads the funk the old fashioned way. You can collect karaoke microphones to use for converting the un-funked. During your explorations you'll also collect floating keys that get you (and your friend, if you choose to play cooperatively) into different areas in your search for the Funkmaster's records. You'll also find powerups in the form of unopened gift boxes which can contain food, for replenishing your depleted life (er, I mean… funk), money, for buying your way into certain areas, one of several different powerups, like spring shoes for long distance jumping or rocket skates, or a grab bag, which can be any one of the above.

The cooperative mode works very well, and it's obvious the game was meant to be played with a friend. If you split up, the game switches to split screen. If you get separated or lost, it's an easy matter to pull up the map and reunite yourselves. All the quirkiness of the game and its characters will wear thin a little slower if you're playing with a friend, too. It's not as if the original set a new standard for gameplay. The gameplay was simply good enough to serve as an underpinning for an entertaining and irreverent experience. It was fun.

This time it's only fun for a few minutes. The characters and their endearing weirdness are there in name only. The gameplay offers almost nothing challenging, even for younger players. Once you get the basic controls down, it's just a matter of finishing each level. Sadly, one of the funniest parts of each level is the muscle-bound character wearing a sandwich board touting Xbox Live downloads. He goads you into it with a dead on Schwarzeneggarian accent. At least it's an entertaining way to sneak in a plug.

But it's hard to imagine those downloads playing much of a part in whether or not you keep playing Toe Jam & Earl. A few extra levels of the same thing you've already bounced through isn't going to make all that much difference. Mission to Earth features very simplistic gameplay catering to easy cooperative sessions. Personality is the only draw to this game, and the mixture of modern hip-hop and 70's funk references won't interest everyone. It's worth a try. If you enjoy the first few levels and the repetitiveness of the gameplay and the jokes keep you laughing, you might enjoy the whole thing. But if you're looking for anything as varied and original as the first game, you won't find it here.