Toejam & Earl 3: Mission to Earth
Sega/Microsoft £39.99 Xbox
***

Toejam & Earl 3 gets a welcome return for the videogame funksters. Yes, in a gaming world full of square jawed or big-breasted stars, it's good to see a place reserved for rhythmic alien freaks.

This time around, the titular tykes are joined by a female rapping bug, creating a trio of ugly looking, yet sweet-sounding heroes. The slightly unusual plot - scour earth for the 12 sacred albums of funk - masks the fact that this is a pretty standard 3D platform collectathon. You might be searching for vinyl in this case, but it may as well be Mario's stars or Jak and Daxter's power cells. The original ity is more in the style than the play. Whether it's the gospel singers who herald each level's objectives or the pun-filled characters, T&E 3 certainly stands out.

It's also a treat for the eyes. Crisply defined textures and realistic lighting create a welcoming playground. And there's little initially wrong with the "collect everything" gameplay. Most levels follow a similar pattern: grab whatever needs taking and "funkify" all the humans. Yes, instead of bullets or fists, you beat your enemies by zapping them with funk notes or beating out a set rhythm. Unreal or Quake fans should probably leave now.

A multiplayer mode and some mini-games add longevity, and the urge to check out the graphics on the next section is a pull.

However, once the jokes and tunes have worn off, you are left with a bog-standard platform game that, while stylish and attractive, won't strut its stuff for too long. (GH)

Praetorians
PC £34.99 Pyro Studios/Eidos
***

The Romans knew how to party, and it's a wonder they still found time to conquer half the world. Rome's war machine is the focus of the latest 3D real-time strategy game, Praetorians.

If you're a regular strategy player, then many of the features will be instantly familiar. Praetorians has many similar traits to existing RTS titles, such as the lack of resource gathering and the focus on tactical strategy and formations rather than individual units, which is akin to the gameplay in Medieval: Total War.

However, instead of lush plateaus and fog-topped hills, Praetorians opts for less visually epic backdrops than the Total War series, with the action taking place in much smaller 3D countryside and city environments. Sadly, the game has a fixed camera, which doesn't zoom and can only be angled up or down. This rather negates the aesthetic purpose of the game being in 3D.

Despite these limitations, your troops are easy to control and historically accurate. There are also interesting features such as flurries of leaves and sudden flights of birds, which can signal hidden enemies.

Some games get away with pick and mix from other titles, but Praetorians, though nicely presented and structured, fails to add uniqueness to borrowed gameplay. (RP)

Ape Escape 2
PlayStation 2 £29.99 Sony
****

Now that the PlayStation 2 is reaching what passes for middle age in a console, Sony is turning to territory traditionally occupied by Nintendo: mainstream games, suitable for all ages, and particularly platform games.

Not generally renowned for the quality of its platform games, Sony has shown signs of redressing the balance, first with the excellent Ratchet & Clank, and now the second, much-improved iteration of Ape Escape. The premise of the game is simple: you must travel to various destinations, and capture monkeys using a net and wacky gizmos.

In classic platform game style, there are bosses to fight, too. After a neat Japanese cartoon-style intro, Ape Escape 2 impresses thanks to an innovative control system, in which you use the buttons to choose a weapon, and then wield it using the right analogue stick.

Short tutorials at the start of the early missions keep the learning curve shallow enough for the most ham-fisted gamers, and difficulty levels ramp up in a wonderfully progressive manner throughout the game. The one glaring fault Ape Escape 2 demonstrates is a fixed camera that occasionally proves a hindrance - but not as frequently as that of, for example, Super Mario Sunshine.

But the game's real joy lies in its madcap humour, which fully exploits the legendary cheekiness displayed by apes, and a surreal edge that even the great Miyamoto would admire. This puts Ape Escape 2 into territory occupied by the best platform games: many a parent will surely sneak a crafty go on the game after the offspring have been tucked up in bed. (SB)