That pesky Jerry just won't let Tom alone, even in the underworld! Poor old Tom was just minding his own business, when Jerry, misconstruing Tom's motives as usual, maliciously caused a piano to squash Tom. Evidently Tom's lives were all used up, as he ended up in the underworld, which unfortunately turned out to be run by vicious dogs. Happily for Tom, his guardian angel decided to help him out and let him out for a short time to collect dog bones in a Dog Army Camp. If he proves worthy, he will be set free permanently.

Essentially a platform game, Tom must jump around from platform to platform collecting bones and powerups. The controls are basic, with Tom running with the directional pad, jumping with the B button and using the A button for actions. The R and L buttons are used for throwing items. The movement works fairly well most of the time, but there are problems, mainly with positioning Tom just right to climb up or down poles and ladders. This gets mildly irritating at the poles where the Army dogs hang out, as Tom will get beaten up repeatedly while hapless gamers try fruitlessly to climb that pole.

Jumping from platforms is very smooth, however, and blind jumping is kept at a minimum. Even when Tom has to jump blindly, there is almost always a safe spot to land on.

There are positional puzzles found scattered throughout, that when solved will cause platforms to begin moving or open blocked passages. Most of these are fairly easy to trigger, and mainly involve remembering where they are so players can go back and trigger them for egress to passageways found elsewhere. One of the puzzle types, though, is awkwardly designed, due to the button control design. Tom will need to set fire to various TNT barrels scattered throughout, and in order to do so, he must light his club by holding down the A button at the fire source, then continue to hold it down while moving to the TNT barrel. So, in some areas players have to simultaneously hold down the A and the B button to keep the fire while jumping over a gap to the TNT barrel, and also hold down the directional key to keep moving. Just to keep it interesting, the fired up club will only last 9 seconds for a total of three tries before the club burns up.

There are always plenty of clubs lying around to collect and try again, so eventually Tom will light up that fire and move on. Still, a better button design would have helped.

Tom has three lives in each level. When his health gauge goes down, he gradually gets sick and eventually loses a life. Health and life powerups are found periodically, so he can usually recover quickly, unless he gets trapped by an Army dog while trying to climb a pole, anyway. Once all his lives are gone, he will get one more chance from his angel if he can collect three ghosts in a special, underworld level within a certain time limit. If he blows this level, it's game over.

Besides the Army dog levels, there are also Mouseketeer levels where Tom has to free a certain number of imprisoned alley cats that are guarded by feisty mouseketeers. The gameplay is pretty much the same in these levels as the Army dog levels except that the object is to free alley cats rather than collect bones.

The game's visuals are drawn and animated nicely, with the feel of the original cartoon captured well. The levels are bright and detailed, which is easy on the eyes and provides a decent amount of light to see hazards and other items. The Army levels are lighter in color scheme than the Mouseketeer ones, making them easier to navigate in.

The music is quite catchy, especially in the Army camp levels. It reminds one of Gomer Pyle. The music in the Mouseketeer levels is less memorable.

This is a decent platform game that will provide some amusement for a few hours. The gameplay is of average length, with enough levels provided so players won't feel gypped, but neither are there enough levels to last for more than several hours of concentrated play by experienced gamers. The puzzles provide added fun to the task of moving across the levels and gathering bones, and are fairly well-done. For the most part, this is a non-taxing game that won't frustrate, except for the last level, the boss level. This basically requires Tom to beat a huge, stomping dog in a very small, confined area, and is hard to accomplish.

Gamers of all ages can enjoy Tom & Jerry in Infurnal Escape, but older or more experienced gamers will probably become bored with the easy challenges provided. Best for ages eight and up.

Graphics: 7.5 
Very nice graphics that add to the enjoyment of the game.

Sound: 7
The music is fun to listen to and matches the themes well.

Concept: 6 
Just another platformer, nothing unusual or innovative here.

Overall: 6.4
While there isn't anything inherently wrong with this game, neither is there anything to stand up and cheer for. The gameplay is wholly average and while offering some fun puzzles to figure out, there's nothing here to keep gamers attached for more than a few hours.