The Simpsons Game from EA delivers great visuals and sound and is really genuinely funny throughout the 6-8 hour campaign, but the gameplay is so bland and uninteresting that it really is a struggle to force yourself to see it all. Simpsons fans will definitely enjoy it, but it isn’t the end-all-be-all Simpsons game we had all been hoping for.
Quick Hits
- Title: The Simpsons game
- Platform:Xbox 360
- Publisher: EA
- Developer: EA Redwood Shores
- ESRB Rating: “T” for Teen
- Genre: Action/Platforming
- Pros: Great presentation; very funny; Simpsons fans will dig it
- Cons: Gameplay isn’t very good
Features
The Simpsons Game is primarily a single-player experience, but a friend can jump in (locally, not Xbox Live) at any time for some co-op action. The story is presented in a series of levels that re-create classic episodes of the show and poke fun at videogame culture at every turn. I don’t want to give any of the story away, since it is literally the only thing that makes The Simspons Game halfway interesting, but I will say that it is pretty good overall and very funny. All of the great characters from the show make an appearance, along with some other very cool cameos, and you have a fully explorable virtual Springfield to run around complete with building interiors for famous locales such as Moe’s Tavern, Springfield Elementary, The Simpsons house, and the Kwik-E-Mart among others. All in all, this is one of the most accurate re-creations of the show we have seen in a videogame yet, and fans of the show will really dig it.
Gameplay
EA
Even if you are a huge fan of the show, however, the bland and repetitive and completely forgettable gameplay is hard to ignore. At its core, The Simpsons Game is a simple and completely generic action platforming game where you do a bunch of silly platform jumping, solve some mindless puzzles, and use the same combo over and over and over again to beat up enemies. Each of the characters – Bart, Lisa, Homer, and Marge – has their own special moves and abilities that let them reach new areas of the map, but once you see them a couple of times the game just grinds down to a bland and repetitive and extremely easy fetch quest. The game is funny enough to keep you plowing ahead, but it is hard to say you enjoyed the gameplay journey on your way to the humor destination. Without the humor, The Simpsons Game would be pretty bad. With the humor, it is still worth playing for fans.
Graphics and Sound
Graphically, The Simpsons game is very impressive because it looks exactly like the show. It is pretty darn cool to be able to visit (fairly) accurate depictions of all of the landmarks and locations that have made The Simpsons great over the years. The whole game is drawn in a way that really does make it look just like what you see on TV, and being able to play such a great looking game based on the license also helps to ease some of the pain caused by the gameplay.
The sound is equally top notch. The music and sound effects and voices are all exactly like you find on the show.
Bottom Line
EA
The Simpsons Game isn’t going to win any awards for gameplay, but it is extremely funny and looks and sounds amazing, which is more than enough for fans of the show to eat it up. The gameplay isn’t horrible or anything, but without The Simpsons license it would be a complete failure. Thankfully, though, the development team made absolutely perfect use of the license in order to make a game filled with humor and references and great touches that are instantly recognizable as “The Simspons” that you can overlook the flaws and just enjoy yourself. In terms of fun gameplay, Vivendi’s Simpsons Hit & Run is still the king. But as far as using the license to its full potential, The Simpsons Game from EA takes the cake. Give it a rental and decide from there if you are a big enough Simspons fan to justify buying it.
