What the Game's About
The Simpsons: The Game follows the exploits of the extremely popular American cartoon series. Play as Bart, Lisa, Marge and Homer through the City of Springfield as you complete a number of "episodes" to save the day. The particular angle of this game is that Bart finds out that his life is a video game and leverages that to his family's advantage.
What's Hot
Without spoiling too much of the game, you find out quickly that this version of Springfield is video game. With the fourth wall being broken from the beginning, get ready for one of the most hilarious, honest looks at gaming as seen through a video game. How's that for meta? There is no sacred cow (5 achievement points for pressing start is a nice touch). The team of Matt Groening's productions and EA development made sure that nothing was off-limits. You'll laugh and smile at some of the more obvious gags about gaming clichés and EA's position as one of the most powerful publisher. The part where you meet Will Wright will have you in stitches. There are more subtle, satirical opinions about the current state of video games.
The visuals make the The Simpsons standout. Fluid animations and vibrant colors make the game pop on a high definition set. Chatting with characters around town will provide the speakers with witty one-liners. Voice acting is done by the same people as in the TV show and they will keep saying different things, to a point. Linger too long and they'll repeat themselves but through levels and occasional encounters, you'll be delighted with all the different dialogue.
The Simpsons have a certain charm about them. The Cleaver's they aren't but the imperfections in the family make them endearing. The game does a great job at conveying that sense and the same feelings come across. The way the developers incorporated each family members skills into their moves only cements that belief.
What's Not
The humor is funny, so is the gameplay, in a sense. For as many jokes about standard gaming conventions as there are in the game (you get an achievement for finding all the clichés), the fighting and platforming is decidedly average. It's not amazing but on the same token, not bad. If the Simpsons were stripped away from the equation, the game wouldn't have gotten attention for the action, that is for sure.
A troublesome camera that likes to get stuck on walls is an issue that will drive you mad. More than a few times, the camera will get stuck in a corner and make your life harder. Collecting stickers and beer caps is an overreaching side-mission that will have you exploring missions in every corner but you'd rather be doing something related to the core story.
The different settings are nice eye candy but each level seemed to boil down to the same types of puzzles. Firing projectiles and locking on to enemies seems more trouble than it's worth as there are other, more effective ways of killing enemies.
Final Word
It is easy to tell that the developers had fun making The Simpsons. The humor and satire is on a level video games rarely achieve. This game can be safely recommended to gamers longing for such a quality. It is without saying that Simpson loyalists need to play this game because it will only add to your enjoyment of the show. It is a shame that the puzzles and platforming had to drag the game back from being well rounded. The Simpsons game retains the series charm and personality and that carries it a long way but the fundamental issues with core gameplay stop it from becoming all it could be.