The Simpsons Review

BY Rabie Hassoun | POSTED: 12 November 2007

Finally a good Simpsons Videogame!



For as long as I can remember, The Simpsons have been a part of my life. I had a Simpson’s bag in school, a Simpson’s lunch box too and now days my lucky boxers are a Simpsons themed boxer shorts. So I guess it’s easy for you to guess how excited I was when the Simpsons game was announced. And I was even more excited when previews started to come out showing that the game might not suck this time around, unlike older Simpson’s game.

Having played the console version of The Simpsons Game, I had high expectations for the PSP version.  The console version was limited from reaching its potential by little annoying problems in the game, and sadly they rubbed upon its little brother. You will get to control the whole Simpsons family during the game, starting with Bart and Homer along with Marge and Lisa. Each character has its own unique attribute that will help you get along the game.

Those signature powers each character poses add up to the games originality and sense humor. Homer can turn into a giant ball if he eats enough, which will allow you to destroy large objects. Other example is Bart’s own super power which gives him a Batman like cape to use to make this world a better place. You will get to control two characters at a time in most levels; but you will also be able to control them all at times during the game.

The game will start in a training mission which occurs in one of Homers dreams. And as you would expect Homer’s dreams to be, the first level is crazy to say the least. The dream occurs in a chocolate land which happens to be the level that will introduce you to the games basic controls.  The rest of the games levels are basically different in way that’s similar to the show itself. Each level will introduce a new style of game play in a unique Simpson environment. So basically each level is a new episode for you to watch and play and sometimes enjoy.

You might be asking yourself right now, the game has all our favorite characters and is as funny as the show (or more sometimes) should I go out and buy it right now? Well I know every diehard Simpsons fan already did and will understand what I am talking about next. The camera in the game is straight out awful. The game will inform you that you will be able toggle the camera using the L button. But that just makes it worse no matter what you do or press. The camera is so bad that sometimes a simple jump from one platform to another will take four or five tries before you get lucky and complete the jump. Another issue I have with the game play is that the characters seem a bit out of sync, for example going back to my jumping issue (which you will do a lot of in some levels) when you jump from one place to another, the character seem to slide a bit and fall back to the ground. It’s really annoying when you just want to know what is going to happen next in the game but have to spend ten minutes trying to complete a series of annoying jumps in some horrible camera angles.

The game play overall is interesting. You will be able to use the availability of more than one character to control at a time with style and to your advantage. For example you will be able to use Bart in his Batman like cape to jump higher and reach a switch. That switch will open a door for Homer to go in at times. And the game is like that pretty much the whole time. The characters will be helping each other out to help complete the levels and eventually the whole game.

The graphics in the game are good, copying the shows style and animation perfectly at times. I had some issues with slow down when the action gets out of hand on the screen. But the slowdown is not frequent enough to take away from the fun factor. The videos between levels are what I love about this game. I find myself sometimes hurrying to finish the level to see one of the beautiful videos that look and sound just like the show. And as you would expect trademark Simpsons humor will be on full display during those videos for your viewing pleasure.

As some of you Simpsons fans might realize the show have been less interesting in the past few seasons. Well you can’t blame the writers; they have been on air for more than eighteen years after all. But this game makes me optimistic that better and funnier shows are on the way. The voice acting in the game is so funny; I would actually stop and laugh at times during the game. The sarcasm level in the game is just hilarious and the way characters talk and react with each other feels exactly like the show itself. That funny voice acting that makes you feel like you are watching an episode on TV is exactly what the developers are trying to deliver here. And the least thing I can say is that when it comes to this part of the game, it’s a hell of a job well done.

The game overall won’t be taking a long time from you to complete. The time objectives on each level and the collectibles for each character scattered throughout the game might get you playing the game two or a maximum of three times. The sounds and levels design in the game alone should persuade all Simpson’s fans to buy this game. But the real pain in the ass camera and controls will surely limit causal games from enjoying what could have been an amazing game.