Superpowers, aliens and giant monsters reeking havoc in town squares: These are staples of traditional video game fare. This time around, however, there's a twist: They're all in the same game, and they're all being made fun of.
"The Simpsons Game," available on Xbox 360, PS3, Wii, PS2, PSP and Nintendo DS, is like one giant episode of "The Simpsons" that satirizes video games. Using the voice talent and many of the writers from the actual series, the game takes players through a wacky and ultra-contrived plot while giving them clichés and power-ups - and sending up almost every aspect of the game industry along the way.
This review is a commentary on the 360 and PS3 versions. It's important to note that the other versions differ quite a bit graphically and, less significantly, with regards to their stories, so owners of a current-gen console can expect something a little different.
That said, this is essentially the perfect game for someone who is both a longtime "Simpsons" fan and a video game aficionado. The game includes many aspects of the series familiar to longtime watchers, including Kodos and Krang, Principal Skinner, Milhouse, Patty and Selma, Flanders, Apu, Burns and Smithers and many, many more. The game is broken down into 16 "episodes," which would be called levels in any other game.
As a rule, each episode has two characters from the Simpson family and each of them is playable with a few exceptions: The first episode only features Homer, and the last one uses all four characters. Additionally, future episodes may be downloadable through the PlayStation Network for PS3 or through Xbox Live for 360.
The graphical presentation in "The Simpsons Game" is one of the major factors in the game's quality. The designers came up with a game engine that converts a 3-D world to a 2-D image in any given frame. Thus, a screenshot from the game can look very much like a panel out of a comic or a frame from the cartoon - but the player still has a fully three-dimensional world to explore. Coupled with cel-shading, a technique that makes computer-generated images appear hand-drawn, this technology really imparts the feeling of playing in Springfield to the player.
From a gameplay standpoint, however, the game is significantly less impressive. "Simpsons" gameplay consists mainly of tried-and-true, clichéd adventure-game fare - which may have been the intent of the designers, in order to make fun of typical gameplay, but still fails to provide excitement or enjoyment to the player.
Most of the fun comes from the excellent dialogue that plays throughout the course of game progression; with sound and subtitles off, this game would completely fail to stand up on its own. This is fine if the player is a series fan, but for the "Simpsons"-uninitiated, there's simply not much to see here.
Therefore, "Simpsons" watchers and/or adventure game enthusiasts shouldn't miss out on this one. Series fans that are uncertain a "Simpsons" video game could have much merit, should at least rent it to check it out - the dialogue is quite snappy.
The game is short, so a rental may provide enough time to get through its six to eight hours of gameplay, although collecting everything in the game is another story. On the other hand, if you're looking for a great adventure game, pass on this one - the gameplay will simply leave players yearning for something better.
