Difficulty:

Just Right

Time Spent:

10 Hours or Less

The Bottom Line:

"Old-school"

The Simpsons Arcade game arrives on XBLA ported from 20 years ago during the glory days of arcades in the early 90s. If you were fortunate to be alive during that time and remember playing it in an arcade, pizza joint or bowling alley, let me answer the most pertinent question for you- is it a good port? The answer is a resounding "yes." It is a perfect arcade port. For most of you, I suspect, this is the only piece of info you came here for. Go buy the game or wait for it to inevitably arrive as a "Deal of the Week." I'm not here to tell you what the game is worth in specific dollars. If you are new to the game, a fan of the cartoon or a remaining old-schooler who wants more details, read on...

This is an arcade beat em' up so don't expect a RPG's story or depth. It plays like a parlor game, you know- playing it for the fun of it. You play for points while attempting to retain your health as you make your way through levels of random Simpsons madness. The levels themselves are vibrantly colorful and chalked full of traps, enemies, bosses, items to interact with and non-stop action. In particular this game is very chaotic in what it throws at you which feels right considering the cartoon fashion of the game. You choose a character- Homer, Bart, Lisa or Marge, walk around and beat up other characters from the show. You have a basic attack, jump, jump-attack and a variety of combos depending on the number of coop players and who they choose as their character. The controls are tight. The gameplay is simple, cartoon fun in a Simpsons-world gone mad.

The game is 40 minutes long, but only if you play it once. If you play it multiple times with different characters, checking out the coop combos, the game offers more replayability.

Konami has a success here. For a bit of perspective, consider that other attempts at porting classic games, say Mortal Kombat Arcade Kollection for example, failed miserably. There is a range that exists in which game companies are capable of producing lazy, bad ports and quality ports down to the last detail. When a good port comes along the effort deserves to be recognized. I award big points to Konami because they accomplished what the main intent- they ported The Simpsons Arcade Game accurately.

A faithful return of The Simpsons Arcade to today's generation is something to be cherished. It is an event that only serves to preserve the classic games of yesteryear and give incentive to game companies to continue this process of preservation. For those of you who have no interest in old games or are looking for something deep and epic, take a pass on this one. For those who have been waiting for The Simpsons, know that this faithful version will nestle in nicely into your library, perhaps next to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles The Arcade Game on one side, and hopefully, someday Sunset Riders on the other.

The Good:
Faithful port of the original.
Chaotic, colorful fun in Simpsons cartoon fashion.

The Bad:
Gameplay may be shallow to some.
Nothing noteworthy along the lines of extra content.