Join everyone's favorite family as they battle aliens and unlock new powers in an attempt to save Springfield.
On the air for twenty years and still going, The Simpsons have appeared in feature films, on beach towels, bed sheets, lunchboxes and quite a few videogames. Their latest outing puts you in control of everyone's favorite family as they fight aliens, solve puzzles, collect items, and make their way through various levels based on familiar video games and themes.
The game starts out with Bart standing in line to buy a copy of "Grand Theft Scratchy", the most violent videogame ever. Well things don't really go his way, but he does end up finding The Simpsons Game, and things take off from there. You'll control a team of two out of Homer, Bart, Lisa, and Marge, and can switch between them at will, to solve puzzles and pull switches or activate objects.
Each Simpson member gains unique abilities over the course of the game. Homer can become a large ball and knock down groups of enemies. You'll eventually be able to use helium tanks to float to places previously unreachable and become a green, blob-like gummi Homer that can shoot projectiles. As Bart, you'll don his Bartman attire and glide to new areas, as well as use his trusty slingshot on enemies. Bartman can also use a grappling hook to latch onto objects and pull himself to distant platforms. Lisa uses her trusty sax to stun enemies, and can also use a giant hand to pick up and place large objects, if she can find the nearby Bodhi tree. Marge can gather large groups of townspeople together (a la Pikmin), and use these mobs to attack enemies or build platforms. She can also use Maggie to explore small vents and collect items in them that would be otherwise inaccessible.
Graphically, the game looks a lot like the cartoon. Its bright and colorful and the town of Springfield is populated by tons of familiar faces. You'll run into Flanders, Dr Nick and even some lesser known townspeople walking the streets, like Mrs. Hibbert and Judge Snyder. Explosions in particular look quite nice, such as when large objects like cars blow up. It's probably the best looking Simpsons game that's been released in a long time.
If you somehow forget that you're playing a Simpsons game, the music will definitely remind you. The all too familiar music of the TV show is abundant throughout the game and can get a little annoying after awhile, actually. The sound effects are fine and the voice over work is hilarious. Every character seems to have a variety of different things to say when you approach them.
The controls are pretty straightforward, jumping and shooting are activated by the face buttons and the top buttons activate the different powers. Sadly, the Simpsons don't move quite as fluidly as you'd like, there are some jumping issues at times. Fighting large groups of enemies can also be problematic, as the camera sometimes switches to a less than helpful angle where some enemies will be hidden from view.
Completionists will find a lot to like about the game, as there are numerous extra items to hunt down and collect, even after the main game is finished. Each character has a number of character specific items to collect, both in the stages of the game, which are replayable at any time after finishing them, and in the larger area of Springfield itself. There are also a lot of homages made to classic (and not so classic) episodes, plus many opportunities for the game to poke fun at itself, as well as other video games. It's refreshing to see a game like this that doesn't take itself so seriously, but still manage to be fun.
Even though it has its share of problems and the gameplay itself is pretty standard fare, the Simpsons game features enough humor to last well after its gameplay has worn itself out.