when you first start playing you'll probably notice the graphics pretty quickly. naturally, dont expect GoW level textures, but what you can expect is the best cell shading and transition from 2d to 3d ever in a game. nothing else comes close to this except maybe the new Naruto game for 360. this game is beautifful. a seemless transition of one of the most beloved and longest running shows of all time
into a sprawling 3d world.
aside from the huge Springfield to explore with plenty of collectables for each character theres 16 episodes to play through with plenty of collectables in them. you select the episodes from different places on the main Springfield map similar to the Grand Theft Auto games.
the game controls much like a standard platformer/brawler with each family member providing different powers. you can do double jumps, standard melee attacks, special moves and power melee attacks. the environments are semi-destructible. i just wish you could drive the cars, at leased around the main Springfield area. you can also have a second player jump in and out and any time for co op (not available in actual Springfield. lame)
Theres full voice acting from all the main characters. everyone from Bart to Disco Stu is authentically voiced here. lots of funny lines from all the characters you care about. this is deffinitely one of the funniest games ive played. theres also about 40 minutes of animated footage you cant see anywhere else.
while i enjoyed Simpsons Road Rage and Hit and Run, this game blows them both out of the water with the Springfield map alone. not many other Simpson games are worth mentioning. ill just say this is the best. something no Simpsons fan should be without.
Edit: due to the length of the game, i had to cut my score down slightly. i breezed through all the levels in 8 hours. if you love the Simpsons as much as me you'll probably be motivated to get all the collectables and achievements, rounding the time to about 15 hours. there could've been a lot more.
for Simpsons fans 9.25
for everyone else (why are you here?)8.0
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The Simpsons isn't new to the gaming world by any means. But it's been over a decade since they actually had a true video game. For years we've seen Simpsons games that were just knock offs of other games like The Simpsons Road Rage or Hit and Run. The Simpsons Game, however, is its own thing. After nearly twenty years of a successful television run, a blockbuster movie and having an influence on our culture as a whole, The Simpsons finally get a true video game to call their own. It isn't as good as the 90's original arcade game, but it's by far one of the best video game outings The Simpsons have had in a while. By far this is one of the better games based off a TV show to hit the video game market yet.The first thing to get out of the way is simple. Any huge fan of the show will absolutely love this game. The writing staff hopped on board to do the writing and they do a fabulous job. It's full of all the clever wit of the show along with several references to show as a whole. Many of the levels are centered around events which actually took place in episodes. The game serves as brilliant fan service to those who have come to love and admire the show over the past twenty years. Not only that, but it's easily one of the funniest games ever made.
Just like the show, you should expect it to be full of parodies and poking fun. And in this game it does all of that. It especially makes plenty of pokes at the gaming industry as a whole. If you're a hardcore gamer this game only becomes that much funnier when you see parodies of some of your favorite games like Everquest, Medal of Honor, and Grand Theft Auto. There are also jokes about some of the other aspects of the game presented by Comic Book Guy. Moments where you discover you can't swim for example. Or Invisible walls. All of these are things that have been done in video games several times and The Simpsons Game decides to make fun of them. They even managed to get some people from the video game industry in here to do some cameos. For The Simpsons fan and gamer, it's almost heavenly the amount of humor and pop culture references that are here. You'll most certainly being dying of laughter throughout the entire adventure.
Even better. The game looks and sounds just like the show. The graphics have the look and feel of the show and the actual voice cast came on the lend their voices. In short, in reality it's like you're getting a full blown episode of the show that's well... hours long. And it works. The production values of this game make you put aside the mediocre gameplay in part because the game makes fun of itself too by being packed full of cliches they mock.
And that's where the problem with The Simpsons Game comes into play. The developers spent so much time on the production values of the game that they didn't spend nearly as much time perfecting the overall gameplay experience. That's not to say the gameplay doesn't have its merits. It certainly does. It's just that the gameplay only meets the standards, it doesn't try to exceed them.
Throughout the game you'll play as The Simpsons family. In every level there is at least one other Simpson to control and you can switch between them as often as you like. And you'll have to considering some of the puzzles you'll be doing. Each level is fairly open ended with bad guys coming at you left and right. Every Simpson has standard attack and a fairly special one. Bart, for example, can use his slingshot for standard attacking, but he can also become Bartman and glide all over the place. Some characters have downright zany powers, though. Lisa, for example can summon a giant hand, and she uses her saxophone to fight off baddies with music. It's a little over the top but then again, The Simpsons has never been a show grounded in reality.
There's also co-op play but it feels like a last minute thought at times. This is because in some levels it is more than obvious that certain characters aren't really needed for anything other than pummeling your enemies. Only certain characters are suited for certain tasks. It's fine on single player, but on co-op your partner can sure feel useless at times. Just the same, however, the AI isn't really all that bad. While it's pain to have to keep an eye on both health gauges for those who have a go at single player, your partner can really hold his or her own in just about any situation. So it's nice that you don't have to constantly babysit an AI controlled character.
There's not much to the gameplay, but at least it's simple and easy to pick up on. But there's so much more that could've been done with it. It gets repetitive in many areas. At the very least, however, each new level you go to is distinguished from the previous one. And while the objectives are not by any means difficult to reach (it's a pretty easy game) you'll have some fun. There are also a lot of collectibles to uncover throughout the game. Each level is just teeming with items for The Simpsons clan to obtain.
As I said, however, it's a game that meets the standard but doesn't really try to exceed it. The good news is that the humor keeps you going through the game, even when the gameplay gets tiring. Simply because a laugh out loud video game. This game was definitely made for Simpsons fans and gamers alike. And despite the gameplay the humor and production values really make this a unique gameplay experience.
If anything, The Simpsons Game is worth a look just for the production values alone. It's funny, it carries the look of the show, it was written by the writers of the show and even includes the voice cast from the show. What's not to like about the production values for the hardcore Simpsons fan?
Pros:
+The production values are some of the best to ever be done in a TV gone video game. The clever witty writing of the show comes out. The clever parodies come out. It's just an all around funny game filled with gaming culture references.
Cons:
-The other thing we must face, the gameplay could've been so much better. It's not bad by any means, but certainly isn't as good as it had the potential to be.
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The Simpsons game deserves credit for bringing the world of Springfield to life--I'll give it that much. As you run around the interactive town, going into landmark locations like Moe's or Krusty Burger and listening to the mumblings of the town's citizens you know and love you can't help but be appreciative that the experience was FINALLY put into a game. The game is also voiced by the actual cast, thus giving the game validity and making it actually feel that you're involved in an episode of the show.That said, the Simpsons game delivers only a mediocre gameplay experience. The game features several levels (18 I believe) with various silly scenarios. You progress through the levels using two members of the Simpson family in each of them, and each family member has abilities that are useful and can help you in unique situations, and each has a collectible item (Homer has Duff bottle caps, for example) to obtain during the levels and throughout Springfield. The game also features "Cliches," which are unlocked moments when you do certain things in the game and Comic Book Guy pops out with a sarcastic comment about how boiling lava (or whatever) in video games is not very original.
The levels are mildly amusing and some of the commentary from both the Simpsons and the town's denizens is very entertaining. The gameplay, however, is lacking. Not only does the camera get annoying, since it never quite adjusts the way you need it to, but the controls have several little quirks that can drive you crazy if you play the game for any amount of time (such as Bart's aiming mechanism for his slingshot). This may not be enough to deter hardcore fans of the show, but it's something to keep in mind.
That brings me to another very, very big disappointment with the game. Sometimes the animation is great, and the 3-D imaging while you're actually playing is pretty good. At other times though, especially during the cutscenes, the game features some of the most sloppy animation I've ever seen in a game. It's tough to describe, but suffice it to say that some cutscenes look as though the characters in them were literally cut out by a 10 year old with scissors and then stuck onto the 3-D background. The result is horrible--just awful--and I cringed every time I saw those scenes with jagged lined and flat-looking characters on my high definition display.
If you're a fan of the Simpsons it's probably worth renting this game. Don't buy it, though, just because it's got the Simpsons name on it, but take it for a test drive first.
Honest reviews on The Simpsons Game
I'm always on the lookout for a game that my hardcore-gamer boyfriend and I can play together that we'll both enjoy. This game is probably the best 2-player game we've ever owned.The gameplay is decent. It's a typical puzzle game. There are times when it's tough to tell what you're supposed to do next. This may be due to the game not giving much explanation, or to my inability to pay attention when the characters talk. In any event, we've always figured it out eventually, and if you get stuck there are a variety of walkthroughs available online for help.
The detailed Simpsons world is where this game really shines. The dialogue and plotline are faithful to the show, and the graphics look awesome it's like wandering through a really long HD Simpsons episode.
The two-player gameplay is stellar. The different characters have quite different special powers, so some characters are more "easy" to play than others. This works perfectly for our situation, while my boyfriend plays Homer and fights everyone, I can be Lisa and use my "meditation stations" to solve the puzzles and kill guys from a distance.
Overall, I'd really recommend this game to anyone who's either a Simpsons fan, or looking for a good two-player game. It's especially great if you have different skill levels. We both love it a lot more than we expected!
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