The Simpsons Game Impressions October 5,2007 - Going into its 19th season, The Simpsons have seen their fare share of video games. From the ever-classic arcade game numerous gamers pour quarters into to the more recent Road Rage games, people have gotten their Simpsons fix. The past few Simpsons games have been just above mediocre and worth a full-price purchase for what seems like only die-hard fans. EA is hoping to turn things around with the upcoming The Simpsons Game, due out at the end of the month. After getting some hands-on time with the game, things are looking up for America’s favorite cartoon family.

Unlike previous Simpsons titles, writers from the show hopped on board for this project. Matt Groening himself has also claimed to be the final boss in the game—so much for spoiler warnings from him. Still, there was no context to it, so how you fight him will remain a mystery. With a pretty distinct arcade feel, the story follows the Simpsons as they fight through 4 acts, divided into 16 episodes, to stop the rising chaos around Springfield.

Filling out 2D animation with 3D concepts, Springfield and its inhabitants have been accurately reincarnated in their entirety. Not only that, but EA managed to snag all the voice actors to reprise their roles. It’s a great touch because nobody really wants anybody else expressing annoyed grunts (that means D’oh! for the unknowing). All of the favorites are making appearances in some fashion, such as Comic Book Guy pointing out every cliché within the game, and EA boasts that new characters will show up around town.

With the aforementioned arcade feel comes the required arcade-like gameplay. It isn’t strictly arcade style, but it come close. Each family member comes with their own unique abilities and alternate versions of themselves. So should you be playing as Bart, you can transform to Bartman and use your cape to glide across gaps. Using Homer, you will be able to belch-down your enemies and blow yourself into a Homerball, which is essentially a completely fat version of Homer that looks like a wrecking ball. Lisa will be able to use her saxophone to wreak havoc along with Buddha powers to access at different spots around the world. Marge’s abilities include using a megaphone. Ever level will have you take control of two family members and both must be used in order to solve puzzles to finish levels. Co-op play is available, but not online. The reasoning behind that is because it is a drop-in-drop-out style of co-op and more fun would come with playing with friends on the same console.

Being a Simpsons game, it obviously has a high level of cultural references. The references range from poking fun at current events to the gaming industry, and classic Simpson references will be made as well. For example, in one of Bart’s levels, there are two stone statues on the sides of a cavern. One has abnormally large breasts while the other looks like a Roman soldier. Upon closer inspection, one can clearly see Simpson-ized Angelina Jolie as Lara Croft and Brad Pitt in Alexander. Linguo also makes a cameo within the level. Other levels parody EA’s own games; Medal of Homer, for example.

So after getting some hands-on time with the game, it seems to be shaping up rather well. It is definitely on route to become a must for die-hard Simpsons fans but it could boast well amongst those who may not know that Comic Book Guy’s real name is Jeff Albertson and that his glass case in the his store contains a rare copy of Mary Worth in which she advises a friend to commit suicide. Not that some of us know that sort of stuff off the top of our heads…ok, maybe one or two of us do. Regardless, it won’t be making Game of the Year competition, but The Simpsons Game should be a fun ride all the way through. Look for it on store shelves October 30th for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 2, Wii, Nintendo DS, and PSP.

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