The Simpsons Game Reader Review

I will write a simpsons review........I will write a simpsons review.....

Welcome to another of my reviews. This time for The Simpsons Game on my beloved 360. As with my previous musings on games I will present a brief overview of my findings and not a walkthrough of every detail in-game.

Where to start....at the beginning of course. The game is split over 18 levels, although 2 of these are not levels as such, but area's for you to roam and collect items. One of these is Springfield and the other the Picture House, but anyway onto the game. Each time you complete an area you unlock the next.

The remaining 16 levels are your fairly straightforward platform style fare albeit set in the wonderful world of Springfield and with the swapping character gimmick. I played through the whole game alone (my daughter is too young and my lady is too busy doing grown up stuff)from start to finish it took me just over 11 hours, this was for the main story arch. I found this to be perfect for this type of game. I collected most things and ended up with 86% of the game unlocked. I think to have gotten 100% would have taken a few hours more searching every corning of every level.

I am a total Simpsons fanatic but will be objective. I found the graphical style and writing to be the best I have seen and played in any Simpsons game. As you would expect from EA the presentation is first class. Some of the stand out areas for me were Neverquest, Medal Of Homer, 8 bit Simpsons, this was over to quickly but a lot of fun and the Matt Groening area with Bender and Zoidberg (who I love!) All the family had power ups doted around the various levels. I liked Cop Marge and clobber girl Lisa the best.The boss fights were all good and varied enough to get you thinking. You can't change characters ad-hoc, you need to go to a "bus stop" slight pain but as long as you have one of the Simpsons ready to go, you can start a level and it will auto switch to the relevant partner.

The main problems I felt with the game was the jumping mechanics and the 3D camera. The jumping is very and I mean very hit and miss, I found myself trying to get to a higher level with Bart on many occasions only to see myself float to the ground. This happened a lot when I had to jump into/onto blowing air vents to get some extra lift. The other bug-bear is the camera, which would switch wildly from point to point totally disorientating me. The amount of times I fell into the water and lava because of this was beyond a joke. Also when going into shops, certain areas or the Simpsons home the camera locks up and will not allow complete freedom.

I would have loved to be able to play as more characters, and find it strange that Lego Star Wars lets you choose from the entire S.W. universe and yet we can't do like wise with Springfield. We can only play as Homer,Marge,Bart,Lisa and Maggie (in first person)

I still think that Hit and Run is the best example of the Simpsons in game form.Ideally I would love Hit and Run 2 much of the same but with more on foot missions and can only hope one day this may get made, as it could be awesome.

What I would suggest to any Simpsons fan give this game a go, but maybe a rent will suffice. While you are playing it, it will put a smile on your face("Duffman wouldn't be here if he paid attention at school....oh yeah!" and "Zoidberg is my least favourite voiced character by Billy West)also it's good to have a break from Halo,Gears,COD 4 et al.

I hope you have enjoyed, if only a little in reading.

OH YEAH!

8/10