Game #875: The Simpsons Game

  Well, the beat'em up genre worked before, so...

 The Simpsons Game is a weird one. It has a lot of really strong points and neat ideas, but it's also very clunky and boring. In a few areas it actually excels over every other Simpsons game I've played, a list that includes the Arcade Game and Hit 'n Run, but the fact that it falls behind in a few key areas means that this one is just for the fans.

 The best part about the game is that it has about 40 minutes of all new original animation made exclusively for the game, and they cut no corners, this footage is as crisp and well animated as any episode from the show. Your mileage may vary on the quality of modern Simpson's scripts, but the script was written by the same staff from the show, and they made it very self-referential, as the Simpsons know that they are in a videogame. I won't lie, some of the references got a few chuckles out of me, as the game loves lampooning other videogames, even Maxis' own Will Wright makes an appearance! The game gets an A+ on effort alone.

 While the game is divided into different stages, each one requiring a different pair of Simpsons, you get a fairly drab recreation of Springfield. What makes it so lackluster is that there's nothing interesting to do in the city. Sure, you can try to find all 300 collectibles, 75 per family member, but they really aren't worth it. Still, they went the extra mile and modelled a lot of the interiors, even the entire Simpsons house, however, as accurate and amusing these interiors are.... they are filled with invisible walls that makes exploring them very dull. It's almost annoying how much effort they probably spent only to get some very awkward movement inside them. And there's not reason as to why HOUSE INTERIORS should have friggin' invisible walls, it makes no sense. Why try so hard but make it so lame?

 Here's the truth of the matter, at its core, this game is a very basic beat'em up. You move from end to end, mashing the Square-Square-Triangle combo while solving some sometimes annoying puzzles. Each character has different abilities, Homer can turn into a giant ball of fat(Because he is fat, get it?) and roll around, or inhale helium and turn into a balloon. Bart can shoot with his slingshot or glide as Bart-man. Lisa can find a few select spots where she can meditate to interact with a few objects, lifting them in order to create bridges or activate bridges. Marge can rile up mobs and direct them to destroy or build stuff.

 Despite all these abilities, 70% of the game will be spent mowing down enemies with the same, unsatisfying square-square-triangle combo. Often times against either endless waves of enemies or trying to clear a way towards the enemy generator. Because having an enemy generator makes so much sense in a Simpsons videogame. It's super easy too, despite how dumb your AI partner is. The game has 2-Player co-op, which is probably a BIT more fun. Even if a character dies, which your CPU ally will probably do a lot, all you have to do is run around until they wake up, with the cherry on top being that health regenerates all the time, so you even get healed while you wait for your partner to wake up.

 Lisa and Marge get the least play time, and it makes sense, because Marge is boring and List just as much. It's ridiculous how much playtime Bart and Homer are given in comparison, y'know, heck, even Lisa gets more stages than poor Marge. Marge doesn't even get a paired stage with Bart. And it makes sense, between all gimmicks, hers is the worst. But don't worry, they gave Lisa some very annoying segments. Segments in which you have to attempt to meditate to move stuff while endless waves of enemies try to interrupt you, as your AI partner fails to protect you. Honestly, who thought that was fun?

 And to compliment the mostly boring gameplay, we get a wonky camera that sometimes fixes itself on an awkward angle. Moving around also feels like it's slightly slower than it should.

 As far as fanservice goes, this is the best Simpsons game by far. The new footage is a brilliant addition, and the script feels like something that could've come out of the show's modern era. And yet, as much as it succeeds on its window decorations... it fails to provide a fun experience. Beat'em ups are fun, I like beat'em ups, but combat in this game is so unsatisfying, and the 'exclusive abilities' each Simpson gets fail to make for fun objectives and goals. Still, I'll give them this, I think enduring through the game could be a worthwhile experience for funs of the show.

4.0