The Simpsons Game
Pros:
Nice sense of humor. Some level designs are really fun.
Cons:
Just lacking as a game.
The Bottom Line:
If you cannot live without everything Simpsons related, you'll probably buy it. If you don't care for the Simpsons at all, then there's nothing for you here.
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Overall Rating:
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Author's Review
Reviewing this is pretty tough. On one hand, it's a very charming experience and you can tell real soul went into it (less can be said about many newer episodes of the show). On the other, the gameplay itself is quite lacking.
The walk speeds are slow enough to be a pain, and the way the fighting is coded basically ensures that you WILL take damage from even the smallest encounter- enemies will counter-attack relentlessly. This makes running up and comboing them- the only readily accessible way to deal with them- unenjoyable and troublesome.
The voice clips are funny. Kind of funny the first 5 times. Not funny the 20th time. The thing is, they are random enough so that you can hear the same exact clip played twice in a row within the same 6 seconds.
This game had potential- the graphic side of the aesthetics are great. Most of the music is generic and can't be easily noticed. The voice acting, obviously, is of very high quality. The sound effects are generally funny and enjoyable (Homer's munching is heard as you grab food collectables, for example).
The combo voice clips get a little tiring- whenever you attack a single time with Lisa she emits an ear-shattering "HI-YAAA". Yeah, every single time.
The play is also hampered by the checkpoint system- when you slog through one portion of a level, expect to slog through it with another character. This breaks up the pacing pretty badly and makes levels quite a bore. Not to mention, they introduce a handful of puzzles- for example, flip a switch, and ride off of these for way too long. The 50th time you're flipping a switch with Bart and then jumping on a button with Homer you're not going to be too entertained.
Many enemies work the same way- that is, run back and forth until they're close enough to hit you, in which case they... hit you. This is very boring. But it's even worse when they deviate from this- for example, in the forest level, there are lumberjacks that use ranged attacks which are basically impossible to get past without taking damage. This is bad design.
All in all, it's enjoyable- just not for much more than a rental to see what it's like.
