The Simpsons Game

You’re not going to find an incredible game here but what you do get is slickly presented game with a whole lot of laughs along the way.

For all of its self-referential humor and nods to gaming classics (there are brief segments mimicking the likes of Frogger, Space Invaders, and Wolfenstein 3D), the process of actually playing The Simpsons Game is unfortunately average. The chuckles along the way make it worth the trouble for fans, but if you don’t know Arman Tamzarian from Disco Stu, most of the game’s redeeming elements will fall on deaf, bored ears.

While the majority of the gameplay is pretty shallow, depending on repetitive jumping puzzles and weak combat, the two-character mechanic works well and collecting the unlockables throughout is very fun and engaging. The camera can be a pain.

On the one hand, The Simpsons Game will keep you playing through to the end just to see how the story unfolds and so that you can see what the writers skewer next. On the other, the game makes you suffer for its art with its generic and somewhat frustrating platform gameplay mechanics.

While the action can be uneven -- though never bad -- creativity and charm carry the game to a higher level. The humor will get you through the slow levels, the authentic voices and writing will satisfy your fanatcism, and the cameos... will keep you entertained.

The bothersome camera often gets stuck, thus obscuring your vision and two-player split screen messes with the game's speed, but the exclusive clips and humorous presentation make this a must play, especially for diehard Simpsons fans.

The gameplay might not be anything special, but The Simpsons Game delivers more than enough laughs to make it worth a look.

Ultimately, it’s all pretty basic stuff. There’s nothing particularly fancy about the actual game mechanics and it’s somewhat odd that The Simpsons Game makes fun of various videogame clichés (such as not being able to swim, using levers or pads on the ground to open doors) and then turns around and uses them about a dozen or so times.

Sure, there are a few problems, but it's worth, say, dealing with the busted camera to see which videogame the writers are going to parody next.

Probably the funniest game on the 360 and one that's guaranteed to get - and keep - you in high spirits. It's just a shame it can get quite repetitive. [Issue 26, p.76]

We'd happily plough through the whole thing just to hear the jokes and see the characters again. [Christmas 2007, p.102]

I enjoyed it as a mindless entertainment that kept me going through each level by incentivising the cinematics.

Hysterical as Simpsons is, it's hard to appreciate the humor when you're busy fighting with an annoying camera and unreliable controls. [Dec 2007, p.108]

Repetitive puzzles and poor camera control will have you cursing as often as you are laughing.

Simpsons fans will probably be a lot more forgiving of the faults with the game though, as they will be laughing their way through the frustration.

The developers deserve a lot of credit for getting all the best Simpsons people involved with the game. For me though, the humour can only carry it so far. If you want a videogame platformer to make you and a friend laugh, you'd be better off playing Lego Star Wars. If you want to enjoy The Simpsons, you're better off buying one of the box-sets.

Capturing the feel, if sometimes not quite the look, of the universally loved animation, The Simpsons Game displays momentary glimpses of ‘the game that got away’ before falling back on tried and tested design and easy laughs to carry it through. It’s a generic romp, albeit one guaranteed to tickle you on at least a few occasions.

If you’re just a casual viewer or not a fan at all, then there’s nothing in the game to warrant your cash. On the other hand, if you are a Simpsons devotee, then the pitch-perfect humor, writing, and look of this game will more than make it worth putting up with the standard gameplay mechanics.

The trouble is, while their numerous parodies of classic games are often missile-guided barbs that'll nuke your funny bone, they're surrounded by an absolute shatfest in gameplay terms that, stripped of its Grade A license and related idiosyncrasies, would normally be taken outside, beaten with a stick, strung up and strangled until dead.

The camera is a nightmare, often getting stuck behind some invisible barrier or randomly switching to new and more disorienting angles. The collision detection's had a nervous breakdown, the puzzles are as laborious as a two-hour queue in the freezing cold and the combat has about as much depth as the shallow end at your local swimming pool.

Much of the drive spurring players onwards to completion depends on the game’s cutscenes, and in this respect it’s a backwards step, relying on the crutch of a strong licence to hide fundamental shortcomings. [Christmas 2007, p.92]

The Simpsons Game may just be the funniest video game ever, but funny is not the same as fun,and it's just not a very good game. I found myself wanting to finish the game just for the humor, even though I was screaming at the TV after falling down the 10,000th pit or when the camera showing me the wall again while i get killed.

Add to that the fact that each level also has a set number of collectables and the overall result would require someone with the talent of being able to reduce their body state to near-hibernation in order not to die from the boredom of it all.