The Simpsons Game Hands-on Preview

Why should we be excited by yet another The Simpsons video game? That was the first question that popped in our heads when EA announced the latest in what seems like an endless conveyor belt of games licensed from the world’s most famous dysfunctional family. But after spending a day double-jumping our way through a preview build of Springfield’s newest virtual spin-off on PS3 and Xbox 360, we’d have to say that while there’s a lot of kinks to iron out, it’s looking like we might have a Simpsons game worth strangling the kids over.

EA has taken a completely different approach with the license for this effort compared with recent outings The Simpsons Road Rage (not bad) and The Simpsons Hit and Run (a lot of fun). It’s a straight up platformer for a start. In each of the 16 levels you control two out of Homer, Marge, Bart and Lisa (the game is designed to be played co-operatively but you can switch between the two in single-player mode).

You use each character’s super powers to solve pretty simple puzzles, battle enemies ranging from bearded lumberjacks to French people and, inevitably, save the helpless citizens of Springfield from destruction. Homer becomes a giant rolling ball and, later in the game, some kind of snot-throwing pile of goo. Bart becomes Bartman, using his cape to float, Lisa calls a giant Buddha hand from the heavens to move certain parts of the scenery, and finally Marge can create an angry mob by hypnotising people with her megaphone.

The writing team from the cartoon has been drafted in to provide the story and the laughs, and the real life voice actors have lent their tones to the game as well. But the game’s hook is that its levels parody a lot of other famous games, most obviously GTA and Medal of Honor, and within that manages to take the piss out of the games industry as well. The premise of the story is that the Simpsons have become aware that they’re in yet another video game and will use their special powers to do whatever their little hearts desire. In each of the levels there are a number of classic game clichés to unlock, including double-jumping, exploding barrels and invisible barriers (revealed by Comic-Book Guy, who else?), and Springfield’s numerous characters constantly make sly ‘we know we’re in a game’ remarks. There’s tonnes of dialogue, and it’s a rare moment indeed when there isn’t someone somewhere muttering about something.

So why should we be excited? It’s a gorgeous-looking game, kind of like watching an episode of The Simpsons made to look like an episode of Futurama. Almost every one of Springfield’s numerous citizens has been handed a 3D cel-shaded makeover, and every now and then the environments do enough to distract the eye from the main action. There are some genuinely funny moments too. But this self-aware storyline isn’t going to tickle everyone’s funny bone. In fact, some of the jokes did the complete opposite for us (Medal of Homer, which sees Homer and Bart collecting white flags from occupied France, just didn’t do it at all for us). There’s a lot in there that casual gamers won’t get, like references to linear level design, crate overuse and 8-bit first-person-shooters, but as far as humour goes in video games, it scores highly, and the cutscenes are worthy of the show. You’d have to be the grouchiest of grouches not to laugh at least twice per level.

The controls are as simple as it gets. On the Xbox 360 ‘X’ is your basic punch, ‘B’ is a special attack, like Homer’s burp, Bart’s slingshot, Lisa’s sax or Marge’s megaphone. You use ‘L trigger’ to lock on and the right analogue to switch targets. ‘A’ is jump – tap again for a double-jump, and ‘R trigger’ is the special video game power. The combat isn’t varied, the super powers aren’t spectacular and the enemies are as generic as enemies get, but it doesn’t feel like it matters.

There’s fun to be had, especially when you and a friend play together to solve the puzzles. In Lisa the Tree Hugger, which sees Bart and Lisa battling an army of lumberjacks in a valiant bid to stop them from felling a forest (yes, it was Lisa’s idea), Lisa needs to call upon a giant Buddha hand to rearrange pipes so that Bart can use his Bartman cape to ride the air to a higher level and stop a tree-eating machine from chewing up Lenny and Carl. We also liked Mob Rules, where you use Marge to lead an angry mob to Mayor Quimby’s front door at the town hall in a valiant effort to get Grand Theft Scratchy banned. The good Mayor is being paid-off by an EA executive while they both relax in a jacuzzi and ‘enjoy’ the interns. How post-modern.

So on to the kinks. The camera can be a nightmare, getting flummoxed at the most inopportune moments (especially apparent in the Around the World in 80 Bites level, which sees you race other Springfieldians in an eating competition). But we have hopes that it will be improved upon by the time the game is completed – we’re told the camera was 80% finished in the preview build we played. There are a few graphical glitches, some poor collision detection and less than inspired AI too, but again, nothing that can’t be ironed out as the game is optimized. Right now, the preview build does enough to show that the game will have all the sheen we’ve come to expect from a licensed EA title.

What might not change before release is the repetitiveness of combat. While it probably doesn’t matter too much given the kind of game The Simpsons is, there is enough content that is deliberately aimed at more hardcore gamers to suggest that the distinctly average gameplay, the simple puzzles and the frustrating annoyances will grate for a small but vocal proportion of its audience. Unlike some licenses, The Simpsons is one that is of genuine interest in of itself, and the graphics, sound and gags do the brand justice. But will that be enough to convince gamers to part with their hard-eared cash? We’ll see when the game is released this November.