Do the Bartman
The Simpson’s Game features dozens of characters from the show (approximately 100) and in addition to the playable characters; the beer-loving safety inspector Homer, the mischievous Bart, Homer’s patient wife Marge, the intellectual saxophonist Lisa and the impressionable Maggie, there are appearances from an array of quirky characters from the series and film, who pop up - occasionally cracking a one-liner or two - and do a decent job at distracting you from the fact that the gameplay itself is dull as dishwater.The storyline follows the Simpson’s family who discover that they are part of a videogame and have unique abilities, which predictably, are then used to solve puzzles in the game and to fight off the hordes of enemies.
The game begins in Homer Simpson’s dream where you jump from platform to platform finding your way through Fudgetown, bashing chocolate rabbits with a couple of presses of the X button or stunning them using Homer’s special ability, the power burp.
Click for larger image
Click for larger imageThe shallow fighting mechanic and the dull platform hopping in this opening level will give you some indication that The Simpson’s Game relies heavily on its humour rather than adding anything unique to the platforming genre.
It does get better though, and in each mission you have two characters from The Simpson’s family who you can switch in between to use their unique abilities, working together to solve puzzles and navigating your way through the levels.
Bart has the ability to use a Batman cape and can jump into air draughts propelling himself skywards, enabling him to reach higher platforms. Homer can transform himself up into a ball and roll around smashing his way through gates or he can launch himself off ramps to get to new areas. Lisa has the ‘Hand of Buddha’ which allows her to cast lightning or to pick up heavy objects and drop them on enemies. Marge can use her megaphone to summon NPCs to build and destroy structures and youl also get a brief opportunity to play as Maggie, who can crawl through tight spaces.
