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The Simpsons Review

Jon Wilcox

31/10/2007

Springfield's favourite family returns to videogames after a four-year hiatus - but is it classic Simpsons or another endless re-run...

The Simpsons remains one of the top shows on TV even after eighteen years and four hundred episodes, and as such the family from Springfield have been at the heart of over a dozen videogames in that time. Beginning with Konami's Arcade Game through to Vivendi's GTA homage Hit 'n' Run, the dysfunctional family haven't wandered far from making videogame appearances. For all their appearances with the Space Mutants and Radioactive Man however, none have come close to capturing the TV show. Instead, they've only served as vehicles for Homer, Marge, Bart, and the rest of the clan to cynically cash in on Matt Groening's famous creationst. Step up The Simpsons Game, which sees the return of the family into the grasp of Electronic Arts (previously responsible for the likes of The Simpsons Skateboarding and Road Rage) in an all-new storyline that aims to change all that.

'Post-modern' isn't a term that's used too much in videogames, and for very good reason...it makes you sound like a pretentious World Cinema lover. But that's exactly how best to describe The Simpsons Game, which takes the nods, the homage, and self-references, and mixes them into an experience that in years to come will likely become part of a Media Studies course. Parodies of videogames have been few and far between, with Asterix & Obelix XXL: Viva Las Vegum trying (and largely failing) to be the console equivalent of a David Zucker movie, mostly because unless the player 'gets it' the focus is on largely mediocre gameplay, usually involving some platforms and puzzles.

I will not skip homework to play videogames...I will not...

Self-referential right from the off with a tutorial based upon Homer's dream of a Chocolate city - last seen in the TV show - The Simpsons Game develops further as the family discover that they are actual videogame characters, each with their own special powers relating to their general personalities. Whether that's Bart's Bartman persona, Lisa's skills with a saxophone, or Homer's obsession with food, each are expanded to suit the needs of objectives. Need a cracked wall to be demolished? Use Homer's 'Homer Ball' technique. Trying to cross a wide gap? Why not use Lisa's meditation skills to levitate objects to bridge it. All of the powers are unveiled to them thanks to Bart's discovery of a The Simpsons Game manual - another self-knowing nod - and are upgraded and added to as the game progresses.

Gaming parodies are of course the order of the day, whether that's in the form of fly-posters for Grand Theft Scratchy on the streets of Springfield, in-game missions like Medal of Homer, or little details such as green warp pipes, sound effects (the door opening sound from Doom is used in one section), down-trodden interpretations of Mario and Sonic, and objectives based on retro games like Frogger and Space Invaders. But despite the occasional objective or boss encounter, like Bart and Homer's battle against a re-animated Lard Boy in a Shadow of the Colossus homage, or the historical setting of Occupied France in World War II in Medal of Homer, the gameplay boils down to a rather generic and mediocre experience - whether intentional or not. And as if to drive home the point that the basis of the game rests upon tried (and tired) gameplay formulas, Comic Book Guy litters the game with over thirty different gaming-related clichés that anyone who has picked up a gamepad in the last fifteen years will recognise. Wooden Crates, Pressure Pads, Invisible Walls, and Double Jumps are just a few that gamers will come across during the course of the adventure - shifting the question once more in the direction of who exactly EA Redwood are poking fun of, itself? The wider gaming community? Or gamers for having to put up with the same set of rules for the last decade? Regardless of the license, I'm not sure whether it's such a good idea to overtly point out how much of a clichéd - and dare we even say, uncreative - experience the studio has created.

But it's not only videogames that are referenced through the course of the game, with movies (including quotes from Batman and The Untouchables) and TV shows (such as Matt Groening's recently revived Futurama and Project Runway) also getting a mention. Contemporary figures get a brief shoe in too, with Democratic Presidential hopefuls Barack Obama and Hilary 'ban videogames' Clinton either mentioned (the former) or making an uncharacteristically quiet appearance (the latter). The Sims and Spore creator Will Wright is perhaps one of the more prevalent 'real world' characters to make it into the game, supporting The Simpsons' long-held use of cameos, and it's this representation of Wright that airs one of the questions about this latest outing for the family. Depicted as the destructor of obsolete games, Wright taunts the Simpsons with a warning that one day this game will become old and obsolete, and will be destroyed in the fiery pits. But with so many nods to contemporary figures like Clinton and Obama, not to mention the game parodies like 'Calamari Damacy' and 'Metal Gear Soiled 4', the stark warning has a tangible sense of inevitability about it. Of course, The Simpsons Game was never going to be a classic, but to prophesise its own doom is either a heavy dose of realism on the part of the developers, or a sad act of submission that it just won't stand the test of time...which it wont.

The lesson is, never try...

Beyond the eighteen chapters making up the game, players of the Xbox 360/PlayStation 3 versions will be able to leave the Simpsons' household and explore the cut down streets and locations of Springfield itself. Moe's Tavern, Barney's Bowlarama, the Kwik-E-Mart, and the Flanders residence, are just a few of recognisable spots around town. Ultimately a means to an end that links the otherwise disparate episodes together, the sandbox Springfield of The Simpsons Game just doesn't feel right. Not only does it appear that the only inhabitants of the city are the forty or so primary and secondary characters of the TV series, but it has a plodding pace, and is full of inane collectible objects for each of the four characters. Such tasks stand out as padding and are only likely to be completed by the most ardent fans of the game and the series...and even then only the real hardcore perfectionists will feel that compulsion.

The PlayStation 2 version in contrast drops the cut-down excuse for a city altogether, tightening the pace of the game but at the same time losing some of the continuity on Xbox 360 and PS3. In addition, the version is subject to a number of other changes from the 'next-gen' editions that aren't exactly what you'd expect. Largely similar in visuals, subtle amendments to level design (ladders dropping down instead of a trampoline for instance), and the occasional dropping of dialogue just comes across as...peculiar. Other than that, and a quicker pace thanks to the cutting of Springfield, there's very little to differ between generations.

Ultimately a mix between the co-op puzzle/platform action of the hugely successful LEGO Star Wars series and an up date to the classic 1991 The Simpsons coin-up from Konami, The Simpsons Game of 2007 is by far the most faithful interpretation of the TV show to date. The heavy mix of self-reference and parody will of course be most beneficial to pop culture nuts and fans of the series - but they're the gamers who'll go out and buy this resurrection of The Simpsons on the consoles in any case.