The Simpsons Game

You see, the thing with The Simpsons is it goes from the sublime to the ruddy ridiculous. At one point you'll be giggling away like a child who's just picked his nose and flicked it at someone's head and then the next you'll be as angry as the person who finds said green delight in their hair. The Simpsons then, is the videogame incarnation of a manic depressive. The format is simple enough, you're shoved into the virtual world of Springfield where all the Simpson family have somehow managed to get superpowers. How? Why, they're characters in a videogame of course. We could call it a 'postmodern self-aware critique of the conventions of a repeating and stagnating medium', but we won't because we're not idiots.

 

The humour is right on the mark. From the first instance when you try a double jump and Comic Book Guy pops up with your first 'Videogame Clich

 

The aim of the game is fairly simple. Normally you are placed in a certain themed land and asked to use your powers to solve puzzles. Depending on what characters you use on the mission (the game automatically picks them for you for specific missions) will change how that part of the game will play. Marge can only really use her mob, and Lisa can only do things with her saxophone and Buddah hand, so levels with them on will involve a lot of related puzzles.

 

Our main issue with the game is that it is mind numbingly repetitive at times. It relies on the tropes of the individual characters and the levels with them on all have the same puzzles. Jump over this, smash this, fly over this, pick this up. Whilst it makes a big deal about videogame clich