THE SIMPSONS GAME

This past summer, one of the biggest movies to hit the box office was The Simpsons. Based on the hit show, the movie was buried in secrecy, leading many out there to wonder whether or not the film would even be a cartoon like the show, or if it in fact would be a live-action take on the series. However, the film did what it did best, staying animated with the series’ voice actors firmly in place. The Simpsons Game will follow in the same vein as the film and the TV show, but given its context in video games, it will tackle its medium as only the franchise can.

Gameplaywise, The Simpsons Game feels a lot like X-Men Legends. You’ll have between one or four characters (family members) in your control throughout, each with their own unique abilities and special powers. Homer, for example, can balloon up into a gigantic ball and crush enemies and objects, while Bart can transform into Bartman and use tools like a grappling hook to get up to high points and his cape to float down (or up in air drafts). Oftentimes, you’ll be required to use a certain character to proceed to a certain point and use team work in order to get your characters to defeat a boss.

One great element in the game will be the video game cliches. Much like the TV series will poke fun at pop culture and spoof films, the video game will point out glaring video game cliches as you do them. This works out to be a pretty interesting mini-game of sorts, as you’ll have to go through and do all the various things that you often wouldn’t get away with in video games, like swimming or running up to an invisible boundary set by the video game’s developer. There are tons of them out there to find, so keep in that video gaming mindset and you’re likely to stumble upon a few.

Graphically, the next-gen versions do a great job of capturing the essence of the show without really straining too hard and making a creepy 3D mess of things. The character models look good and are well animated, and the environments are fantastic and full of little nuances and in-jokes that series fans will undoubtedly enjoy and appreciate.

The Simpsons Game will be out at the end of the month. If you’d like to try it out for yourself, download the demo from Xbox Live or the Playstation Network.