Customer Reviews

The Simpsons Game

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(22)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I've spent years searching and experimenting with different games to play with my "non-gamer" wife: Dr Muto, Jax and Daxter, Crash Bandicoot, Ratchet and Clank, etc., and the Simpsons is the best by far.

While each of the above titles has something to offer, they all ended up with my wife getting frustrated by having to "grind out" a particular level over and over and over again from the beginning until we get it right. Aside from the time trials, the Simpsons is very forgiving in terms of character death, and lets you continue in the level from where where you died - most often without any game interruption or restarting at all.

The "episodes" are challenging enough to hold your interest through the use of humor and standard puzzles, and short enough that you can play for an hour and actually feel like you've accomplished something. This has always been a key area in holding my wife's interest in a game, because if she walks away feeling like she wasted her time... forget it - that game's a goner.

So, if you've been looking for a PS3 game that you get your non-gamer spouse to play with you I think you ought to give the Simpsons a go.

It's kind of odd, a few months before The Simpsons Game was released, I was reading previews all over the place about how everyone thought this was not only the best Simpsons game ever made, but also a contendor for game of the year. I guess that the demo versions they played, they must have assumed that the few problems it has would be fixed, because while the game is indeed great, it does have some glaring problems.

First and foremost is the camera angle. It wants to get in your way quite often, and it can really tick you off when you're doing some of the mor eprecise platforming parts of the game. Honestly, EA is a pretty respectable company with a lot of talent under their leadership, they could have come up with a better camera for the game... one that doesn't remind me of the crappy camera angles mosr 3D games had in the mid 90's. Some people have said this game has sloppy controls. Not really, it actually controls really well, it's just the buggy camera that makes it hard to make precise jumps or get yourself oriented in the 3D world. Another complaint I have is the animation during the cut scenes varies from horrible to amazing. Playing this on my HDTV makes the game look wonderful, especially during cut-scenes. BUT... from time to time the animation is horribly drawn. I don't know if they were trying to recapture how the characters looked during the Tracy Ullman days, if so, that is cool as hell, but they don't really look like the Tracy Ullman characters, so I'm left wondering if from time to time cheap animation was used to save moeny or something. Either way, no big deal as it doesn't occur often.

Does all of the above make this a bad game? Well, my rating for it should clue you in to an answer of "no". Camera issues aside, The Simpsons Game is pure, simple, mindless FUN! The game makes fun of itself, of other games and is full of innuendos that fans of the show will eat up. Oh, and the game is hilarious, much more so than a majority of the new episodes of the show even! If you're a fan of old video and arcade games, you'll love how some of the gameplay mimics games like Everquest, Frogger, Grand Theft Auto and more. There's just so much fun to be had here, that aside from the camera issues I'd consider the game nearly perfect and a must buyu for anyone a fan of the show. The humor and fun-factor is so great, I find myself playing just a bit more to listen to various character's comments, or to see just one more funny cut-scene.

I've heard rumors that you can unlock the old Simpsons arcade game during the course of playing this game. I'm really hoping so, that would be the icing an an already half-eaten-by-Homer cake.

I've been a huges Simpsons fans since a kid and have played most of the Simpsons games from NES Simpsons games to Hit & Run. This one may be the best from the sheer fact that the graphics are the best to date and the voices are the actual cast of the Simpsons. Graphics for the PS3 version are very good, but they could have pushed it a little further.

Animation scenes are also brilliant. Plays & looks well on my 61" 1080P TV. Also you can play 2 players for all the missions which is sort of fun. This game is a little too hard for little kids but ages seven and up should enjoy it.

I'm a busy 40 year old who was looking for a game that I could jump into for 20 minutes before bedtime for some relaxation. The Simpson's game fits the bill for the PS3.

The good:
-balanced gameplay-not too easy or hard
-good puzzles
-well written story with lots of 'inside' gags
-cell shaded graphics looks just right for the Simpson's world

The bad:
-Several of the cut scenes had some PG language that disqualifies it from being a kids game (can't turn them off).
-people under 30 probably won't get some of the gameplay gags. Not to ruin the surprises but there are some 80's arcade homage's to be found.

All in all i expected more from the Simpsons. Granted, they haven't had a real good video game since the old arcade ones, but i still though this would be the one to turn it around.
I read good reviews of it, but when i bought it and played about half way through i got tired of it, and haven't had the desire to put it back in.
The graphics seem like they're not using the PS3 to it's full potential, the controls are surprisingly sloppy, and the cell-shading can make the terrain trickier than it should be.
The stories and characters are funny, i'll say that much. It's a very well written game. But hours of sub-par gameplay can bring it down.
The shoddy controls and the semi-decent graphics make the simplest of things (Say jumping off the edge of something to get a secret item) impossibly hard. Seriously, there are a lot of packages you need to find for each character, the hard part should be finding them, not jumping a hundred times to make sure you land on it properly.

I had a great time playing this game. Making Homer super-fat and playing as Bartman was awesome! By far this is the best Simpsons game so far. My only complaint about it is that it was too short. It took me less than 22 hours to beat the entire game. All in all though, if you want a game that will make you laugh and lives up to the Simpsons name, then pick this one up!

I bought it on the statements of other reviewers saying if you're a Simpson's fan its a must for $24 I went with it.......

I agree if you're fan you will like the atmosphere and feeling of being in Springfield with many characters through out and episode jokes, but its a puzzle game, which wouldn't be so bad, but the game play is frustrating due to limited camera angles and not much action per say. played it a few times when I first got it but you lose interest in it, so i don't really play it any more and have yet to beat it.

A very late review, but I assume you're reading this because now the price is so low that even if its a bad game you're willing to try it. Well rest assured this is far from a bad game, given the gameplay, visuals, audio, and story.
Graphics:
Starting with the strengths, the cutscenes look like they were pulled directly from an episode. Character models look great, colors are vibrant, and you basically believe that you are inhabiting the Simpsons universe. Where the graphics fail sometimes is during the gameplay, as some of the character models look way off, coupled with jaggy lines. Over all though, the game looks sharp.
Audio:
All the voice talent for the show is used here and the result makes it sound great. Music is fun but forgettable, but its the voices that you will remember and laugh at.
Story:
Story is blah, save the universe affair. The self-deprecating humor is greatly appreciated from a long-time videogamer and the barrage of jokes make the game feel like an actual episode. So while the story at times is blah or even nonsensical, you'll be laughing most of the time to care too much bout its shortcomings.
Gameplay:
So depending on how big a fan you are of the Simpsons and GTA style games (where aside from missions you explore the city on your own) you may really like the gameplay or find it so so. I am not a big fan of trying to collect everything and exploring but to some degree it is more fun than in other games. Maybe that's because you have to work w/ the right Simpsons members to reach items (more on that later) or because its the Simpsons and I am obsessed. The missions themselves are usually bash everything you see, which can play out a little differently depending on which family member you use. Each member has different powers, Homer and Bart have projectile/bashing/glide abilities, Lisa can stun/control/move large objects and Marge can control mobs to do her bidding. Levels don't do the best job of utilizing the teamwork concept but its fun enough.
Recap:
It's fun, and really cheap, if you're a Simpsons fan, get it.

this is a xcellent story line but horror camera view and controlling character i give this game 2 out of 5

I got this ps3 game for my 21st birthday and the game is fun but I agree with some of the other reviewers the game is way too short. Some playstation3 games take about a couple of days to beat this game only takes about a couple of hourse. other than that the graphics are pretty good not the best graphics but still pretty decent.