The Simpsons Game (2007)

Save our low-resolution souls!



It becomes increasingly apparent while playing the DS version that this game wasn't made with the DS in mind. Rather, this is just a poor man's version of the game you get when playing on the XBOX 360 or PS3. Now, I haven't played those versions, but you can't tell me Homer's ability to fly like a balloon or roll like a ball was concocted because it made for interesting 2D platforming levels.

Heck, Marge's levels are so clearly meant for a 3D game, they just made me wish I were playing the 3D game instead. If this game succeeds at anything, it's being an ad for its home console counterparts.

But hey, surely, everything surrounding the levels will be great. This is The Simpsons Game, after all. But is it, though? For starters, this has nothing to do with The Simpsons Movie, despite being released the same year and the name implying otherwise. It's a tie-in for the show, but even then, it's hardly THE Simpsons game. Given how many Simpsons games there are, this one doesn't exactly stand out as THE definitive one.

Even the cutscenes and writing aren't all that entertaining. The show's writers may have written this, but they were not bringing their A-game for this one. Sure, there are some clever lines here and there, but they're few and far between. For the most part, the writing is trying to emulate the stellar writing of the show's golden age, but because of how good The Simpsons was during the 90s, a lot of the lines just come across as painful.

Some of them feel like they were written during a lunch break. "With this much money, I'd score all the honeys!" "The bully has become the nerd!" "Lawyers are even lamer than teachers!" Really?

But, hey. The Simpsons is still The Simpsons, and this is a pretty decent DS game. The timed levels are a lot of fun, Bart's levels are a clear standout, and it's just a good time being around these characters you're so familiar with.

It's nothing stellar, but it's fun enough, even if a third of these levels are just rip-offs of classic arcade games like Frogger and Space Invaders. Hell, one of them is just Klotski but with cars. I understand these are pop culture references, but their gameplays hold as much weight as those flash games that also ripped these games off during the early Internet era. Still, they provide variety, and Frogger is still Frogger even with a Simpsons paint job.

Screw that Lisa Simpson level with the dolphins, though. That was very much a "Come ooon, do something different" type of level.

Do I recommend The Simpsons Game DS to non-Simpsons fans, or even just casual ones? I'm not even sure I could recommend this to hardcore ones. Based on what I've seen, the home console versions are far, far superior, and while this is an impressive 2D translation, that's all it really is. This game was never meant for 2D, and playing this just makes me feel like a kid whose parents thought the DS was enough to set me for life.

It's fairly short and easy, though. Dying in this game actually gives you an advantage. You can die as many times as you want in a level, and all it does is bring you back to the last checkpoint, which this game is generous with. Yes, you have to replay the level from said checkpoint, but all the enemies you've killed remain dead.