| Publisher: |
Developer: |
Genre: |
Players: |
ESRB: |
| Fox Interactive |
Fox Interactive |
Racing |
1-4 |
Everyone |
Simpsons Road Rage
Reviewed by: Ben
Gameplay: When you first heard about Simpson's Road Rage, you probably thought the same thing I did, Crazy Taxi Rip-Off. In my opinion, the game DOES have the same basic concept, but is quite different.
The plot of the game revolves around Mr. Burns buying the Springfield Public Transportation, and then modifies the busses to run on nuclear power. Unfortunately, his evil plan is unsuccessful, and the passengers all become ill. Homer comes up with the bright idea of a carpool service, with a fee of course. Soon other people catch on, and all of Springfield is driving each other to selected locations.
The game has more than 25 characters to choose from, and various characters that become unlocked on specific holidays. For example, Christmas Apu appears on December 25th. There is only a slight difference between each vehicle, but sometimes it is the difference between $7,000 and $10,000. The characters greet each customer, and sometimes have specific greeting for different people. When police chief Wiggum picks up Snake, he says "Hello familiar, but clearly innocent stranger." The characters are not greatly detailed, and the basically only bounce around in the seat, but it has the Simpson's touch.
There are five levels to choose from, each are different parts of Springfield. Evergreen Terrace includes the Simpson's house, the church, the school, and several other well known locations. There are also locations that you might not remember, but did appear in the TV show, such as the Escalator to Nowhere, and the Springfield Tire Fire. There is always something new to see.
The gameplay is pretty basic. You drive around, and pick people up, and try and drive the character to their destination in the time given. The quicker you are, the more money you receive. There are also special missions you can complete, such as "Safe Ride", where you take the person to their destination without hitting cars, trees, or other objects, and "Destroy Stuff", where you smash up a specific number of items, such as signs, mail boxes, and trees. The gameplay does not go much farther than that, but, it is fun.
Other than simplistic gameplay, my only other complaint is the game is full of glitches. You can get stuck in weird locations for no reason, with no way to escape. You can also see through many textures, which can sometimes be annoying when you are driving directly into them. The sound is also quite often delayed after you drop or pick up a passenger. It can take a few minutes for a greeting or farewell. It can be quite annoying.
This game is good for people of all ages, but I would mostly recommend it to Simpson's fans.
Graphics: Graphics is Simpson's Road Rage's biggest pitfall. Even though the graphics are supposed to look cartoony, they did a bad job with it. This game should have been cel shaded. It should have looked as good, or better than cel damage. This is Simpson's were talking about here. This could have been a beautiful vibrant game, but instead they used simplistic 3D models with simple bland textures. There is almost no difference between this version and the PS2 one, except for small colour differences. A direct port from a game that started out with lousy graphics. Even the cut scenes look bad. For shame.
Controls: The controls are very easy to adapt to, and you don't really have to hit more than three buttons. All you need is gas, break, and the control stick. The secondary buttons toggle the camera, and honk the horn. The controls are never confusing or difficult.
Replay: Many people would disagree with me when I say Simpson's Road Rage has replay value, but it's true. There are plenty of levels and characters to unlock, and the game is fun. Every time you play, you will find a new store that you didn't notice before. I recently discovered you can drive through Springfield Elementary School. This should keep you entertained for quite a while.
Sound: Even with the shows great musical choices, the game just doesn't seem to follow. The sound is boring and repetitive. The Characters generally say the same thing. All in all, this game doesn't have much to listen to. At least they used the real character voices.
Overall Presentation:
Scores:
Gameplay:  7
Graphics:  4
Controls:  10
Replay:  8
Sound:  6
Total Score: 7
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