"Why you little..!"

The Simpson’s has to be one of the most outlandish and fun experiences I’ve had with a side scrolling action game in a long time. Featuring the Simpson’s cast, some impressive moves and several stages of humorous action, you’ll find that the four-player action is a great romp through all of Springfield on the quest to stop Mr. Burns and rescue little Maggie. Now, I couldn’t ever figure out why Maggie was taken by Mr. Burns, but when you boil the game down to the action, it really doesn’t matter.

The Game Play

What you have is something similar to X-Men in which you take control of either Homer, Marge, Bart or Lisa {depending on which slot you use} and go through the various stages of Springfield after Mr. Burns. Once you’re into the game, then you start bashing on enemies left and right while trying not to take too much damage. Getting further into the game, all of the combinations are automatic and most of the boss fights are pretty self-explanatory with pattern movement and attack being your best friend.

Enemies come in all shapes and sizes, some of them being extremely easy to defeat while others take a little bit of strategy. The bonus games are pretty cool and a worth distraction from the overall game, but in the end, they are just there to add to the fun and nothing really comes of them. Control is something that you don’t have to work on too much as the attacking is straight forward and the jumping really doesn’t come into play unless you’re trying to escape something’s grasp!

There are a number of stages, all of them with different levels of difficulty. Personally, I had a ton of trouble with the graveyard my first couple of times through, though most people will find the boss battles to be the hardest. I can forewarn you now, that this game is not one that you can get through on just a couple of quarters. When it comes to money munching machines, this one has to rank at the top of my list based on the damage that you give {minimal} compared to the enemies {excessive}!

The Visuals

Done in true Simpson’s flare, you’ve got plenty of shading action and funny expressions as you move through the game. The different characters all have the same facial expressions and attitude that you have seen on television at some point or another, and their fighting attacks are done fluidly with some interesting humor. The locations that you battle through all match different points of Springfield and come with some pretty cool looking shadowing and shading. With that being said, you’ll find that the Simpson’s have everything that a fan is looking for in the visual department, leaving little or nothing out.

The Audio

The tunes that you have to listen to sound like they’ve just come out of a freshly made episode of the Simpson’s. With no real serious music here, you’ll find that the mood and theme of the different stages is all reflected with some ear catching beats and overall tones. The sound effects range from thuds and thumps to different sound bytes coming out of the characters at one point or another. You’ll find that the game is so close to a Simpson’s episode, that you might as well be watching a two-hour long movie!

The Verdict

While not as serious as X-Men, the Simpson’s does a great job in capturing the attention of any side scrolling action gamer and keeps the action moving smoothly. Although this game and the theme really aren’t my cup of tea, the presentation that I was given is something worth taking note of. If you happen to be near an arcade and you see one of these machines, it will eat your quarters as you play through with little effort but the overall effect of the game is worth all of the money spent. Until you play X-Men that is.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 05/26/02, Updated 05/26/02