Virtual Bart

"Another mediocre Simpsons game.."

Virtual Bart is yet another one of those Simpsons games released on video game consoles. It turns out that they were all made by Acclaim and they all pretty much were crappy games. However, many consider Virtual Bart to be the best Simpsons game on console so far (there are more Simpsons games coming out for newer systems). I, personally, don’t really think this is the best version, but it does have more stuff to do than others. Read on in this review to find out more..

GRAPHICS 7/10

At first, I was going to give the graphics an eight or nine, but I realized that they aren’t that good. For a plus, they look like the cartoon itself, and it runs pretty smoothly. The animations look decent enough, and nothing really overall looks bad. I just gave the section a seven because it could have been better. Nothing really impressed me. Yes, I know that this is a Sega Genesis game. Overall, the graphics are decent enough, and are pretty easy on the eyes.

GAMEPLAY 6/10

Virtual Bart has some easy to learn controls. They all vary in each of the six different modes, but they are pretty much always used.

Now, when you first boot up Virtual Bart, it will take you to the main menu and Homer Simpson will say, ''Virtual Bart''. Once at the menu, you are given two choices - ''start game'' and ''practice area''. There are no options to do, just those two choices. When you choose start game, it will take you to a cool little cutscene showing Bart wandering about a science fair. Somehow Bart stumbles into a virtual reality machine, which leads to him going about turning into dinosaurs & stuff. There are six modes to play in the game - a dinosaur platform game, baby Bart swinging on trees, motorcycle racing, water sliding, pig Bart platform game, and Bart throwing tomatoes at unsuspecting children (and Principal Skinner). It may seem cool that there are six different games within a game to play, but the novelty soon wears off. The other option on the menu is ''practice area'' is where you get to practice any of the game modes that you want, before you go into the actual game. The practice area could have been better by having unlimited continues, so you can keep doing the same mode over and over again, with no hassle.

One more thing I will add to the gameplay section - some of your favorite Simpsons characters may be in the game. I remember Barney Gumble, Mr. Burns, Waylon Smithers, Marge, Lisa, Homer, Maggie, and some more that I can't think of right now. It's pretty cool.

Overall, the gameplay is a ''scotch'' above average.

SOUND 5/10

If there is one thing that you should come to expect from a Simpsons game, it would hopefully be good sound. Well, sadly, it turns out that Virtual Bart has very average sound. There is the usual Bart voices with him saying stuff like ''Woooah'', but they are nothing special. Homer makes a guest cameo, too, and you can hear him throughout the game, but there is nothing special there either. Now for music, it doesn’t even have the Simpsons theme song (unless I forgot). All it has is pretty generic stuff. Once again, it is nothing special (Am I saying that a lot in this section or what?). Overall, the sound is average, I guess, but I expected better from Virtual Bart (wait, this is an Acclaim game, so I guess I should be happy that there *is* sound).

FUN FACTOR 5/10

Virtual Bart may seem fun at first, but the fun quickly wears down. Some of the six modes are fun - throwing tomatoes, and uhhh I guess that’s it. Other modes may seem like fun at first, but the tomato game is the only one that I actually had fun playing. I guess it is really up to you how fun this game is. But to me, it is just your average game.

REPLAY VALUE 5/10

There is not much replay value to be found in Virtual Bart. Sure, there are six modes to play, but they are not much fun. If you are a determined gamer, you will probably try and go through the entire actual game mode and beat everything - if you can. Otherwise, the cartridge will just collect dust.

CHALLENGE 10/10

Virtual Bart is quite the challenging game. Most of the game modes are downright hard. The motorcycle racing has very loose control and it is very easy to die in it. The throwing tomatoes mode is pretty tough to aim and actually hit everyone (it is probably the easiest mode, but it can be tough). The dinosaur platform mode is also hard because it is also rather easy to die. The baby Bart mode is probably one of the hardest because swinging on trees is a pain in the rear. The water slide mode is awkward, and the pig Bart mode is very easy to get lost in. Or maybe it’s just me. But overall, Virtual Bart is very challenging.

RENT OR BUY?

My suggestion for you on Virtual Bart, is to rent it for a day or something. It will keep you busy for maybe an hour until it starts getting ''unfun''. Once you become bored with the game, I highly doubt you will play it again. It will probably just sit on your shelf (or whatever you put your games on) and collect dust with your other old Genesis games.

WHAT’S HOT?

- Six game modes to play
- Can practice before you play the actual game
- Graphics are decent and look cartoony

WHAT’S NOT?

- Most of the modes are lame
- Very poor sound for a Simpsons game
- Not much replay value
- Not much fun

FINAL ANALYSIS:

Hmm.. What should I say for my final analysis? Well, if you are a big Simpsons fan like me, you might want to give Virtual Bart a try. Notice the emphasis on the word ''might''. Even if you don’t like the Simpsons, maybe rent the game once to see what its like since there are six game modes. Overall, Virtual Bart gets a 5 out of 10 from me, Shady. Booyah.

Reviewer's Score: 5/10, Originally Posted: 08/20/00, Updated 08/20/00