Futurama

"Better than most Simpsons games."

Ah yes,Futurama. One of my favorite series' of all time. In my opinion,better than the Simpsons,but you don't need to hear about that. On to the review.

Story-8/10
At the start of this game,the Professor announces that he has sold Planet Express to Mom.
Mom now owns over 50% of Earth,making her it's supreme ruler. Obviously,she's not going to be a fair and benevolent leader,so the crew heads out to the ship to escape. Unfortunately,it's completely trashed,so the Professor sends Fry out for a new engine. And that's just the very beginning.
The plot of this game will take you to several locations,both well known,like Old New York,and new,Like the civilization on the sun. It plays out like a mix of a Futurama movie and a video game. The only thing that keeps it from a ten is it plays out like an Ok Futurama movie,and sometimes feels stretched. The humor in this game is very good,a bit more blunt than normal Futurama humor,but still very,very funny.
Also,there are very few cameos from other characters. Hermes only appears in a single stationary role,Zap only appears on posters,and there isn't a trace of Amy. Hell,Scruffy makes a cameo,why no Amy?

Graphics-7/10
The graphics in this game are about as close to the cartoon as you can get without painstakingly drawing every frame. There are scant graphical glitches,but some of the character models look messed up. For instance,the Professor looks way too bright,and Fry's hair looks goofy. The cut scenes in this game look truly awesome. All in all,pretty neat,and in most cases,easy on the eyes

Sound-9/10
The sound in this game is truly awesome. The music is pretty good,with a few great tracks sprinkled in here and there. But the true crown jewel is the voice acting. All the actors are the same ones from the show,which is rare in a licensed game. Some of Leela's lines are a bit out of character and stupid sounding,but I'll let that go.

Gameplay-7/10
Very fun,with some variety. Every character plays differently,and has a different healing item and collectable(like Mario's coins). The gameplay flows like this:A certain amount of levels with Fry,then Bender,then Leela,then Zoidberg,then one level with each(except poor Zoidberg) before the finale. Unfortunately,you can't replay completed levels without starting over. However,this game is extremely hard,even near the beginning. Not so hard you won't be able to beat it and will break your controller in frustration,but ''Aw,man,now I gotta do it all again'' hard.

Fry has shoot 'em up levels,which are quite fun,even though there aren't enough guns. (4,I believe,plus a hammer which is only good for simple tasks like breaking padlocks)
Fry can shoot,charge shot,snipe and strafe just as well as any of those Contra dudes,and doesn't die after just one hit. He also gets to ride a Chicken walker in an easy,but fun,on rails shooter level.

Bender employs platform basics,fighting with a spin,butt stomp,elbow charge,and super spin(requires super charges). He also has the most jumping. Probably the best levels.

Leela's levels are like a 3-D beat 'em up. She fights skeleton warriors with punches and kicks. Her fight pretty much boil down to ''hit them with flying kick,dodge attack, kick them in back'',partially because she has few moves. Since there aren't many enemies in her levels,and there's little difference between tactics used. She also has the hardest puzzles,but that's not saying much,until it comes down to those damn math puzzles. She probably has the hardest and least fun levels,but they're not horrible.

Zoidberg rides a mysterious blue reptilian animal(that he calls a horse)through a swamp in his single time trial level. You must avoid obstacles,or lose a few seconds. Though it's very difficult,and relies a bit too much on trial and error,it's very fun,and I wish they'd put in more than one level for him.

Control-6/10
The control in this game is very tight,and the characters do what you want them to do. The control scheme seems odd at first,what with putting jump to the B button. But it works very well,except in Fry's levels,where you may need to jump while charging your gun,so you'll probably have to stretch your fingers across the controller.
Then why did I give it a 6? The camera. It's very bad,and will go totally off track at least once per level,probably more. It only takes a few seconds to adjust,but it's very inconvenient.

Replay Value-2/10
Very low. Scattered around levels are Nibblers,which if you collect them all,give you that level's cut scenes,loading screen,(featuring an ad for something from the world of Futurama,like All my Circuits)and music. Nibblers are usually easy to get,but sometimes you have to do a simple puzzle or get from point A to point B in time. Seriously not worth redoing the game just to get those lame extras,especially since you'd have to replay the whole game to get there. Nibbler extras are the only secrets in the game. Lame!

Buy or Rent
If you're a big fan of the show,buy it. If you're not that big a fan,just a 5 day rental will probably do. The extras don't warrant a second play through unless you just wanna hear all the jokes again.

Summary
+Generally good graphics
+Some good music
+Some fun gameplay moments
+Great voice acting
+Very Funny,great cut scenes.
+Funny story that stays true to the show.
-Bad camera
-Scant cameos and episode references
-Extremely low replay value
-Some messed up character models
-Can't go back to beaten levels without starting over.
Final Score-7/10.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 12/07/03