The Simpsons™ Game

D'oh!

Take a trip to Springfield with The Simpsons Game.

Twenty years, 19 seasons and more than 20 videogames after its inception, The Simpsons embark on a brand new adventure to save their home town.

Mmmm... Videogame

Treating videogames with as much respect as it does television, the main thing The Simpsons Game sets out to do is mercilessly mock every videogame cliché it can think of. Most of the levels are set out like a straightforward third person action adventure, but one look at some of the level titles - Shadow of the Colossal Donut, Medal of Homer, Neverquest and Grand Theft Scratchy to name but a few - and you can see that parody is the name of the game here. There are even secret collectible videogame clichés - such as double jumps, being unable to swim, and giant swinging blades - all helpfully presented by The Simpsons' resident nerd, Comic Book Guy.

The game's plot revolves around the Simpson family becoming aware that they are in a videogame when Bart finds the game's instruction manual. The manual gives the Simpsons super powers which they have to use to stop an alien invasion from series regulars Kang and Kodos. So, you take control of different members of the family and team up to fight enemies and solve puzzles through the different chapters that make up the game. The advantage of these different types of level is that it keeps the gameplay fresh - one level you'll be controlling Marge as she attempts to round up a gang of protesters, while the next you'll be battling a giant donut shop mascot as Bart's super-heroic alter ego Bartman.

Homer run

Each of the family members has their own special powers to help you get through the levels. Homer can inflate into a huge ball that can crush everything in its path, Lisa can summon the hand of Buddha to move large objects, build bridges and unblock passages, Marge can use a megaphone and her nagging prowess to persuade Springfieldians to do her bidding, and Bart can use his Bartman powers to float and catch serious air on updrafts. All the levels offer co-operative two player mode, and you'll need to use teamwork to proceed at times, with each character having their own objectives. This means no waiting around for your partner to catch up, leaving you both free to have as much fun as possible.

The game's visuals are fantastic, perfectly recreating the look of the TV show through bright, colourful, cel-shaded graphics hand-drawn by Gracie Films, the company which produces the TV show. The faithfulness to the show doesn't end there either. The script has been written by Simpsons scribes Tim Long, Matt Selman and Matt Warburton, and all the voice cast from the show reprise their roles, all of which conspire to make playing the game feel like you're in an interactive episode of the TV show.

EA have done a great job of transferring what it is that makes the TV show so popular to the videogames world in a game that celebrates all aspects of games, and is one of the funniest pieces of software ever made. Or as Homer would put it: "Woohoo!"