Simpsons fans unite!

2007 has been a significant year for Matt Groening's cartoon creations. The Simpsons Movie finally became a reality, Futurama has made its long awaited comeback and now to cap off the holiday season, we have what promises to be the first truly great Simpsons game.

The Simpson licence had been in an abysmal state in recent years. Nonsensical, sub par imitations of popular gaming trends and a lawsuit by SEGA had made The Simpsons the laughing stock of the games industry for all the wrong reasons. 2003's Hit & Run restored faith in TV's favourite family. Ditching the family's crazy antics in the world of wrestling/skating/ripping off Crazy Taxi, we were given a game that cut the crap and took us to the Springfield we all know and love. It was by no means perfect, but fans wanted more. This time around, EA is out to fill that craving.

After having his newly acquired copy of Grand Theft Scratchy confiscated by Marge, Bart stumbles across a videogame manual for what else but The Simpsons Game itself. Upon reading the game manual Marge, Homer, Bart and Lisa all discover their own unique super powers and set out to save the day from the evil forces of alien invaders (who have finally learned the sheer power of boards with nails in them), Mr Burns and the most twisted Will Wright. The premise works well, allowing for the more over the top aspects of the game to work seamlessly in the story. It is the first game that actually feels like an extension of the show, rather than an exploitation of the licence.

Each character has their own unique set of newfound abilities, with Homer no doubt being the favourite. He has the ability to turn into a big squishy ball of flab as he rolls across levels Katamari style, or turn into the gooeyness of Gummi Homer, with Venus De Milo grenades. Bart becomes Bartman, using his cape and trusty slingshot as his tools of the trade. Marge puts her nagging to good use, gathering together the townsfolk Pikmin style to commit her bidding. Lisa has the ability to control the Hand of Buddha to manipulate her surroundings and give enemies the flick. The characters gain new abilities and powers as the game progresses, although Homer is the only character to truly feel as if they have upgraded progressively through the game.

Gameplay is a mix of traditional platforming elements and the games of old blended with that special Simpsons flavour. It's generic and doesn't make any attempt to hide it, instead rewarding you for uncovering all the clichéd aspects of the game. You play the game in tag team pairs, tagging in and out to utilise each character's special abilities to solve puzzles and progress through the game. Be it Lisa building a bridge out of billboards or Bart soaring through the skies, teamwork is key to your progress. Levels are set in a range of familiar Springfield locations and fantastically themed worlds, including some memorable game related locations. Along the way, you'll even be forced to put those arcade skills to use in levels of Joust, Gauntlet, Missile Command and even a round of God-like DDR. Its touches like this that makes the game a joy to play for older gamers who have long since moved on from the days of simplistic platforming.

A Simpsons game wouldn't be anything if it didn't feel like one and thankfully visuals are top notch and the humour rich. A flattened cel-shading approach is used for the visuals, giving them a true 2D cartoon feel. Some of the character outlines can be a little off, but on the whole they work well. Cut-scenes are presented with true Simpson animation that looks absolutely wonderful. There's around 40 minutes of footage throughout the game, with some truly funny clips to be had.

Humour's a mix of classic gags from the show, pop culture references from across the board and plenty of new laughs to be had. Levels are filled to the brim with all manner of delectably geeky quotes for the attentive ear, from anime classics Akira and Howl's Moving Castle to the Karate Kid and Tim Burton's Batman. A simple final thumbs up as a Donkey Kong-inspired boss submerges to his doom, ala Terminator 2, had me in stiches. There's a lot here for the older viewers and not just the younger fans. It is certainly some of the best Simpsons humour I've seen in a long time. You'll want to play through the whole game just to see what comes next.

Whilst it is all well and good that the humour will keep you playing, at times it can be the only thing keeping you going.

Camera control is shocking. I'm stating that now. Out in the open spaces it's fine. Get trapped too close to a wall by your enemies or encounter one of the many fixed camera sections and you'll more than likely plummeting to your doom time and time again. You won't soon be looking like a spitting image of Homer through hair-pulling frustration, but is just plain annoying and really hinders the game.

The partner AI will fight off enemies and follow you through levels, but its still a little on the dumb side. It's not unusual to rush too far ahead as your partner is left stuck on the surroundings, particularly in the hub world. They'll help out when essential and fend off enemies, but the rest is left to you to take over and solve. Naturally, co-op mode is present, with a simple jump in mechanic for pick up and play. The gameplay progresses a lot faster when working simultaneously as a team, as there's no stopping and starting as you switch between characters, but instead a lot of the time one character will commonly be left to twiddle their thumbs as the other proceeds to unlock the next door/bridge/route. It seems that EA haven't quite found the balance between the two, seemingly designing it with two-player in mind but making it feel like an afterthought in execution. It's also a little disappointing that co-op's only available in split screen with no support for online play.

We are still yet to be graced with a fully interactive representation of Springfield and sadly The Simpsons Game is no exception. The hub world between missions, the town of Springfield, really feels quite barren, except for the NPC's roaming the streets and collectibles hidden in every nook and cranny. All the famous attractions are there, but then as with Hit & Run there's not a lot you can really do within the world. The absence of vehicles of any form can also make the experience feel a bit of a chore as you slowly proceed to run from one point to another. Thankfully bus stops scattered abundantly around town mean you can jump from one mission to the next if you wish, but it is still an area that I, and every Simpson fan no doubt, wishes to see finally realised.

The final level was perhaps the most disappointing of the bunch, Feeling more like a recap of everything you had completed through the rest of the game, it just seemed like a rushed addition to tie everything together. In addition to the story mode, each stage also has its own time challenge that takes you back to the familiar locale in a race against the clock. By and large, these are short challenges that consist of collecting items or destroying enemies. They are all fairly simplistic and lack any humour what so ever, so are simply best avoided.

Through its flaws, The Simpsons Game is still no doubt a triumphant effort for the tarnished licence. You can't play this game and not acknowledge the amount of effort that has been put into the game. Gameplay is by no means perfect, but if you are a Simpsons fan, you must at least rent the game for some of the most hilarious lines and sight gags from America's first family in almost a decade. More like an 8 hour long episode in the form of a clichéd platformer, The Simpsons Game is a fantastic homage to gamer culture.

Hopefully this is a sign of things to come.