The graphics in The Simpsons Game are remarkably reminiscent of the show, which is a feat indeed. It’s not an easy thing to replicate the look of a 2-D cartoon in a fully manipulable 3-D video game world, but it’s pulled off remarkably well here. The characters look exactly like they should from every angle, and the FMV animated cutscenes look every bit as crisp as this summer’s Simpsons Movie. You’ll feel like you’re really in Springfield as you roam through 742 Evergreen Terrace or around Springfield to other locations like the town church, Springfield Elementary, the Qwik-E-Mart or the Krusty Burger. Though you can’t steal a car this time around, transit is made easier by a series of bus stops placed throughout the town – although you may want to take your time and find the sizable number of collectibles hidden throughout the town.

A separate mechanic from the collectibles, the video game cliche reward system is the greatest example at this game's willingness to take jabs at itself and at gaming in general. Once you complete a trigger in a given level – find a boss’ obvious weak spot, hit an invisible wall, fall in water (there are over 30 in all) – the Comic Book Guy will pop up on screen with a sarcastic remark and reward you for performing something you’ve likely already done in a dozen other video games. Best collection mechanic ever? Maybe not, but still fun and very funny.

Speaking of funny, all of the characters in the game are fully voiced by the actors from the show. Additionally, there are a huge number of lines of dialog you’ll hear randomly throughout the town that consist of fan favorites and all-new zingers and more. On top of that you’ve got over 40 minutes of cutscenes over the course of the 18 episode game, and they’re pretty much all guaranteed to make you laugh. The situations that the unique premise of this game allows for are some of the most creative in recent memory, and in this editor’s opinion modern gaming needs more humor like this.

Here’s the deal – if you like the Simpsons, you’re going to have fun with this game. It’s not the deepest or most challenging and there are no online or versus modes to speak of. What it does deliver, however is a heavy dose of Simpsons style humor and a good solid chunk of enjoyable gameplay. You’ll get the most out of this game if you get all of the inside references to the Simpsons TV show and the video game industry, but even if you’ve somehow never heard of Bart, Lisa, Maggie, Marge and Homer, you’ll still enjoy yourself with this game. It gets even better when you add a second player to the experience. It’s not the longest lasting gaming experience of the 2007 holiday season, but you can be sure it will be the funniest.