Even though the cast of the Simpsons have invaded our offices and attempted to take the place over, we still had to sneak in our honest take on the title

...and believe it or not, it really is a fantastic game!

It used to seem like sequels were inevitable in the world of video games. Now, they’re practically the backbone of the industry. Making a second game with an established license and engine is generally more profitable than a first venture. Making a huge number of completely different games – say 22, for example – based on a single licensed property is a whole different ballgame altogether. Every once in a while there’s something compelling enough to spawn an army of games like this...Enter Homer Simpson.

America’s favorite animated Sunday night family has, in fact, spawned 21 games prior to The Simpsons Game, now available on every platform known to mankind (although for the purposes of this review let’s just say it’s the PS2, PS3 and 360...). There have been a number of different types of games in the Simpsons universe – driving, wrestling, skateboarding, golf, handheld, console, PC... This entry in the procession is mostly a platforming beat-em-up game - with a ton of variety thrown in for good measure.

Early on in the game, Bart realizes that he and his family are characters in a video game and thus have special powers. I don’t want to give anything about the plot away because the whimsical, self-referential turns it takes provide a great deal of laughs – especially for fans who will catch tons of inside references to old episodes. Each family member has a few powers that they’ll gain or improve over time. Homer turns into a big ball that crushes everything, Bart becomes Bartman, Lisa uses her saxamaphone to stun enemies and Marge can control crowds and have them do her bidding. Marge is also able to deploy Maggie through vents in order to hit switches or pick up collectibles.

Each of the characters has a few special attacks that help to shake up combat a little as well. Bart has a slingshot (of course) and Homer has a fiery belch among other things. Additionally, both Lisa and Marge are able to “influence” the environment in their own special ways. It’s good that they have these abilities, because the remainder of combat is pretty much button mashing. There’s really only one three-hit power combo that all characters share, and you’ll use it over and over and over again as you play.

There’s a ton of jumping around on platforms as you brawl with continuously spawning enemies here as well. For the most part, it’s not too tedious and the puzzles are well designed. Since you have the ability to switch back and forth between two characters at any time, you’ll very frequently need to use one Simpson to get another into the next area. If you’d like, you can have a friend pick up the second controller and take over for your partner. The co-op is designed to be drop-in drop-out anytime, so you can have someone join or quit without affecting your progress – or even showing a loading screen. Having a friend join in the later levels can be tough as they learn to play, but it’s never so hard that you should be discouraged from trying the 2-player game out. Playing with a friend can make the areas where you’d otherwise be switching back and forth between characters go much smoother. However, no matter what system you play The Simpsons Game on, there’s no online play. It seems like a no-brainer, but it’s not here.