The Good:

• The Simpsons...in a game!

• Revolutionary gameplay

• Stunning visuals

• Absolutely hysterical

• Huge replay value

The Bad:

• Can we delete this field? This game is perfect in every way

Sometimes a work of art comes along that so perfectly comprehends and captures its subject that it nearly transcends it. When the subject itself is one of the greatest works of satire, comedy, and social thought in the more than two hundred year history of this great nation, and the work of art was developed by the industry’s largest and most powerful corporation of creativity, a masterpiece is almost guaranteed.

That masterpiece is Electronic Arts’ The Simpsons Game. In The Simpsons Game, you’ll find yourself playing as history’s funniest cartoon family in beautiful Shelbyville-adjacent Springfield. If you’ve got a pulse (and eyeballs, ears, and a TV), chances are you’re familiar with the family in question. If not, however, please alert us immediately and we’ll send someone by to hit you on the head with a tack hammer to wake you from your social coma.

In The Simpsons Game, this model American family suddenly becomes aware that they’ve become characters within a video game. Now, this may sound bizarre, but can you think of a better subject for a video game than video games? This comedy gold practically writes itself, especially when you’ve got actors like the lovable Homer or irreverent little Bart delivering their lines with the same energy and enthusiasm on your console as they do over the airwaves. Somehow they manage to entertain while at the same time providing critical and much needed commentary on our rapidly evolving industry. A care-free and deeply introspective game, Homer in particular, is able to disarm players with his charm while simultaneously opening a silent dialogue with the reader wherein he shares his wisdom and observations all while unapologetically eating food off the floor. Besides the Simpsons’ nuclear family, you’ll hear all of the rest of your favorite characters from the show throughout the game and I personally guarantee that you will pee your pants from laughing at least once during the course of this game. [Guarantee not valid within confines of planet Earth.]

Since the Simpsons have realized they’re in a video game, they’ve become endowed with a series of superpowers that feel right at home with the resonant archetypes we’ve all come to love over the last two decades. Bart’s alter-ego Bartman plays a key role, Homer lets his love of gluttony take hold and transform him into Homerball, Lisa uses her saxophone to quell enemies’ attacks and Marge uses a megaphone to control crowds and issue orders. In addition to the superpowers, there’s a slew of enemies against whom you’ll use melee combat to defeat as you progress through the side-splitting adventure.