The Simpsons Game

The Simpsons Game is an video game based on the animated television series The Simpsons for PlayStation 3, PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable, Xbox 360, Wii and Nintendo DS.

The Simpsons Game is a third-person action game featuring an original storyline written by Tim Long, Matt Selman and Matt Warburton. The plot is self referential in nature, with the family discovering that they are forced to participate in another Simpsons video game. Like the show, the game will poke fun at popular culture, other video games and EA itself.

EA quietly revealed the game on May 2, 2007 with a countdown timer in a parody of Rockstar Games' countdown to Grand Theft Auto IV in April 2007, with only the number "XXII" on the page (referring to the fact that it is the 22^nd video game (not including two pinball games) in the Simpsons franchise). The game was officially unveiled at The Simpsons 400th episode party at 20th Century Fox studios on May 8, 2007.

Earlier, several sources had reported apparent plans that a game directly based on The Simpsons Movie was to be released as a tie-in, due to EA's handling of other licensed film tie-ins and after the game with the current title was found on a retailer product listing. The official site is featured as the viral site of a game named "Grand Theft Scratchy: Blood Island" , the same game which Marge is trying to boycott in the game's plot. It has three trailers, one with "Grand Theft Scratchy", one with "Medal of Homer", a parody of Medal of Honor and the last with "Neverquest" a parody of Everquest.

This game features cel-shaded graphics, in contrast with the "solid 3D" rendering used in the previous three The Simpsons games released (The Simpsons Road Rage, Simpsons Skateboarding and The Simpsons Hit & Run). The PS2 visuals have not yet been revealed but will probably be around the same quality as the Wii version, though at a lower resolution. The PS3 and Xbox 360 version uses some kind of "flattening" technique to render true 2D graphics, instead of the traditional 3D cel shading method, and the DS is a 2D platformer. Note that several of the game's cienematics would be animated in the show's 2D style, rather than in 3D.

On October 3, 2007 a demo was released for the Xbox Marketplace and the PlayStation 3 PSN.

The Nintendo DS version will come with a special game title "Pet Homer" which will parody Nintendogs. The DS version also utilizes FMV.

It will be released on the 2nd of November in Europe and the 8th of November in Australia.

Gameplay

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Screenshot of Marge, Maggie, and Lisa's section of gameplay.

It has been revealed that players will be able to control four of the five members of the family (Maggie is playable in brief moments, such as in air ducts) with their own levels and unique abilities. The game contains 16 "episodes" consisting of four chapters each, featuring well known locations from the show. Will Wright also makes an appearance in the game, according to a video on GameHead, a show on GameTrailers.com.

Abilities

Levels previewed to the press involved rolling around a bloated Homer a la Katamari Damacy, controlling Bart in the disguise of Bartman, using a meditative power by Lisa to shift perspective and manipulate objects and, as Marge, using a megaphone to nag at NPCs in order to control and convince them to rally against an Itchy & Scratchy-themed Grand Theft Auto parody. The game will also feature co-operative multiplayer. A second player will be able to connect a controller at any time during a single-player session and join in. Maggie will also have her own sections, which will be controlled through first person mode.

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First ever gameplay screenshot showing Homer and Bart's section of gameplay.

The Nintendo DS version will feature some stylus-based gameplay while the Wii version of the game will feature gesture-based controls that use the Wii Remote, including a minigame in which it is used as a spoon.

So far, announced levels include: "Around the World in 80 Bites," an international food-eating contest at the Duff Brewery; Homer's tutorial level in the Land of Chocolate, based on a daydream the character had during an episode of the show; "Medal of Homer," where Bart and Homer play soldiers in WWII-era France; "Tree Huggers," a level where Bart and Lisa fight loggers in a forest; "Mob Rules," a level in which Marge and Lisa start a riot against the new game, Grand Theft Scratchy: Blood Island; "Big Super Happy Fun Fun Game," featuring Homer and Lisa dressed as stereotypical anime characters in a parody of Japanese games with possible RPG elements; "Neverquest," with Homer and Marge as elvish warriors in a parody of fantasy games and stories, (The Legend of Zelda and The Lord of the Rings, but mostly Everquest for example); and "Shadow of the Colossal Donut," a Treehouse of Horror-themed level where Bart and Homer fight the Lard Lad statue. This level is also featured in the demo available on the Xbox Live Marketplace and the PlayStation 3 PSN. The official website also refers to a level as "God of Wharf," featuring Bart and Lisa fighting murderous dolphins. Also there will be "Bartman Begins," the second level, where Bart and Homer stop the bullies from robbing the museum, "Enter the Cheatrix," "Invasion of the Yokel Snatchers," in which you stop the aliens from anal-probing various Springfielders, "Bargain Bin," "Grand Theft Scratchy," in which Marge and Lisa are inside the actual game removing all undesirable elements, "Five Characters in Search of an Author," and the finale being "Game Over."

Platform list

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Cover art for all versions

The Simpsons Game will be released on PlayStation 3, PlayStation 2, Xbox 360, Wii, PlayStation Portable, and Nintendo DS, each featuring an exclusive cover art. The original trailer stated that The Simpsons Game is "coming this fall, to every platform ever made", with logos of several additional consoles including the Amiga and Commodore VIC-20. The obsolete console logos were removed in a revised trailer.

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