The Simpson's Arcade

Mmm... The Simpson’s Arcade game... It’s far from D’oh!

After the undeniable success of The Simpsons Movie and countless many years of putting a huge smile on the faces of children and adults alike, there seems to be no end in sight of the lovable rather jaundiced family with their unique haircuts.

As a massive fan of the animated dysfunctional family that somehow always manages to bumble along, I was delighted to get the opportunity to try out The Simpson’s Arcade game – and in just a few words, I’m far from disappointed. OK, I may be a little biased but I have quite a good reason to be, as it’s actually a thoroughly enjoyable arcade game in its simplest and best form.

If you liked Double Dragon and similar sideways-scrolling beat-‘em-ups, then you’ll be chuffed to bits you’ve found this little gem on the mobile circuit. The game starts with a typically tongue in cheek humorous scenario, of Montgomery Burns assembling all of Springfield’s most powerful , and Krusty the Clown, in a top secret plot of, well, something so secret it’s not exactly clear what! One thing is certain however, the ever faithful Smithers is put in charge of the microchipped information which, naturally enough, has been tucked away for safe keeping in a donut, what else?!

It goes without too much saying that Homer gets caught up in the middle of this conspiracy and it becomes your job to help him on his quest to get the donut. There’s only one problem with this task, you must fight just about every henchman in animated history and quite a few well known characters from the show.

As you’d probably guess, moving around the screen is quite a straight forward affair, simply pressing the directional keys in the way you wish to go. The fighting/interaction is also a piece of cake, just simply hitting the OK or 5 key repeatedly when next to the bad guys or crate.

The movements are a little basic but it would be too fiddly having to use two action buttons (one to punch, the other to kick). Fortunately the animation of Homer switches between punches, kicks, grabs, throws and more! Another nice touch that has been added to the game is the ability to call in reinforcements. By finding a logo of Bart, Lisa or Marge, you’ll unlock their power-up. Bart skates in to hop on your shoulder and use his catapult to knock out the baddies. Lisa skips into the middle of the screen and uses her powerful sonic boom to clear the screen of the enemy. Marge strolls in and with the help of Maggie, causes Homer to go crazy and windmill his way through all who stand in his/your way.

The cartoon graphics are excellent and if you weren’t careful you’d probably believe you were actually watching the show! In truth, there’s not really anything bad I can find with this game at all... and after playing the game for a few hours, I still can’t really find anything truly negative other than it is a little easy between the end of level bosses. However, the sheer fun factor outweighs this small niggle a lot!

Rating 95%

Positives

All the fun and action that you’d expect – if not more so!

Highly addictive and even when you complete it, you’ll still want to play it again

Great graphics

Classic arcade style beat-‘em-up game – pure and simple enjoyment

Negatives

A little easy at stages and no way to change the difficulty setting – D’oh!