The Simpsons Game // Xbox 360
Mmmm...video games

// The skinny: After a Simpsons video game manual lands in Springfield, the Simpsons family discovers that they each have super powers. In order to fend off an end of the world alien invasion, they journey to their creator and ultimately God himself.

// Review: Video game movie tie ins are a fact of life just like traffic and running out of tp at the wrong time. It's also a fact that they are horribly pasted together franchise cash ins. But since The Chronicles of Riddick, The Simpsons game reaches that rarified ether where it doesn't exactly blow.

/ I was really impressed by the production values. The visuals were very sharp and just about every single character made a cameo including Kelsey Grammar reprising Side Show Bob. Actually the entire experience felt like The Simpsons Movie, except with a new story and totally interactive.

/ I found this to be the funniest game since Grim Fandango and it's the biggest reason to play this game. It's full of pop cultural and self-referential jokes and the irreverent humor you expect from the show. A huge source for the gags is how they poke fun of how bad video games are, and every time you encounter an in-game cliche like exploding barrels, invisible walls or lava pits, the Comic Book Guy appears to tell you how lame it is. Even the Simpsons have gone meta.

/ Another thing I loved about this game is that it's truly epic. On your quest to find the Creator, you jump into the world of several video game parodies like GTA, Medal of Honor, Katamarie Damacy, and EverQuest.

/ While it managed to pack in and humorously spin tons of hackneyed cliches gamers are all too familiar with, unfortunately it also included two very real want-to-slam-your-precious-controller-in-the-tv ones. The controls are bad. They are very sluggish and inconsistent. But what was worse is that the camera is one the most frustratingly spastic ones I've played with in a long time. I can't count how many times I unnecessarily double-jumped to my death. What helps balance this out is that the game is easy. I only had to revert to a save point twice.

// Wrap up: The spicier language and innuendo with the wealth of great material to draw from makes this really entertaining and funnier than the tv show has been in years. But the lousy controls and camera are one big DOH!

Entertainment rating: 3