Game:

The Simpsons Game (2007)

Category:

Show

Duration: 2:36:56

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Originally recorded: March 11, 2021
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So last time, I briefly mentioned that there's a running gag among my online friends -- you know, the jokers you normally see in the chat during these streams -- that our good friend Dari is, in reality, Homer Simpson. This started with a few noted similarities: they both like Thursday Night Football, both admit to being suckers for a little hat and neither one of them can accept that Bruce Wayne is Batman. But as we kept digging deeper and deeper into it, the sheer amount of similarities the two of them have become astounding... a fact that absolutely nettles Dari, given his explicit hatred of all things Simpsonic. However, you'll notice that the vast majority of stages in this stream had me playing as Homer tonight... and you know who didn't show up in the chat? Dari. Curiouser and curiouser...

This game's still very clearly a "7/10", though at times, I feel like it may be drifting towards a "6" at times. That's not entirely the fault of the game itself, but rather the version I chose to play through. The limitations of sixth-gen are began to poke their way into view during the Sparklemon area. First off, I'm pretty sure the Sparklemon fights were literally mini-games in the 7th-gen versions of the game as opposed to the cutscenes they were in this version. But what's worse is that from what KI told me, they apparently left off a pretty major mechanic in the Skyship area: a radar that literally tells you which engines are under attack. Losing tedious mini-games is one thing, but cutting quality of life features? Not cool, EA.

This session probably also cemented my order for just how fun each character is to use. Sadly, Marge is leading, while Homer and Bart are neck-and-neck for second place, leaving Lisa dead last. I don't know why, but using Pikmin mechanics in a traditional action game just seems really fun and unique to me. Homer's inflation mechanics are pretty fun, but the controls themselves are haphazard, while Bart's gameplay is simultaneously more boring and more manageable. The Hand of Buddha crap is just annoying though, even if Lisa's sax attack is OP. I guess it's just kind of a shame that it seems as if Marge and Bart never get a chance to team up. If either of the final two stages let me pick my characters -- which I doubt -- I'd like to see if they have any synergy.

It's just kind of sad that this is considered one of the better Simpsons games, because it is downright mediocre at times. And that ends up being less of an indictment of the game itself and more of an indictment of the Simpsons' video game history. Next session should be the last one, though. I've only got 4 stages left.

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