The Simpsons Game

The Simpsons Game is a 3D platform game that was released for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii, PlayStation 2, and PlayStation Portable; it was also released as a 2D platform game for the Nintendo DS. It features cel-shaded animation and actual voices from the cast of the original prime-time show.

Story
One day, after Bart Simpson illegally buys a Rated M game called Grand Theft Scratchy and has it confiscated by his mother Marge, he discovers a manual for a videogame called The Simpsons Game which grants his family members various types of powers. Soon the entire family with the exception of Maggie puts their newly-discovered powers to the test and accomplish their own ends with them. However, soon after they achieve their own ends, an alien invasion of Springfield takes place, and the Simpsons must now use their powers to save their town from disaster. To do that, they must meet Professor Frink and get from him a strategy guide that will give the family power upgrades. The story eventually takes the family through meeting their creator Matt Groening, who reveals to them that he creates all these videogames featuring the Simpsons for money, and ultimately through meeting God.

Gameplay
Players switch off between two characters pre-selected for certain levels. Bart can turn into Bartman, who can glide with his cape and shoot out zip-lines for him to travel on. Homer can turn into a ball and smash through things with his fat; he can also let out a powerful burp to stun his enemies. Lisa can use the "Hand of Buddha" to move things around and stun enemies with her saxophone playing. Marge can use her megaphone to influence people she comes across to do her bidding. Maggie, who accompanies Marge, can crawl through airducts and shoot out her pacifier at certain targets. Throughout the game, the four main Simpsons characters can collect items for winning trophies (Krusty the Clown trophies for Bart, Duff Beer trophies for Homer, Stacy trophies for Lisa, and hair product trophies for Marge). The Comic Book Guy will also point out various videogame cliches at certain points in the game.

Levels
The game consists of 16 levels.


 * The Land Of Chocolate: Homer must chase after the White Chocolate Rabbit in a world made of various chocolate treats in order to eat it. Here is the first time where Homer gets to turn himself into a human wrecking ball.


 * Bartman Begins: Bart and Homer must stop Jimbo, Kearney, and Dolph from stealing items inside the Springfield Natural History Museum.


 * Around The World In 80 Bites: Homer participates in the annual Duff Ultimate Eating Challenge, and Bart helps him go through the various settings in that challenge.


 * Lisa The Tree Hugger: Bart must help Lisa use her powers to stop a deforestation project, which ends up putting loggers out of work and rescuing two bird-watchers from being mutilated.


 * Mob Rules: Lisa must help Marge as she gathers a crowd of protesters to destroy advertising floats, billboards, and statues for the Grand Theft Scratchy videogame and get the mayor's attention so that EA Games will not be able to bribe him into having the game be sold to minors.


 * Enter The Cheatrix: Lisa and Bart enter an alternate world where videogames are made in order to find Professor Frink and get the strategy guide from him.


 * The Day Of The Dolphin: Lisa and Bart must defeat the king of the dolphin army summoned by the aliens with the help of the Sea Captain.


 * Shadow Of The Colossal Donut: Bart and Homer team up together to deal with the runamuck Lard Lad Donuts mascot statue.


 * Invasion Of The Yokel-Snatchers: Bart and Homer go on board a spaceship near Springfield Mall to save Cletus from the aliens.


 * Bargain Bin: The family is transported into the world where videogames are made, where they meet Will Wright, who threatens to destroy the Simpsons' 8-bit counterparts from a previous videogame. Bart and Homer team up together to stop the programmer's insidious plot.


 * NeverQuest: Homer and Marge enter a world patterned loosely on Legend of Zelda-style fantasy games to destroy a two-headed dragon resembling Marge's sisters, Selma and Patty. (It is renamed "The Mythos Of Marge" in the DS version.)


 * Grand Theft Scratchy: Marge and Lisa enter a world patterned after Grand Theft Auto III with Itchy and Scratchy characters in it to refashion the run-down houses and buildings to make the neighborhood more family-friendly. (This level does not appear in the DS version.)


 * Medal Of Homer: Bart and Homer enter a world patterned after Medal of Honor to steal white flags from a French town surrendering to the Germans and to stop Private C. Montgomery Burns from stealing paintings. (This level does not appear in the DS version.)


 * Big Super Happy Fun Fun Game: Lisa and Homer enter a world patterned after various Japanese-style games to find and defeat three Sparklemons to restore harmony in the land.


 * Five Characters In Search Of An Author: Homer and Bart must enter their creator's mansion with the key cards while battling his other creations, clones of Bender and Dr. Zoidberg from Futurama, in order to reach Matt Groening himself and reason with him.


 * Game Over: The family must now enter Heaven and try to reach God to talk to Him about what's going on in the world of Springfield since Bart stumbled on the game manual. This includes having to defeat Him in a game of Dance Dance Revolution.

Main differences in the Nintendo DS version

 * The game is a side scrolling platformer.
 * The levels are much shorter than in the console versions.
 * Each episode contains many more collectibles than the other versions, and they are usually much simpler to find.
 * "NeverQuest" is renamed "The Mythos of Marge".
 * Three keycards can be found in "Big Super Happy Fun Fun Game", because the episodes "Grand Theft Scratchy" and "Medal of Homer" are missing.
 * The player cannot switch freely between characters.
 * Instead of the player controlling Maggie, the game does it automatically.
 * Many cutscenes are shortened, and some are missing completely.
 * At the Simpsons house, a virtual pet called "Pet Homer" is also accessible, which allows players to feed, entertain, and save Homer from threats such as choking and heart attacks. It is a spoof of the "Nintendogs" series of video games.
 * As the game progresses, several minigames get unlocked.
 * This version utilizes FMV.

Game References
This game makes humorous references to various other video games including:


 * Balloon Fight
 * Dance Dance Revolution
 * Donkey Kong
 * EverQuest
 * Frogger
 * Gauntlet
 * Grand Theft Auto III
 * Guitar Hero
 * John Madden Football
 * Joust
 * Katamari Damacy
 * Medal of Honor
 * Missile Command
 * Nintendogs (DS version)
 * Pokémon
 * Shadow of the Colossus
 * Sonic the Hedgehog
 * Space Invaders
 * Street Fighter II
 * Super Mario Bros.