The Simpsons Game Member Review for the PS3

I just finished playing "The Simpsons Game" and I can say I had fun. I like the Simpsons, I enjoy the show, the humour, but I am far from a devout fan. Having said that, I offer my review.

Super powers are thrown in for each of the characters and my son and I found this extra "cool", especially when my son was "Bart Man". I wish there had been more upgrades for them, but overall the powers were nicely associated to the characters and worked quite well through the game.
The story was fun to play and watch, albeit weak at times. I especially enjoyed watching Mr. Burns state "[cut all the good trees down for toothpicks]". I enjoyed many of the segments, both from the game play and cinematics perspective as it wrapped the overall package up.

Now, here comes the critical part. The game, while fun from the humour and excellent presentation stand point falls prey to some common pitfalls. First off, the game becomes somewhat boring after some time with repetitive game play. While this isn't bad initially, as the game progresses and you use the same character over and over, it really gets to you (although Marge is underused). The other thing that had me either frustrated, dying many times from falling or unable to find my goal was the poor camera. The camera sucks, end stop. You are trying to make a jump and you can't see it, so you fall and die. You are looking for what you have to do, but cannot pan around properly to see your goal.


Overall, the game is fun, it captures the essence of the Simpsons from the character, environment, presentation and humor point of view, but it fails from some simple game play elements (camera and repetitiveness). Having said that, I still recommend the game for any fan of the Simpsons, but if you aren't familiar with the show, you might be disappointed as you may not "get it".