First Impressions: In 13 seasons The Simpsons have never made a taxi joke I can steal for this preview.
There have been seemingly hundreds of games based on The Simpsons released for every conceivable platform since the series was launched back in 1989. And the truly sad thing is that the only games that were really anything more than just average was Bart's Nightmare on the Super NES and The Simpsons arcade game released way back in 1991. Although Krusty's Fun House did have it's moments. What do these sad facts lead us to? Why another Simpsons game of course: The Simpsons: Road Rage.
The Simpsons: Road Rage doesn't so much borrow as it flat out steals the gameplay style of Crazy Taxi. In Simpsons: Road Rage Mr. Burns has done what he does best: bilk the citizens of Springfield out of money with another greedy scheme. This time he has purchased the Springfield Transit Corporation and raised the fares extremely high. So the citizens of Springfield strike back the only way they know how: with an even zanier scheme. They all decide to become taxi drivers for each other. And if they can earn enough money, they'll buy back the Transit Company from Burns.
That's really all there is to this game. You use the analog sticks to drive, one button for brake and one for gas. This simple control scheme is always a plus in games like this. You start just being able to choose one of The Simpsons when you first start the game, but EA has said there will be tons of hidden characters and cars. In addition to the Crazy Taxi, ahem, Road Rage mode of this Simpsons game, there'll be a few other modes too. There's Sunday Drive where you'll get to tool around Springfield for as long as your heart desires. There will be a Mission mode. A little senseless vandalism anyone (or as Bart would say, "smashy smashy")? And there's a two player Vs mode as you and a friend compete with each other to make the most money.
Springfield appears to be rather large with lots of Springfield landmarks making appearances. The Simpsons’ house, Moe's, Springfield Elementary, The Church, Duff Brewery, we've got a lot to see. However what Springfield looks like is a little weird. If you're a Simpsons die hard like I am, you've seen the "Homer 3" segment of the sixth Halloween special. You know the one, where Homer falls into the computer generated virtual world ("has anybody seen that movie Tron?"). Well that's how all the characters look in Simpsons: Road Rage. They're all in that same 3D style, but the backgrounds are still the flat 2D world The Simpsons inhabit every Sunday. It's a weird effect to see in the screen shots, hopefully it'll look better on the finished product. It's not that it's bad, it's just different, and nobody likes change. In the sound department, EA has said there will be a lot of sound samples from the various and it'll be a cold day in Smarch before a Simpsons game is made that doesn't include the theme music.
