Gaming Target - Game Boy: The Simpsons: Road Rage

Written by Jeff Milligan on August 14, 2003

Review: Homer finally has an excuse to drink and drive, even when his blood aolchol matches the game's final score of 4.0 while behind the wheel.

The Simpsons Ц quite possibly one of the funniest shows on T.V. today and one that's been around for quite some time now. With hilarious characters, ridiculous plots, and numerous tie-ins to that horrible company Fox, The Simpsons have become a household name. However, the success that they've had in the television business has generally not been shared in its video games. Most video games based off of the Simpsons have been nothing more than dull, been-there done that kind of games, and that's exactly what The Simpson Road Rage is.

The basis behind Road Rage is the exact formula followed by the Crazy Taxi series. Players are in charge of picking up and dropping off passengers to earn money. Players are given a limited amount of time that passengers can be escorted before the game is over. The only difference between Crazy Taxi and Road Rage is that Road Rage features all Simpson characters and locations. Road Rage features lots of unlockable items including levels, extra vehicles and characters.

The main mode behind Road Rage is the aptly titled Road Rage mode. This is where the basic pick up and drop off characters for money gameplay is located. This is also where most of the unlockable extras are located. If you're not familiar with the Crazy Taxi line of games, Road Rage features a number of different modes of play to get you started. Sunday Drive allows players to pick up and drop off characters like normal, except there are no time limits, so you can get used to the maps and locations of characters. There's also Mission Mode, Performance, and Head to Head modes, each involving different aspects which have to be met. Even with all of these different modes of play, you're always going to have the same basic gameplay system, so Road Rage really doesn't offer as much as it may seem.

Graphically, Road Rage doesn't push the GBA hardware to any new extremes, but also doesn't look horrible enough to never set your eyes on again. Characters and locations are bright with color, but at the same time are also blurry and edgy. All in all, you can basically sum it up as a mediocre GBA game, graphically. The same can be said about the games sound effects and music. There's nothing that makes Road Rage stand out in the hardware aspects of the game.

As was mentioned, Road Rage features many unlockable extras, so the amount of time put into Road Rage can get quite high. However, there's nothing more to Road Rage to make players want to sit and play it besides these unlockables, and 95% of the time not even that will inspire gamers to play it beyond once or twice.