The Simpsons Wrestling
Score: 52% ESRB: Teen Publisher: Activision Developer: Fox Interactive Media: CD/1 Players: 1 - 2 Genre: Fighting
Graphics & Sound: The problem game makers face when creating something with established characters is that there is already a standard set. This is the case for The Simpsons Wrestling. The best way to describe America's most dysfunctional family from Springfield on this game is as 2-Dimensional cardboard cutouts. Truly, it hurt to look at how bad each character was unjustly made into a cookie cutter shape, with no actual replica in sight. The backgrounds were just as bad, if not worse. The rings are placed in numerous locations throughout Springfield, but are just as insulting as the characters themselves. Fans around the ring barely move, and everything looked like it was done half-assed. Even the animations looked choppy. This whole section made me want to have Homer choke me! The one happy note in all of this is that the actual actors lent their voices for The Simpsons Wrestling. The sad truth however, is that they rolled out of bed for this. The voices were dead on, as they should have been. Unfortunately, each character only had a few lines to say, so things got awfully repetitive. The background music was lame, so I give credit for consistency throughout the game. The other sound effects were pretty sad as well, with the exception of Barney's belches, which were straight off the TV.
Gameplay: Just when I thought things couldn't get any worse, they did. The title says wrestling, yet I didn't see much wrestling. The only wrestling move that Simpsons Wrestling had was a pin. The rest of time, it just looked like bar fights from Moe's Tavern transplanted into a ring. Each of the 19 characters has a power move, like Barney's Duff Cloud Burp or Willie's Roundhouse Rake Kick. Other than that, all you can basically do is punch or kick the crap out of your opponent. There are three game modes to suffer through: Practice Game, Versus, and Tournament. The Practice Game lets you train with any of the wrestlers against the computer player of your choice, while Versus is just against a human player. The main mode is the Tournament, where you must battle through the Springfield Circuit to win the ultimate title: Champion of Springfield. If you're so desperate and bored enough to do this, you'll also unlock secret characters, bosses, and an exclusive bonus level. If you're really a Simpsons fan, you won't subject yourself to this.
Difficulty: Much like any fighting game, The Simpsons Wrestling doesn't become difficult until after a few victories. The first few rounds are fairly easy, and then things begin to pick up. Unfortunately by that time, you're so bored with the game that you don't even bother to play the tougher rounds. One side note: I didn't seem to find a way to change the level of difficulty. So apparently you're stuck on that 'Sucky' level for good.
Game Mechanics: I found the controls to be incredibly easy for The Simpsons Wrestling. Of course, when all you can do is punch, how hard can the controls be? There is a combination move too: punch the opponent four times in a row. WHOOPEE!!! If you really care, the analog controller shakes a little when you're hit, but that's not even enough reason to turn on the game. Thankfully, your memory card is only burdened with one used block. However, Activision takes precious seconds of your life away with the loading time, which shouldn't be that long for a game that could pass off as incredible for the original Nintendo. PS2: If you own this system, and still wasted your money on The Simpsons Wrestling hoping for a change, just put your head down, look sad and say Doh! I didn't find one iota of change between the systems. Not that it really would have made that much of a difference. In all honesty, do yourself a favor, avoid The Simpsons Wrestling. If Activision is smart, they'll take a line from Bart in the earlier seasons and say, 'I didn't do it.'
-Red Dawg, GameVortex Communications AKA Alex Redmann
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