First Encounter:

Things That Make You Go D'Oh!

If you’ve ever watched The Simpsons, you’ve grown accustomed to the crazy antics of this dysfunctional family and the bare thread of a segue that can race you from one improbable scene to the next. You know your Homer-isms (the morale of the story is: never try) and Bart brings out your inner crank caller (well, is your fridge running? Better go catch it.)

Well, Electronic Arts had now brought us The Simpsons Road Rage. Someone over there is a fan of the frenetic five. A 30-second animated clip is all that is needed to launch into yet another eccentric adventure, and in classic Simpsons’ style, that’s what they’ve delivered.

It seems that Mr. Burns had expanded his empire to include radioactive bus service, guaranteed to get you there on time with a nice plutonium glow about you.  Any setup that has Marge Simpson (voice: Julie Kavner) saying, “Poor man. I hope somebody does kill him,” gets high marks. You can smell the smoke as Homer strains to come up with a brilliant plan … well, a pretty good plan. It’s not bad, at any rate.

Okay, okay. The plan might need a little fine-tuning.

Basically, Homer invents The Simpsons’ taxi service by painting a sign on the side of the family sedan. And in a shorter time than it takes to explain it, Bart yells, “Get on with the game, man!”

In short order you are flying (sometimes literally) over the streets of Springfield in search of passengers. You can’t drive through many buildings, but that’s about it. Mayhem and chaos follow you through every intersection as cars pile up and lawns are destroyed. Pretty white picket fences get blasted into splinters, and there’s that construction crane again with the giant (we’re talking huge!) sheet of glass suspended across the road and a dirt ramp. You even have control of the horn, so lay it on.

Opening choices for characters and cars are limited, naturally, but you can unlock more famous (or infamous) Springfield personalities and their radical taxis as you progress through each level. If you get tired of Homer (unlikely, but possible) or Bart in his rocket plane or Lisa in her environmentally friendly electric car, then take a spin through town as Krusty the Clown in his Clown Car, or as Reverend Lovejoy in the ever-popular Book-Burning Mobile.

Unlocking new areas, such as the entertainment district and the very cool Springfield Dam, brings fresh settings to the game when you need it most. And hey, who can say no to Truckasaurus at the monster truck rally? If you really get tired of picking up those jerks who don’t appreciate a speedy trip, try one of the challenge levels or select some head-to-head action.

Challenge levels are varied and fast, but worth every mile clocked on the odometer. Can you run over 12 mascots under the time limit? How about knocking over lampposts with Otto and his magic (convertible) school bus, or just try to drive to work with Bart in the car?

Just want to explore? There is also the Sunday Drive option that says to hell with the time limit and lets you tool around Springfield to discover all the hidden jokes and riot of crazy dialog from the crazy residents. (“All” is used loosely here, since there seems to be so many wonderful Springfield jokes that no one is certain to find every one.)

And, just when you thought it was safe to go back on the Xbox again, your road rage spent on opening levels and metal carnage, you can invite a friend over and plug in to the head-to-head rampage. Suddenly it’s a brave new Springfield … pedestrians beware! Bart certainly ain’t gonna let Homer show him up (“Why you little …”). Before you know it, you’re shouting classic lines back and forth as both of you descend into a kind of Simpsons alternate reality. What more can you ask from a game?

Comments about this article?