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"The Simpsons Wrestling is really a disappointing title." |
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Platform: Playstation Genre: Fighting Publisher: Activision Developer: Big Ape ESRB: E (Everyone) Released: Q2 2001
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The Simpsons Wrestling
You just got to love how big companies try to cash in on a successful license they may have, be it from a TV show, film, or whatever, then making a videogame based on said property. Oh, wait. These title usually end up being a shadow of the license they are from leaving a bitter taste in the mouths of those who bought the game (Fifth Element anyone?). Unfortunately, The Simpsons Wrestling falls into this far from desirable category, as it is just too shallow of an experience to really keep ones interest for more than 20 minutes at a time.
The ultimate culprit in this game for inducing tedium into the experience is the complete lack of moves to use. This is very much a simplistic button masher, too simplistic. While it does make the game inviting to less savvy gamers with its simplicity, even the greenest of gamers will get tired of playing relatively quickly. Each character has three moves: a melee attack, a ranged attack, and a super move. On top of this they each have three grabbling moves at their disposal. Each of the attacks a character has is assigned to a button, so there is no complex button combinations like in a typical fighting game or wrestling match. This just sucks the depth right out of The Simpsons Wrestling. Really, how long can one go with so little to do without getting utterly bored? Moves themselves are generally pretty silly with Apu slap fighting, Grounds Keeper Willie using his rake, Barney fighting with mugs of beers, but like any joke these stabs at humor get old fast. Character selection is an interesting mix with Apu, Krusty, Barney, Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, and Willie as playable characters from the start and Bumblebee Man, Ned Flanders, Professor Frink, and Moe as characters that must be unlocked. On top of this Itchy and Scratchy can be unlocked, but while this is a large roster, the lack of depth in each character makes them not much fun to play with.
The visuals too are a big disappointment. Frankly they look more like something one would expect to see in a Super NES game than in a Playstation game. Granted the game is based on a cartoon, so there won’t be a huge amount of detail, but some pop or zing would have really been nice. Unfortunately the use of color in this game is very dull, so nothing really jumps off the screen, instead just blurring together. Animation is also not up to par here as it can be very choppy at times. Don’t expect to be knocked off your socks by the game’s audio either, as it is not only flat, but seems like it was left unfinished. There are some portions of the game where you would expect to hear some background music but instead it is oddly quiet with just the announcer talking or the character you’re using. Music is typical guitar driven, fast tempo tracks that don’t add anything to the combat. The one good point in the game’s audio is that the game has all of the Simpsons voice actors doing the voice work, which is very nice. The Simpsons Wrestling is really a disappointing title. While it tries to be accessible as possible by keeping things as simple as possible it winds up having no depth whatsoever. The end result is a title that veteran gamers will lose interest in playing in about 15 minutes, casual passersby in about 20 minutes. - Mr. Nash
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