The Simpsons Game

The Simpsons Game is an action platformer video game based on the animated television series The Simpsons and loosely on The Simpsons Movie, made for the Nintendo DS, Wii, Xbox 360, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Portable. The game was developed, published, and distributed by Electronic Arts. It was released in North America in October 2007 and worldwide in November 2007. It features an original storyline written by The Simpsons writers Tim Long, Matt Selman, and Matt Warburton. In the self-referential plot, the family discovers that they are forced to participate in another The Simpsons video game. Similar to the show, the game pokes fun at popular culture, other video games, and Electronic Arts, its publisher.

The game follows the five Simpson family members—Homer, Marge (with Maggie), Bart, and Lisa—who learn they are part of a video game and are given superpowers to resolve several situations. Eventually, they must save their 8-bit predecessors from Will Wright, and the creator of their video game character selves, Matt Groening. The Simpson family travels to four scenarios in parodies of other games to collect key cards used to infiltrate their creator's mansion and ultimately to save their predecessors from destruction.

The game was met with mixed reception from video game critics. They praised its visuals and writing, which included many parodies of other video games, while they criticized its short length and poor camera system, which did not always function properly. The Simpsons Game received the Best Game Based on a Movie or TV Show award at the 2007 Spike Video Game Awards and was nominated for Best Video Game Writing at the 2007 Writers Guild of America Awards. As of January 31, 2008, four million copies of the game have been sold worldwide.

Production Companies: EA Games, Gracie Films and 20th Century Fox Television

Video Game Platforms: Xbox 360, Nintendo DS, Wii, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Portable

Releases: October 30, 2007 (United States) November 2007 (Worldwide)

Plot
The game begins with Homer having a candy-induced fantasy about a world of chocolate where he tries to catch and eat a white chocolate rabbit; upon waking up he is upset to find that it was all a dream.

Bart goes to the video game store and coerces the clerk to let him buy the new and violent Grand Theft Scratchy game, only to have it confiscated by Marge. While Bart mopes, a video game manual falls down from the sky in front of him. Reading through the manual, Bart discovers that he and the rest of his family have special powers. Later, Bart uses his Bartman powers to stop Jimbo, Kearney, and Dolph from stealing from the Natural History Museum, Homer uses his ability to become a huge ball and win an eating contest, Lisa uses her powers of meditation to stop a deforestation project, and Marge uses her powers to influence crowds to stop the release of Grand Theft Scratchy in Springfield, although Lisa points out it is ironic she used violence to stop a violent game.

During dinner, the family is euphoric with their new powers. However, it leads to an argument about what they should be doing with them. Aliens Kang and Kodos decide to strike Earth, and an alien invasion unfolds. Realizing none of their powers are strong enough to defeat the aliens, Bart and Lisa visit Professor Frink. They visit his house to find him not there, but they stumble upon a portal that sends them to a place called the game engine where all video games are made. After saving him from a giant gorilla, Frink gives them The Simpsons Game's player's guide to teach them how to better use their powers as well as gain new ones, and the Simpson family soon sets out to try and stop the alien invasion. First, Bart and Lisa aid Captain McCallister in beating back mind-controlled dolphins that are attacking the city aquarium. Then, Bart and Homer defeat the Lard Lad statue which has come to life. Finally, they save the Springfield Mall and Cletus from the aliens.

In order to find out the truth, the family turns to the Internet to discover more about the powers they have in the game, but are accidentally sent to the game engine when Homer spills beer over the keyboard. There, they discover Will Wright, who is destroying copies of an old 8-bit The Simpsons game and its characters. The family manages to save their 8-bit predecessors before they are destroyed by Wright, and discover that they will also become obsolete when the next The Simpsons game is released. The only way to prevent this is to talk to the creator of the games and convince him not to destroy them. In order to access his mansion, the family needs to acquire four key cards from four upcoming Simpsons games. First, Homer and Marge defeat a two-headed dragon whose heads are those of Patty and Selma in the Neverquest game. Marge and Lisa then travel to Grand Theft Scratchy, eliminating all offensive material and replacing it with more family-friendly material. Next, Homer and Bart travel to France during World War II to thwart Mr. Burns' plan to steal priceless French paintings, in the Medal of Homer game. Lisa and Homer then travel to ancient Japan to defeat the evil Mr. Dirt and his "Sparklemon" in the Big Super Happy Fun Fun Game.

Once they have all four key cards, Bart and Homer infiltrate the creator's mansion. They are greeted by Matt Groening, who sends Futurama characters Bender and Dr. Zoidberg after them. The family manages to defeat them, however, and Groening admits that he is only creating new games for the money, and destroys the game engine. The Simpsons, along with several other characters from the games, escape to Springfield, where the aliens are still attacking. Lisa uses her power to create a stairway to heaven in order for the family to ask God for advice. After he is defeated in a game of Dance Dance Revolution, God reveals that the video game that they're in is a mini-game in another video game about Earth. He dropped the video game manual by accident, thus endowing the family with superpowers. Realizing his misdemeanor, he promises to restore Springfield, let them keep their powers, and to improve the working conditions of all video game characters. He also gives Homer three wishes. Lisa asks if God ever wonders if he himself is a character in a video game. As God nervously scoffs at this theory, it turns out that Ralph Wiggum is playing the entire game before he looks at the screen, wondering who was looking at him.

Levels

 * See also: The Simpsons Game/Levels
 * 1) The Land of Chocolate
 * 2) Bartman Begins
 * 3) Around in the World in 80 Bites
 * 4) Lisa the Tree Hugger
 * 5) Mob Rules
 * 6) Enter the Cheatrix
 * 7) The Day of the Dolphin
 * 8) The Shadow of the Colossal Donut
 * 9) Invasion of the Yokel-Snatchers
 * 10) Bargain Bin
 * 11) NeverQuest
 * 12) Grand Theft Scratchy
 * 13) Medal of Homer
 * 14) The Big Super Happy Fun Fun Game
 * 15) Five Characters in Search of an Author
 * 16) Game Over