The Simpsons: Road Rage

The Simpsons is probably my personal favorite TV show of all-time, second to possibly only Futurama. Having watched nearly every episode released, I think it's safe to say that I am a fan. That said, I'd still be one to admit that the franchise has had a rocky history when it comes to video game titles. I found enjoyment in 2007's The Simpsons Game, which contained abundant humor and a well-represented art style, but its flaws were still apparent. The Simpsons: Road Rage is perhaps even more troubled than a majority of its companions, but that's not to say there are no redeeming attributes to be found in this game.

To say that the narratives aspects of Road Rage are shunned, would be an understatement. Mr. Burns has bought all transit systems in Springfield, beginning to create radioactive buses that threaten the public health. Due to this, the Simpson family has started their own taxi service for hire, earning money in an attempt to pay back Burns to get rid of the radioactive buses and return the town back to normal. Not only is this plot never elaborated on, but all of it is established before the title screen is even shown.This opening cutscene is funny for its brief time there, and it showcases the reprising roles of many of the show's real voice actors, but it most likely goes without saying that this aspect of the game was just lazily slapped on.

Deeming The Simpsons: Road Rage a Crazy Taxi rip-off is perhaps the most accurate description one could give for the game. Back in 2003, Sega successfully filed a lawsuit against Fox Interactive, Electronic Arts, and Radical Entertainment, claiming that The Simpsons Road Rage was a patent infringement of Sega's Crazy Taxi; a claim that is by no means ridiculous. Each game's core mode revolves around frantically driving passengers from location to location in exchange for in-game cash. Right down to the circular regions in which each potential customer stands, nearly every attribute is practically re-skinned to fit inside Matt Groening's universe. Not to say that this is a bad thing on the surface, I actually believe Springfield is great setting for this type of game, but there's a certain lack of polish here. Its driving mechanics can be rough, cars often clip into walls, and character sound bits are repeated. For what it was worth, I still enjoyed this main mode, as the general arcade-esque Crazy Taxi formula appeals to me, but the game's "story mode" is nothing I can defend. There are ten of these bite-sized missions, usually taking less than a minute to complete each. All are insanely easy, redundant, and probably the definition of the word "throwaway". That said, you'll more than likely spend all your time within the main mode, which consists of several characters and vehicles to unlock for hours. There's a multiplayer component as well, which is decent and admittedly fun as it was built around the core Crazy Taxi mode.

The Simpsons: Road Rage's aesthetic is not quite as bad as I was expecting. It's certainly not on the level of impressiveness that The Simpsons Game presented a few years later, but the characters generally look the way they should and of course the voice acting is there to back it up. Featured music is not as defining as the soundtrack of Crazy Taxi, but it gets the job done; it's just not particularly memorable in any specific regard. However, the game's most attractive aspect on the surface is the sheer amount of references to classic Simpsons episodes, and as a die-hard fan of the series, this was by far the most intriguing attribute found within the game.

Unless you are a fan of The Simpsons television show, Road Rage is a tough sell. By all legal accounts, it steals the mechanics and gameplay features of Crazy Taxi, and incorporates them in an arguably weaker format. The game is generally rough around the edges, with an atrocious single-player mission system. Personally, I found enjoyment here from simple nostalgia for the franchise, but I'm struggling to think that even the casual fan would have a satisfactory time. I would never call Road Rage a bad game; just a painfully average one.