The Simpsons: Road Rage (Game Boy Advance) - Review by Andrew

Introduction

Considering The Simpson's have been around as long as the humble Gameboy they haven't enjoyed the type of fruitful relationship you'd have expected. If the truth be known, no one has really managed to capture the humour of the famous yellow family and transfer it to a video game format. There have been some attempts on the handheld with the most recent being The Treehouse of Horror on the GBC, which was little more than a colourised version of a title that appeared on the original Gameboy some years ago. Road Rage is a different case altogether. Originally a console title, the game is actually a Crazy Taxi clone, which had both its fans and critics, but in my opinion it is one of the better Simpson?s games available. Outside of the likes of Super Monkey Ball Jr. however console games don't tend to fare too well on the GBA because of the obvious power limitations so let's hope Road Rage is a little different.

Gameplay

Anyone who's played the aforementioned Crazy Taxi will know exactly what to expect? Road Rage is all about earning cash by picking up passengers and dropping them off at their desired destinations. The real trick to gaining bonus cash and seconds is to do it as quickly and smoothly as possible and, most importantly, to convince your passenger not to bail on you after they constantly criticise your driving 'style'. Occasionally you'll be challenged to fulfil an extra requirement, which is usually something reflective of your passenger?s personality. Pick up Ned Flanders or the Reverend Lovejoy, for example, and they may request you not to hit any other cars. Success in this almost impossible task will reward you with extra time and money. More lucrative than this is the destructive ?passenger? where mowing down the allotted number of objects is worth serious cash. It all comes to a close when the timer reaches zero, which generally happens faster than you?d expect, especially before you know the layout of the various areas.

The 'Mission Mode' is well worth a look as this throws you in some ridiculous situations, which are no doubt, every day occurrences in the Simpson's hometown. This could involve anything from collecting flags on a driving test to Moe getting Homer safely home before he wakes up after a rather heavy drinking session. There are ten of these and in some respects they are more enjoyable than the main game. One thing that keeps you returning to the Road Rage section though is the chance to earn more cash as the more you accumulate the greater your chance of unlocking new areas and characters. Unlike the GameCube version however you can't choose what to unlock. It's all done automatically which is a shame, as the new driving areas tend to be more interesting than the vehicles. There's also the inclusion of a two-player mode, which is always to be welcomed, with drivers going head to head in order to carry passengers to their destinations. Less welcome though is the password save which is unforgivable in a game that constantly relies on the input of codes to open up new features.

Controls

Controlling any of the Springfield inhabitants is simple enough with the layout being much as you'd expect. The use of the shoulder buttons and control pad to 'drift', on the other hand, appears to simply complicate matters rather than being of any practical use and every time we tried this move we ended in a rather nasty collision of some description. Outside of this the lack of roadside 'props' do cause some navigational problems so whilst you can generally see your desired destination it's not always easy to get there and outside of a fence being painted on the floor there seems to be no obvious obstruction. Clearly the introduction of a 'real' fence would have been a much better option, as there is occasionally a feeling that the boundaries are a little more random than they should be.

Graphics

Although this is clearly not on any of the next-gen consoles we've all become very aware in recent months that the GBA is capable of pulling off considerably more complicated visuals than those on display here. The biggest problem is that the 'Mode-7' does not allow for much in the way of 'props' so areas such as the housing estate and even downtown are bland and uninspiring. This worked for other THQ titles such as the GTA series but the feeling of actually travelling around Springfield, which was evident in other versions, simply isn't apparent here. Slightly better is the front-end presentation with the various static screens doing a fine job of reproducing the various vehicles and characters that populate the game.

Sound

One of the things that impressed about the GameCube version was the fact that the producers had convinced the original cast members to record hundreds of lines of dialogue exclusively for the game. We were hopeful that some of this would make its way to the GBA version but disappointingly absolutely nothing survived the port. This does affect the overall humour of the game as without the occasionally very funny banter between driver and passenger the whole thing falls rather flat. Even The Simpson?s theme tune that accompanies the intro is a little weak and poorly composed which hardly fires you up for a memorable gaming experience. The sound effects are slightly better with accompanying collisions and general car noises but this is little compensation for fans of the series.

Final comments

Arghhhh... Password Saves! If there's one thing that almost destroys this game it has to be the pass codes. For a title that relies on the uncovering of these to unlock more tracks and cars, it is incredibly frustrating. There I just had to get that off my chest, as the rest of the game isn't too shabby at all. In fact it's quite fun and definitely better than the GBA version of Crazy Taxi from where it so shamelessly takes its inspiration. It has to be said though that the mission modes are far more enjoyable than the main Road Rage section but this is mostly due to their more focused nature and the fact that there is a conceivable end to each of them. The whole package is by no means what Simpson?s fans have been waiting for though as the lack of any original sound bytes from the series does hurt the game?s authenticity and overall atmosphere, but for a quick race around Springfield and for some mindless Taxi Driving action it really has no equal.

Pro: Lots Of Unlockables.
Con: No Voice Samples.
Final score: 6.5

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