Pros: Authentic voice over talent, entertaining, funny, easy to play
Cons: Long load times
The bottom line: Easy to play game. "Crazy Taxi" with a Simpsons theme, that is funny and entertaining.
Being a die-hard Simpsons fan, I was drawn immediately to the PlayStation 2 game Simpsons Road Rage. My husband bought it, but turns out I'm the one who's become addicted, and it really is a guilty pleasure for me!

This is a simple, yet engrossing driving game, that is entertaining and challenging at the same time. I am an older gal, and not way into the whole Play Station gaming scene, so I prefer simple games that are easy to use and understand right out of the box.

In Simpsons Road Rage you are able to interact with dozens of The Simpsons characters as you drive them around Springfield. There are tons of landmarks in six themed neighborhoods within Springfield. The Toon Renderer technology provides an authentic Simpsons look, and best of all, original Simpsons voice-over talent.

~ How do you play the game?

The general premise is that Mr. Burns is being his usual greedy self, and is purchasing the Springfield buses and jacking up the fares. Now the Springfield residents must turn their cars into cabs and make enough money to buy back the buses. This "plot" is not very important, though, in the grand scheme of this game, but provides a general backdrop for the modes of play.

Simpsons Road Rage has four basic modes of play. In each mode you are able to choose which character you wish to be. Only five of the Simpsons clan - Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, and Grandpa - are available at first. You gain access to other characters by unlocking their vehicles in Road Rage mode as you progress and gain money points. Each character drives their own vehicle. Lisa drives an electric car, Groundskeepeer Willy drives a tractor, etc.

The basic idea is that you, as the character you choose to be, drive around Springfield and pick up people, like a taxi would, and take them where they want to go. When you see someone waiting for a ride, stop near them inside the blue lighted dome that appears and pick them up. They'll tell you where they want to go, and you drive them there as fast as you can. There is a hand at the top of the screen that points you toward your destination. Drop-off areas are marked by a golden light that is easy to see. Very simple!

The best part is listening to the banter between your character and his fares. If Homer is the driver, when he stops to pick up, say Ned Flanders, as Ned gets in the car Homer might say, "Careful, don't sit on my nachos." Ned might say "Hi diddly hey neighbor, take me to the church, please." The voices are actually Simpson voices, and it's SOOO funny! Very entertaining!

There are four different game modes you can play:

Sunday Drive ~ In Sunday Drive mode you can simply drive through Springfield casually, with no timer to worry about, and no points or money to collect. This is a great way to become familiar with the game and controls. And as you progress in other modes, using the Sunday Drive mode is a great way to discover side alleys and shortcuts that can speed you along.

Road Rage ~ In Road Rage Mode you pick up people needing rides and try to get them to their destination before the trip timer runs out. You earn bonus cash for every second that's left on your timer. Sometimes during this mode you'll see "Avoid traffic for bonus." So try to not run into any other cars to get the bonus. Or you might see "Destroy stuff for bonus." This is fun because you must cause a lot of damage and destruction (hehe) to get your bonus.

As you progress you gain cash, which allows you to unlock access to other Simpsons characters and Springfield locations.

Mission Mode ~ In Mission Mode you are given a specific task with a limited amount of time in which to complete it. As an example, one of the missions is:

"Willie's Paper Shredder - The Springfield Shopper published one anti-Burns piece too many. So what does Mr. Burns do? He busy the newspaper and turns it into a pro-transit pulpit. Groundskeeper Willie won't let this stand. he's out to destroy every Springfield Shopper box he can. Can he get 12 of them before time runs out?"

Head to Head ~ In Head to Head mode you play with a split screen with another player. You compete for $1,000 fares until one player reaches the target money total. You can steal passengers, too! This is really fun!

~ Graphics and Sound, and Other Notes

I think the graphics are great. This is, after all, a cartoon environment. I find the graphics to look pretty much like the Simpsons cartoons on TV.

Sound is one of the best things about Simpsons Road Rage, because of the actual Simpsons voice-overs. The phrases they use are "authentic" and sound just like the characters on TV. The music is low key, and doesn't stand out much.

I've noticed that the load times are kind of long, however.

The vehicle controls work as expected and are fairly simple. Sometimes when you brake you'll slide really far, but you get used to it and can compensate. You can smash into objects and other cars, and for that matter pedestrians, without too much of a problem. It just slows you down. (Oh, but it can be so fun to smash things!)

I think there's pretty good replay value as well with this game, because of all the characters and locations you can unlock as you progress. The Simpsons Road Rage is quite like Crazy Taxi, but with a Simpsons theme.

This game is rated "Teen," with mild language, suggestive themes, and violence. Homer might say, for instance, "Ow, my a$$!" as you run over some object or crash into another car. The violence is running into other vehicles and objects, and oh, yeah, pedestrians. (When you run over people they just bounce away.) But no guns or blood, that sort of thing.

The game can be played by one or two players. I've found it to be a blast either by myself, or with another player.

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This review of part of the Guilty Pleasures Write-Off hosted by AliventiAsylum, for her 2nd anniversary with Epinions. Congratulations Patti! Please read the reviews of these other fine participants:

pmills1210, donnie013, tritter72, azielinski, lyoness913, sweetsue98, jo.com, ariel10575, shadow8, greatpilgrim, hawgwyld, telynor, fuche_bu, xxxxer, cletta1201, lyagushka, aliventiasylum, mind-full