Reviewed: August 16, 2003
Reviewed by: Loki
Publisher
THQ
Developer
Altron
Released: June 23, 2003
Genre: Racing
Players: 2
ESRB: Everyone
8
6
5
7
7.7
Supported Features:
THQ takes a stab a reinventing the Crazy Taxi concept with their latest GBA release, The Simpsons Road Rage. What this title lacks in actual Simpsons-ness is more than made up for with creative and enjoyable gameplay.
Road Rage features:
- Play as 15 Simpsons characters
- Explore 4 Springfield districts
- 4 Modes of Play; Road Rage, Performance, Sunday Drive, and Mission Modes
- Link cable support for two players (multiple cartridges required)
- Password Save Feature
Gameplay is simple by design yet quite challenging in its execution. You drive around picking up passengers and taking them to their desired location. The faster you get them there and the more accurate you are in dropping them off the more money you make. Some of the passengers require special tasks to be completed along the way – sort of like a mini-game but they’re built right into the main game.
Driving is fast and furious and the framerate is exceptional. With a lack of any buildings to line the roads you forced to deal with invisible walls that can get annoying at times. There is plenty of variety since each of the characters have their own unique styles of play and these come into play when trying to earn the big bucks.
Road Rage sports some nifty graphics thanks to a modified GT Advance 2: Rally Racing engine that uses the Mode 7 GBA features. Mode 7 graphics do an excellent job of creating believable 3D terrain then moving it around the vehicle to create realistic animation.
This powerful engine is also able to populate the roads with a variety of breakable objects like signs, mailboxes, and a smattering of trees. Unfortunately, there is a distinct lack of larger 3D objects such as buildings; so much of your time in Springfield is driving across open plains with a cityscape painted on the background. Since you can never actually drive to a building your immersion into the world of Springfield is greatly reduced.
After the opening Simpsons theme song you can quickly forget you are playing a Simpsons game. There are no sound bytes or anything else to identify this game as a Simpsons licensed product. Not even one, “Eat my shorts!”, “Don’t have a cow, man!”, or “Kowabunga!”
You are left with some reasonably good sounds effects and above-average music throughout the entire game. It’s nothing terribly exciting but merely average for a GBA title.
There is a surprising amount of bonus content to be unlocked in Road Rage including new characters, cars, new sections of Springfield, and other hidden bonus items you can unlock if you have enough cash. I’ve logged about 15 hours with the game and haven’t uncovered it all yet.
There is multiplayer support if you have a link cable and a friend who also has their own copy of the game. I only had a chance to explore the two-player mode briefly but it appeared to offer some nice head-to-head action and competitive fun.
I was more than annoyed with the lack of a cartridge save. Instead, you use a standard eight-character password that will save your progress and unlocked items but not your high scores. I really hate password save, as I tend to play my GBA at the “spur of the moment” and don’t always have something to jot down a password. As long as you don’t turn off the power you can always pull up the most recent password from the main menu.
This is one of those rare games where the license really doesn’t matter. You could still have just as much fun with Simpsons Road Rage even if the Simpsons name wasn’t slapped on the box. Aside from the opening song and underlying plot there isn’t much to do with the Simpsons.
Personally, I enjoyed this game just a bit more than the GBA version of Crazy Taxi. The graphics were better and the gameplay was faster and more fun. This is a great game for anyone who enjoys driving fast and dangerous and being a fan of the Simpsons is not even a requirement.
