Reviewed: October 27, 2003
Reviewed by: Mark Smith
Publisher
Vivendi Universal Games
Fox Interactive
Developer
Unique Development Studios
Released: August 13, 2003
Genre: Action
Players: 1
ESRB: Teen
6
7
9
6
7.0
Supported Features:
Nothing amazes me more than the success of animated prime time television whether it be King of the Hill, Simpsons, Family Guy, or the subject of today’s review, Futurama. This animated sci-fi version of the Simpsons replaces the traditional nuclear family of Springfield with a ragtag group of aliens, humans, and a wisecracking robot who form their own dysfunctional family.
Much of Futurama’s charm comes from the brilliant imagination of series creator Matt Groening (who also created the Simpsons) and his extraordinary team of writers. Week after week they manage to come up with crazy premises and hilarious situations to delight and amuse us. One would think this would be the easy fodder of quality gaming, but like so many terrible Simpsons games have proven, a quality show doesn’t always translate into a quality game.
This is where Futurama breaks free from the Groening curse. It’s taken years and multiple attempts to finally see a quality Simpsons title (Simpsons: Hit and Run), and now just a month later Futurama comes along and gets it right on its first try, or at least partially right.
The story for the game is excellent, just as funny and original as anything you will see on Sunday night or syndicated reruns and with more than 30-minutes of original cinematics you basically are getting a “hidden episode” built right into the game. There is no doubt that Futurama captures the very essence of the show in both its visual style and the clever script performed by the original cast, but once you strip away all the trappings you are left with a fairly generic platform game that fails to offer anything new or remotely original.
Fans of the show will certainly enjoy playing as Fry, Leela, Bender, and Dr. Zoidberg as you explore 22 levels of action and puzzles. Each character has their own distinct style of play based on the quirky attitude and abilities of that person. Fry uses a lot of weapons while Leela is a martial arts expert (as fans of the show will already know) and Bender has a variety of robotic attacks.
The game is presented just like an episode opening with a movie that sets up the plot. The Professor has just sold his company to MOM giving her controlling interest over the planet. With her robot death squads, enforced curfew, and plans for enslaving the entire human race our group of “heroes” decide to flee the planet. Unfortunately, the spaceship is in a sad state of disrepair and it’s up to Fry to help get it fixed.
Just to hint at the humorous and slightly twisted fun to be had, the game starts with the Professor asking Fry to retrieve a hammer. The hammer isn’t terribly hard to find, but it is holding up a teetering mass of junk that collapses and kills you in the first 30-seconds of the game. Not to worry – this is merely the setup to introduce the Professor’s “latest invention”, a giant toaster that reanimates dead characters thus setting up the premise of the “lives” system used for this game. Even more hilarious is the fact that once you reanimate and return to the point where you died you will see your old body in its last state.
Despite the amusing story that drives the various mission objectives the game quickly deteriorates into a very simple and generic platform action game with inane item collection, jumping puzzles, and mindless combat. To make things a bit worse the camera isn’t always cooperative and the control isn’t nearly as precise as many of the jumping puzzles require. A good example is early in the game where you have to jump over a series of crates floating in the flooded generator room. You are constantly tweaking the camera then adjusting your trajectory in mid-flight when the view changes. These are the same core problems that have plagued the platform genre since its birth. It’s a shame that we haven’t gotten beyond it by now.
Once you learn to overcome (or rather adapt to) these obstacles you can settle back for a rather linear game experience. The levels are large but your path is always rather limited and fairly obvious. Fry’s initial quest to retrieve all the lost tools might appear substantial but there are only so many places to hide items and none are particularly clever. You can also collect coins that can be used to buy soda to regain health and locating the hidden Niblets in each level will open up a host of nifty bonus items.
The best parts of the game are when you switch characters and get to learn the new intricacies of each. This usually lasts for about half of their first level then you settle back in for traditional gameplay. Even so, Futurama has an unmistakable flair that is totally accurate to the show. Fans of the series will easily overlook any shortcomings and enjoy the game for what it is.
With so much cel-shading going on these days it’s hard to appreciate a game that actually deserves to use it, but Futurama is a near match for the stylized animation of the series. The cutscenes are a dead ringer while the in-game graphics are slightly less sophisticated but equally as enjoyable with only a few minor glitches.
The level design is quite clever and you will recognize some locations from the show as well as several new and interesting places like sewers, deserts, and even a trip to the Sun Planet. There are 22 levels in all and each has a fairly distinctive look about them.
The Xbox version nudges slightly ahead of the PS2 in animation delivering a steady 30+ fps but considering the limited nature of these graphics I can’t understand while this number isn’t hovering in the 60’s. I’m guessing this is a side effect of the game being developed across multiple platforms. There are some good particle and light effects even though they are rather limited and hard to see except in the darker levels.
The music in Futurama is a clever blend of the original theme mixed and remixed with other background tunes, sound effects and character dialog that create the mood of an actual episode. One interesting twist is that you can actually unlock new music as you work your way through the game.
Of course the big draw and most authenticating factor is the assemblage of the entire cast to voice their TV roles. Fans of the series know exactly what these characters sound like and how they talk and impersonators would be detected and flogged immediately. This is quality dialog written by the show’s writers and every bit as funny as the show.
Each character has a small arsenal of one-liners that simply refuse to grow repetitive, even after you’ve heard them for hours on end. Even the enemies have their own quotable quotes and humorous sound effects.
You can probably finish this game in two or three nights, maybe about 6-8 hours, but if you want to fully unlock ever last bonus item, movie, music, and artwork then you can prepare to spend at least 15-20 hours. Casual gamers will probably not make the extra effort but fans of the show will milk this title for all it’s worth.
Even though Futurama debuts much stronger than any of the initial Simpsons games it is still marred with technical glitches that will annoy a lot of gamers. If you are looking for the next best platform game then you will likely want to skip this one or possibly rent it if your curiosity gets the best of you.
Diehard fans of the show will turn a blind eye to these issues and simply enjoy the game for what it is – an interactive episode. If you are the type of person who collects the season box sets and is planted in front of your TV every Sunday night then this will become a favorite addition to your gaming library.