The Simpsons have been around for longer then some of our readers and more than a few people share the opinion that their time in the spotlight has come and gone a few times over. The Simpsons is currently in its nineteenth season on the tube and in that time have appeared in over 20 games for various consoles, getting their start back in 1991 in the arcades and at home on the Commodore 64. With the release of their first full feature length movie this summer, The Simpsons are looking to make their first appearance on the next-gen systems a memorable one, but like the television show, perhaps it time for the games to start acknowledging that enough might be enough.

The latest iteration of The Simpsons family follows their exploits as they are mysteriously given superpowers when Bart happens to come across the instruction manual for The Simpsons Game, the same game that you are playing. From then on, the first few levels deal with the family using their new found powers for personal gains around the town of Springfield. After these missions, the aliens Kodos and Kang begin an invasion of Earth and preceding that the family finds themselves inside “the game engine” where there are numerous Simpsons games being created. Sound confusing? Well it is and even the characters in the game make no bones about how confusing it is to them as well. It’s guaranteed that at least one time during the game you’ll wonder why you are even in the level and what it actually has to do with anything.

For each and every mission you will need to use the characters specified for it, but while running around the town, you can choose who you want to be, as well as who you want to have tagging along with you. Each member of the family has abilities at their disposal and the puzzles found in the missions are always based on those powers. Homer can blow up in to a ball of gooey fatness and roll around and crush things, while Bart can don his Bartman costume and use a grapple hook and slingshot. Lisa can call on the help of Buddha and use his statues to move objects around the environment. Marge has a megaphone that allows her to convince citizens around her to do her bidding, such as attacking foes or building objects. Each player also has power ups that they can find to give them a little extra boost of strength like Marge’s police cap and Lisa’s Clobber Girl comic book. Later in the game, the Family gets an upgrade to their powers, but Homer is the only one who actually gains a new power instead of increasing the same old ones you’ve been using all game long.

Confusing as the convoluted plot may seem, the levels are pretty clever in their design, although just about all the levels after the first intro missions are mockeries of something else and all require the same tedious puzzle solving, platform jumping and lever pulling to get through them. When you aren’t smashing crates and fighting the same enemies over and over again, you are free to walk about Springfield, which is the hub to all your missions. The free roaming is a nice touch to the fans who have always wondered where certain landmarks were in Springfield and the game allows you to visit them inside and out.

The Simpsons have always – or at least for awhile – been known for the off beat and side splitting humor that it brought without a hitch. The Simpsons Game is no exception and delivers some of the funniest dialogue that has been heard in a game for quite some time. Although the phrases spouted out by family members starts to get stale after a while – hearing Marge yell “where’s my bitches!?” over and over during Grand Theft Scratchy is as excruciating as listening to nails down a chalk board – the sayings from the people on the street and inside the missions are down right hilarious.

Most games that are based on cartoons use a cell shading technique to make the models look animated. The Simpsons does the same thing, although much better than other games in the past have pulled off. When you are running around inside a mission, the characters look like they are 2D and pulled right from the television show, however when in-game cut scenes play, the gorgeousness goes right out the window and characters look poorly drawn and even down right creepy.

The Simpsons have had their hits and misses both on television and in video games throughout the years, but the game ends up being a witty romp through Springfield and does feature an end boss that is safe to say no other game would touch with a ten foot pole. With the amusing nature of the Simpsons aside, the game can get very annoying very quickly. Repetitive puzzles and poor camera control will have you cursing as often as you are laughing.