The Simpsons Arcade brings simple side-scrolling fun to iPhone

While The Simpsons franchise is one of the most recognized and loved in the world when it comes to television, comic books, and all-around pop culture, there’s one area in which The Simpsons still seem to be struggling to make themselves known.

I’m talking about the field of video games, a place that The Simpsons have seen limited success at best. Perhaps the only Simpsons game that fans will all agree to loving is the beat-em-up arcade game released back in the early 1990s by Konami. And while there have been dozens of Simpsons games released since that time, none seems to have really felt as great as the simple arcade side-scroller.

Electronic Arts must have come to the same conclusion, as it have re-hashed the basic idea of that side-scroller for the iPhone in a game simply titled The Simpsons Arcade. While the game has been out for a few months now, I only picked it up a few days ago due to it being on sale for 99 cents. So, that’s why you’re getting this review.

To begin with, the game looks amazing. The graphics are pure Simpsons, and definitely do the show justice in this respect. There aren’t voices, but there small sound bites thrown in here and there.

As for the story, it’s pretty silly, but what else can you expect from The Simpsons? The basic plot is that some Springfield citizens, like Smithers, Mayor Quimby, and police Chief Wiggum, have some evil plan to take all of the city’s resources, and they hide their plans in a donut. Homer sees them escorting this donut, and so being the glutton he is, sets out after it. Unfortunately, Homer is the only playable character (unlike the Konami iteration), and the other Simpson family members only play supporting roles as limited power-ups found throughout the game.

The game spans six different levels, all set in typical Simpsons locations (Springfield Mall, Channel 6 Studios, Downtown Springfield, et cetera), and each level is packed with cameos and throwbacks to the show. Gameplay is pretty basic; you have a virtual joystick and two buttons, with one button for jumping, and the other for punching. This being a side-scroller, you simply walk from screen to screen, beating up everyone you see. To mix things up a bit, there are weapons and objects scattered around each stage that each have a limited-time use as well.

Despite it not being the Konami version that you all know and love, The Simpsons Arcade is a decent iPhone title in itself. If you’re at all a Simpsons fan, you’ll appreciate the game’s settings and characters, and find yourself noting all of the different episodes being referenced throughout. It’s fun to play on the fly, and for 99 cents, you couldn’t go wrong. However, The Simpsons Arcade has gone back up to its original price of $4.99. That might make your decision a bit more difficult.