Virtual Springfield is an exploration style game based on the most popular cartoon of all time The Simpsons. It gives you the chance to take a stroll through their native city of Springfield and view all of the famous sites and landmarks that everyone knows from the show.
The graphics are done in the style of a normal Simpsons cartoon, except that when you take a stroll through the town all of the buildings are done in 3D. The cartoon look has been done to perfection and the whole city looks just as one would expect it to look.
The whole graphical outlook is very vibrant, with a palette of bright colors, which makes the whole thing very pleasing to the eye.
The characters have been translated from the show with ease and represent their television counterparts perfectly. There’s a multitude of wacky animations from the show and otherwise and in true Simpsons form they’re very funny and look great.
Overall, the graphics have pretty much just been cut straight from the cartoon, so if you like the look of the show then it’s more than likely you’ll find this game aesthetically pleasing. But if you hate one then it’s pretty obvious that the other won’t be to your liking either.
The sound in Virtual Springfield is good, but there was definitely some
room for improvement in a few key areas. The background music for instance, is a jazzed up version of The Simpsons theme, whilst this is all well and good, if exposed to this background music for a prolonged period of time your ears certainly won’t be happy. This is the only background tune that they’ve got and it is way too repetitive to be classified as easy listening.
Apart from this flaw the audio is generally good, there is a mountain of speech (heaps of funny one-liners and jokes) to be found in the game and it’s delivered with the comic timing that you’ve come to expect from The Simpsons. There’s a good collection of zany sound effects found in Virtual Springfield, and they’ve also been done pretty well. None of the effects are out of place and are pleasant on the old eardrums.
Overall, the majority of the audio has been done to a high quality. However there really needed to be more variety in the way of background themes to be better than it was.
The game-play isn’t overly action packed or thrilling, but it does provide a decent play. As written above it’s based on exploration, meaning that there isn’t really a central goal to the game except to take a look around the place. You can visit all the hangouts of the Simpson family, Church, the Stonecutters building, Moe’s Tavern and even the library!
As you travel around the town from building to building there’s a multitude of things to do. A person can find themselves popping back and forward to the same spots just to see the large number of different animations at their disposal. You’ll find many interactive objects located around the place and quite a few fun little mini-games (these range from throwing water bombs at susceptible targets to causing a nuclear meltdown at the plant), nearly every object strewn about the place has something you can do with it, this makes for hours of fun point and click action.
There is a bit of progression to be had in the game as some areas are locked and require a special key to get access to them, the locations can be discovered by deciphering clues that are found around the town of Springfield. There’s also a bit of a side quest for the player to go on, and that quest is finding the complete set (80) of cards that picture a large population of The Simpsons’ finest characters. This can prove to be a time consuming task, and whilst it isn’t overly fun it’s still something extra for you to do.
Overall, whilst it isn’t the most exciting game-play a person is ever likely to see, it does give the gamer a bit of a different kind of game, it’s a bit like an exhibit, look and touch but leave everything the way you found it. It’s a very funny game and it shouldn’t be overlooked just because of the lack of action.
The lifespan of the game is where Virtual Springfield hurts the most. Whilst the game is fun to play through, and doing everything there is to be done will take up a fair bit of time, there just isn’t enough to keep the player coming back time and time again. It’s likely that they will go through a second time, but it’s unlikely that someone would want to finish the game more times than that, there definitely needed to be some added incentive offered to the player for repeat games.
The fun factor of Virtual Springfield is pretty high. The show is one of the funniest things on television and this style of humor has translated perfectly into the game. Millions of people have yearned to take a walk through the streets of Springfield and take in the views; this game should take care of those wishes pretty well. There’s just so much to do, ensuring the player’s enjoyment never fades and boredom never grows, it’s the perfect mixture.
The challenge offered here is minimal, probably non-existent. Being a game of an explorative nature it means that there isn’t any pressure to succeed, which means there’s no failing in the game. Finding all the keys and various objects will just come naturally as you make your way through the game so that doesn’t increase the challenge a person get either?
Overall, Virtual Springfield offers a great, unique outlook into the life of everyone’s favorite cartoon characters. Whilst it may not offer anyone a good challenge or long playing times, there’s still a huge load of fun to be had by all that play the game. Definitely worth a look, especially of you’re fan of the show.
