In celebration of The Simpson's 400th episode, EA has announced the 22nd game based on the long-running animated Fox sitcom. But you might want to think of it as the first solid Simpsons game.
The new game, named The Simpsons Game is still in pre-alpha stage but EA has already confirmed that the entire Simpsons family (save Maggie) will be playable, and that they will realize their entrapment inside a videogame within a few minutes of the game's beginning.
Apparently, realizing that they are inside a videogame allows the Simpsons to envision new videogame-like powers to use in the game's 16 episodes (levels). For example, Homer can eat food power-ups and transform to HomerBall, similar to a katamari damacy. Bart's power is transforming to the capped BartMan who resembles a certain unnamed superhero.
Matt Groening the Simpsons creator, along with the show's writing staff are working closely with EA to develop a truly hilarious Simpsons story that expands outside Springfield. EA has also promised a lot of lampoons and spoofs about the videogame industry (including EA) and pop culture in general. Posters for NeveQuest, Medal of Homer, BartMan Begins and Grand Theft Scratchy - Blood Island are available in the screens tab to give you a hint of what to expect.
Perhaps one of the most anticipated features of The Simpsons Game is the ability to have a second player jump in and out of action at any time while playing. The game will be cel-shaded, of course, but EA is also implementing a new technique that will essentially flatten the character models from whichever angle the camera is viewing them from, to attempt to re-create the 2D, hand-drawn look seen in the show. And judging by the early screenshots, they have succeeded.
The Simpsons Game, will be released for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PSP, Nintendo DS and PlayStation 2 later this year.
