Gaming Target - Xbox: The Simpsons: Road Rage

Written by Daniel Pelfrey on October 08, 2001

First Impressions: The Simpsons Road Rage is coming to the Xbox. Why, I am not sure. The similarities to Sega's Crazy Taxi are too much.

One of the primary differences between Sega's masterpiece of love and this game is the plot. Where Crazy Taxi had not, SRR gives gamers a reason for collecting money. The basic premise involves Mr. Burns buying the Springfield Transportation Company, then jacking up the fares for public transportation, the evil bastard. This forces everybody who normally takes the bus around town to walk. You then drive around collecting fares in much the same style as Crazy Taxi. Unlike Crazy Taxi (where you attempt to get an arcade like high score) your goal is to collect, over time, enough money to buy back the Springfield Transportation Company.

There will be over 20 playable characters in the game. So, expect Springfield's finest to make the cut. The main method of gameplay will have gamers taking one of these characters through Уstory modeФ to collect the cash that will be used to buy back STC. There is also a multi-player option as well as a mode that lets you drive around and get familiar with Springfield without those annoying pedestrians trying to hitch a ride.

The two-player mode doesn't have two drivers competing for fares as you'd expect. Instead, the players compete for fare (singular). The single fare will be somewhere on the map, and the race is on to collect it and transport him/her to their destination. You will need to watch out for your opponent though. The ability to ram into your opponents car and jostle the fare free (and starting over) should provide for hours of fun.

Over 1,000 lines of dialogue written by the actual writers from the show, and performed by the cast will be in the game. Fans of the show will very much enjoy the humor presented in the game. The look of the show has also been transferred as well, but adding a touch of that old cel-shading that has become so popular these days (thanks Sega).

Expect there to be six different maps in the game as well. The Xbox version will have smooth transitions between locations (no loading times thanks to the hard drive) giving it a slight advantage over other versions (PS2 & GameCube). These areas should be familiar to viewers of the show, as all of the major landmarks have been brought in. Heck, since the writers and voice actors are being used, why not the locations, right?