I bought this yesterday, in a deal where I got this and Mass Effect for £22.50, which was pretty good. It’s also the only thing I’ve played (so far) this weekend.
First of all, I should point out that as a game, it’s nothing new. It suffers from the same irritations as most cheap and crap platformers (wonky camera, dodgy controls, item collection, and so on). However, it knows this. It even takes the michael out of itself as a result, partly in the form of collectable “video game clichés” and partly in the in-game dialogue.
And it’s here that the game really impresses. It’s funny. Really actually funny. It lampoons films, games, The Simpsons TV series, and even itself, and it does it well enough to carry the game past the usual platformer flaws. The levels are surprisingly varied too, making it very easy to keep on playing.
So far, I’ve made it past all the levels set in Springfield, and am now in The Game Engine, working through the game send-ups there. I’ve done the Super Happy Happy Fun Game one, which references Katamari Damacy, Every JRPG Ever, and Pokémon, amongst other things.
Stand out moments so far: Donkey Kong’s Terminator 2 style death, Will Wright saying “I’m Will Wright, bitch!”, Sonic the Hedgehog on a running wheel being used to generate power, and Mayor Quimby getting bribed by EA to allow their game to go on sale. And virtually everything Comic Book Guy says – “That’s a quote from Final Fantasy IX”, for instance.
So yeah, I’m enjoying it.
EDIT: Oh! And one of the Comic Book Guy’s sumo blokes dying and screaming “TETSUOOOOOOOOOOO!” had me in stitches.
