When I first played through this game on PS2, I loved it. It was an adventure through vivid and memorable locations with beloved characters, lots of funny in-game gags and feature-level cutscenes. For years I cherished memories of that playthrough.
Playing it now though, I don't know what changed, but I can't stomach this gameplay. Every platforming section and every boss battle feels like a chore to play. The AI is dumb, but the game often requires you to rely on it, almost like the game was designed for co-op, which I don't think it has (?). The level design isn't very intuitive, I got lost a few times, and the platforming often requires precision that the controls are seemingly not designed for.
In addition, the PSP version specifically has a horrendous camera, and the graphics are so compressed that it just looks ugly. If you've never played this game, for the love of God avoid the PSP version. I decided not to take these flaws into account when rating the game. In fact, I can't be sure, maybe I would enjoy the game again if I play the PS2 or PS3 version. But, at least according to my memory, other than the camera controls, the gameplay here is identical.
The presentation (again, not in the PSP version) and the story are still great though. This isn't the golden age of the Simpsons, but I would consider it the silver age. And while episodes of the show at the time were starting to become mediocre, you can tell they put more effort and resources into this game and the movie that came out around the same time.
Playing it now though, I don't know what changed, but I can't stomach this gameplay. Every platforming section and every boss battle feels like a chore to play. The AI is dumb, but the game often requires you to rely on it, almost like the game was designed for co-op, which I don't think it has (?). The level design isn't very intuitive, I got lost a few times, and the platforming often requires precision that the controls are seemingly not designed for.
In addition, the PSP version specifically has a horrendous camera, and the graphics are so compressed that it just looks ugly. If you've never played this game, for the love of God avoid the PSP version. I decided not to take these flaws into account when rating the game. In fact, I can't be sure, maybe I would enjoy the game again if I play the PS2 or PS3 version. But, at least according to my memory, other than the camera controls, the gameplay here is identical.
The presentation (again, not in the PSP version) and the story are still great though. This isn't the golden age of the Simpsons, but I would consider it the silver age. And while episodes of the show at the time were starting to become mediocre, you can tell they put more effort and resources into this game and the movie that came out around the same time.