I have a fondness for The Simpsons, not an overwhelming one but a fondness and respect for everything it has accomplished. Alas when it came to the inevitable video game cashins, they've been more miss than hit.
The Simpsons Wrestling on the Playstation 1 was certainly a miss and very possibly the biggest miss of them all.
Pick a character from a small roster of show favourites, step into an oversized ring and bash those buttons in a game that would have been better set as a standard beat em' up than a wrestling game.
With the original show cast reprising all the shows characters it certainly feels like you're within The Simpsons universe but this incredibly ugly poorly constructed clunky embarassment doesn't do it justice.
Fighting as Marge with a frying pan, Groundskeeper Willy and his rake, Barney and his damaging burps, Homer with his bowling ball or Apu with his erm......wild slapping attacking......thing!?
It was just appalling on every level and makes you wonder if someone was fired over it. If they weren't, they should have been!
The game was incredibly easy due to the poor AI succumbing to mindless button bashing and once you unlocked the offensively overpowered Ned Flanders your fears of ever losing again went out the window.
It has charm, it is The Simpsons but it's a poor excuse for an actual game.
The Good:
Original voice cast
A few funny one liners
The Bad:
Clunky horrible gameplay
"One liners" get real old, real fast
Ned Flanders is overpowered
Button bashing kills the game
Things I Learnt From This Game:
Homer Simpson can spit flames out of his butt
Playing as Homer, beating up his wife while having his baby girl try to stop him doesn't make for comfortable gaming
WWE need to do a radioactive fish nuclear bombs match type
