Many episodes of The Simpsons have focused on automobile mayhem of some sort, whether it's the introduction of the Canyonero or Homer's infamous "La Cucaracha" car, so it's only natural to expect that someone would develop a driving game based on The Simpsons. Unfortunately, while The Simpsons is often entertaining and enjoyable, the GameCube version of The Simons Road Rage, which is no different than last year's PlayStation 2 and Xbox variants, is not.
The game can best be described as Crazy Taxi in Springfield. Montgomery Burns has replaced the city's transit system with a series of radioactive busses that are havoc throughout Springfield. Naturally, the Simpson family springs to the rescue and decides to raise the necessary $1 million to buy back Springfield's transit system from Burns. Initially, you assume the role of Bart, Lisa, Homer, Marge, and Grandpa as you ferry fares to and from various famous locales such as the Quick-E-Mart, Android's Dungeon, and Moe's Tavern within a certain amount of time. Eventually, though, you'll be able to unlock nearly all of the famous cast of characters in the animated series, including Professor Frink, Groundskeeper Willy, Otto, Clancy Wiggum, and Snake, each of whom as a unique car with somewhat unique handling characteristics. As in Crazy Taxi, the faster you get your fares to their destinations, the more money you earn. When the time runs out, the money you've earned is your grand total, and every time you reach a certain milestone (usually measured in $25,000 increments), you're allowed to unlock a new drivable character or one of five new locations. In a twist on Crazy Taxi's gameplay, The Simpsons Road Rage has two additional ways of earning money--some fares will give you bonuses for either driving safely or going on a rampage, and in these instances, you'll earn more money at the end of your trip if you avoid traffic or smash into as many obstacles as possible, respectively.
However, while the two games share the same premise, The Simpsons Road Rage controls nothing like the game it tries to emulate. Road Rage suffers from a number of problems, not the least of which is bad collision detection. You'll often find yourself clipping a corner of a building or slamming into another car even though you have room to spare. Likewise, the car physics are somewhat suspect--they simply don't feel as "solid" as those in Crazy Taxi. Instead, they feel extremely slippery and are overly sensitive to any kind of control input. The loading times before and after each game also a little long, and you'll often find yourself mashing buttons in frustration during the numerous results screens that you're not allowed to skip after each session.
