To be honest, I'm not hugely into The Simpsons. I haven't seen every one of the zillions of episodes of the show, and I haven't really liked all the ones I HAVE seen. But, I'm familiar enough with it to know that this is maybe the ONLY Simpsons game that really does the Simpsons justice. Besides being pretty decent gameplay-wise, it actually FEELS like a Simpsons game --- even if there are some elements that seem kind of un-Simpsons-like, such as a physically combative Lisa.Granted, there isn't much if anything about the gameplay that is original. (In fact, the game itself pokes fun at this lack of originality in the "Cliches" that you can collect throughout the game by doing certain things.) It plays very much like a standard 3D action/platformer. So what makes the game so special?The thing that sets this game so far apart, not from just the other Simpsons games but from ANY other games, is the writing in the dialog, especially in the cutscenes. It was done by the writers of the show, and is VERY recognizable as being their work. Also, the voices were done by the same voice actors as on the show. These factors make the fact that the game's characters are Simpsons characters make more sense than in the other Simpsons games, or most of them. (However, some of the things characters say, at least outside of the cutscenes, are recycled comments from the show.)As you might expect, not all of the dialog is G-rated --- in fact, it seems as that a large amount of it isn't --- and neither are some other things in the game, so the game may not be right for the kiddos. The writing will probably give you a lot of laughs if you like The Simpsons and aren't too prudish. However, I have to say that the dialog is NOT very sensitive toward overweight people!Also very Simpsons-like is the fact that the game contains tons of references to, and clever parodies of, other games and game titles (as well as to and of other things); in fact, the whole game is kind of a series of references and parodies!In terms of actual gameplay, there isn't much if anything here that you've never done before in this type of game. The game is pretty fun most of the time, but it can get annoying and frustrating. The WORST and MOST irritating thing about it is the camera, which is typical of ones from games of the N64 era. It can cause objects to obstruct your view, or can flip your view around when you don't want it to, and in some places you can't turn it at all when you really need to be able to --- not to mention the fact that in some places where you CAN turn it, you just can't get as good a view as you need. Also, when there are lots of enemies swarming around and attacking you at once, they can drain your life meter in no time unless you're REALLY careful. (Your life meter gradually recovers automatically, which is cool, but the game needs items to pick up to help it recover it more quickly. It doesn't help that enemies, or many of them, block or evade your attacks like crazy; the best way to deal with them when they keep blocking is to use your "combo" attack. (And by the way, why are items to restore Homer's power meter SO plentiful?) Another thing that can be rather annoying is that Bart's (or rather, Bartman's) flight controls are VERY touchy, which can make it hard to make him land where you want him to. Additionally, the game's load times can be a bit long, or at least it seems that way to me.Something I find strange is that the Springfield hub is one-player only; why two human players can't roam around and do stuff in Springfield even though you can have two Simpsons there, I have no idea. And, it seems to me that a lot of the puzzles in the stages might be hard to do without a second player (my bro and I played the game together), because from what I've seen in the hub, your AI partner doesn't always do a very good job of following you and isn't quite always there when you want or need them. But it's still cool for even just one player to be able to walk around Springfield, see (and hear) fellow Springfieldians, and even go inside some of the buildings, such as the Kwik-E-Mart, Moe's, Krusty Burger, the church, the school, etc.Something else I'd like to note about the enemies is that sometimes kids fight you, and it feels weird to me to be beating up kids, especially when playing as an adult Simpson. I know the kids attack you, but still...As for the length of the game, it seems there are people who think it's short. I don't know about that. Maybe it is if you don't care about getting "collectibles." But if you DO like collect-a-thon-ing (like my bro and I do), there are LOTS of collectibles in this game (in the Springfield hub and in the stages), so you could spend a lot of time just looking around to find them. This can give the game a lot of replay value. By the way, I find it a bit odd that there are no stages where you have Bart and Marge, which is the only Simpsons combination the game never gives you.If you care nothing for The Simpsons, you may not care for this game. As someone who at least somewhat likes The Simpsons and also likes this type of game, I find it to be an overall really good game. Unfortunately, though, even used copies are now kind of pricy (at least around $40 [around what *I* recently paid for it used], the last time I noticed). I don't know how many other people, aside from maybe at least some Simpsons fans, would agree, but I'd say it was worth it!I almost called this review 'Worth the d'oh', but I couldn't live with myself any more than Homer could live next door to himself.Anyway, The Simpsons Game. Let me say first and before its the best Simpsons game I've played by a pretty wide margin. So, its better than the old arcade game. It leaves games like Bart vs The Space Mutants in the dust and it knows it.The gameplay borrows from other games, particularly Bully's less violent, theft-less GTA free roaming. Really, the parts where you walk around Springfield is representative of the levels. You've probably played it before and better, but the Simpsons make it somehow unique and interesting again. Plus its the one and only game city I've played in that had children in it. You can keep your Liberty City, I can go in the Kwik-E-Mart! Does your fancy San Andreas let you beat up Patty and/or Selma? Huh? Huh, big-shot? Huh!? Yeah.Easily the worst part of the game is the camera. If not for that, this would be an average but very playable game. But that thing makes some of the jumping, fighting and levitation harder than it needs to be. Especially in cramped areas, which is a problem using Bart's Ninja Gaiden-style wall jump and some of Homer's ramps. Its really not enough to hate the whole game, but its really, really obnoxious at the time. When the camera isn't a problem, the game is very average. Its playable and fun, but its nothing extraordinary.Ah, but if you wanted a so-so free-roaming platformer, I'm sure there are any number of games you could get. This is The Simpsons! The Simpsons!! You know how most of the time in Simpsons games, if not for the characters being yellow and telling you to eat it's shorts they might as well be any character? Well, this one makes good use of the characters and more importantly, the show's writers. This game is easily the funniest I've popped into a console and its Simpsons-funny, not just 'slip on a banana peel' funny. Its nice also that for the game, video games didn't stop at Mortal Kombat, I mean Bonestorm. There are a lot of references to games like Donkey Kong and Sonic and things like that. But there are also mentions of Kingdom Hearts, God of War and a subtle but clever one of Metroid Prime. Some of the best jokes aren't spoken. Even a couple boss fights are jokes. Its good to see they either drew on less broad game experience or researched more recent games and mined comedy from them. It won't lose you if you're not a game nerd, but if you are one, you'll get a lot more from it. It also helps a lot to be a Simpsons nerd as there are lots of mentions of things like Mr. Sparkle, nacho hats and older than both of those, Bartman.The big problem is that, while the cut-scene writing is hilarious at worst, most of the in-game comments are either quotes right from the show that don't mean anything out of context, is eye-rollingly, groin-grabbingly unfunny, or don't seem right for the one saying it. Lisa in particular seems especially out of character in combat. I know she isn't a fighter by nature, but shes really mean to some of her opponents. Isn't she generally a nice person? I also noticed Marge swears more than usual. In one level, she calls out to pimps, hos and bitches and in another she tells kids to kill and murder. Isn't this the woman who calls sex 'snuggling' and wishes she could vote for both candidates in an election because they both seem nice? Well, no, but to explain would be a massive spoiler, so you should probably forget I typed this sentence. To help you forget, consider what the deal is with Bart's grappling hook. Why can't he grab onto what he grapples up to? Why?Should you buy it? Well, the short answer is yes with an if, the long answer is no with a but. If you're willing to pay for a pretty good, extra-long episode of The Simpsons with an okay game spliced in, go for it. If not, don't, but you'd be missing out on an okay game and a pretty good, extra-long episode of The Simpsons. It really depends on how much you like the show. If your reason for considering buying this is more than 60% because of the license, tell your parents 'buy me The Simpsons Game or go to Hell!'. Less than that but more than say 25%, rent it. If its less than 25%...I don't know, buy the Family Guy game out of spite. That'll teach 'em. Or if you don't want to do math, this review has Simpsons references nestled within it's other, non-reference words. If looking for them doesn't sound fun, you're probably better off with another game. Lee Carvallo's Putting Challenge is a good alternative.PS-Screw Flanders.The product was alright. Stated to be in "like new" condition but was not. And the delivery guy broke my case wrecking the games value ? not happy!Fun game, great conditionAwesome game open world Simpsons gameJust as described!Bought this game for my kids. They love it! Works great, no scratches.