Portal:Animation/Selected article/41

The Simpsons Game is an action/platformer video game based on the animated television series The Simpsons, made for the Wii, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PlayStation 2, Nintendo DS, and PlayStation Portable. It was developed, published, and distributed by Electronic Arts. Similarly to the show, the game pokes fun at popular culture, other video games, and Electronic Arts, its publisher. In the self-referential plot, the five Simpson family members—Homer, Marge (with Maggie), Bart, and Lisa—discover that they are forced to participate in a video game and are given superpowers to resolve several situations. Eventually, they must save their 8-bit predecessors from Will Wright, the game's antagonist, and the creator of their video game character selves, Matt Groening. Released in 2007, the game received mixed reviews. Game critics praised its visuals and writing, which included many parodies of other video games, but criticized its short length and poor camera system, which did not always function properly. The Simpsons Game received the Best Game Based on a Movie or TV Show award at the 2007 Spike Video Game Awards and was nominated for Best Video Game Writing at the 2007 Writers Guild of America Awards.