The Simpsons Wrestling is a sports video game based on the animated television series The Simpsons for the PlayStation. Developed by Big Ape Productions and published by Fox Interactive through a co-publishing agreement with Electronic Arts in Europe and Activision in North America, the game was first released in Europe on March 23, 2001, followed by North America on April 13, 2001. It is the only Simpsons video game released for the PlayStation.
The Simpsons Wrestling features 20 playable characters, voiced by the series' regular voice cast, each of whom executes their own exclusive moves, gestures, and power moves in the wrestling ring. The matches take place in detailed 3D locations in Springfield. A round in the game ends when one wrestler pins their opponent for a three count; two wins constitute a victory. Unlike in traditional wrestling rules, the opponent may be pinned belly-down.
The game was widely panned by critics, and has since been considered by many, to be one of the worst video games of all time, though the audio track was praised.
Gameplay
thumb|200px|left|Gameplay of The Simpsons Wrestling. Homer is only three letters away from being able to [[taunt his opponent, Bart.]]
The Simpsons Wrestling is loosely based on professional wrestling games, but more closely resembles a beat-'em up. The game can be played in two modes: a tournament style single-player game or a grudge match where two players can interact. The matches take place in ten different detailed 3D locations from Springfield, such as the Simpsons' house, the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant, the Kwik-E-Mart, and Moe's Tavern.
In addition to health items, the letters A, U, N, and T appear randomly in the ring. If either player collects enough to spell the word "TAUNT", they can then perform a taunt. The taunt will completely drain the opponent's stamina, making them unable to attack for a limited time.
Various characters make cameos as background images. Each character executes their own exclusive moves and gestures.
Development
Big Ape Productions developed The Simpsons Wrestling.
In January 2001, Fox Interactive ceased operating as a standalone publisher to focus more on development, and they would now function as a co-publisher. On March 12, 2001, the company announced that Activision would co-publish and distribute the title in North America, with the publisher citing a "casual gamer interest" for their acquisition. Kathy Vrabeck, executive vice president of Activision, commented that "The Simpsons is a property that enjoys phenomenal success across several entertainment mediums, including interactive entertainment. The acquisition of this game reinforces our strategy of delivering products based on powerful, recognizable brands."
According to Big Ape Productions founder Mike Ebert and 3D artist Ray West, Fox required the character models to have black outlines, which impacted performance and necessitated reducing the screen resolution to maintain a playable frame-rate. The character select screen originally had 3D rendered models that would interact with each other, but Fox would have them replaced with concept art from the show.
| Allgame = 2/5
| EGM = 3.17/10
| EPD = 5/10
| GI = 2/10
| GameRev = F
| GSpot = 6.4/10
| GameZone = 7.5/10
| IGN = 1/10
| NGen = 1/5
| OPM = 2/5
| rev1 = Maxim
| rev1Score = 1.5/5
The Simpsons Wrestling received "generally unfavorable" reviews, according to review aggregator Metacritic.
In contrast to the game's negative response, Lafferty said that even though the game does not feature continuous play, "the action flows well once into an event". He praised the game's audio track, and thought it was "fun" because the comedy is straight from the television show, and the characters will "bring a smile to your face". indicating sales of at least 200,000 units in the UK.
See also
- List of licensed wrestling video games
- List of video games notable for negative reception