The Simpsons: Road Rage, Nintendo GameCube

A direct port of the previously released PS2 and Xbox versions, this is exactly the same game, and that's no bad thing. Mr. Burns has bought out the Springfield Transit Corporation, is upping the prices and ripping off the whole town. It's here where the loyal citizens of Springfield step in to raise the cash to buy it back. And how are they going to achieve this? By hitting the road in their cars and providing a taxi service for the stranded public. Take one of the 25 available characters on the road with their respective vehicles and drive around Springfield, picking up customers and delivering them to their desired destination within the allotted time limit. We've seen it before, it's basically Crazy Taxi (look out for the coloured circle to find passengers then follow the arrow to find the destination) but for Simpsons fans. Extra time is awarded for a speedy service and, more crucially, so is cash - essential in your quest to earn the required $1,000,000 and also helpful along the way towards unlocking extra areas, characters and missions. Bonuses add a bit of variety with tasks such as 'Safe Trip' (avoid traffic) and 'Road Rage' (destroy stuff) rewarding you with those extra dollars. Aside from the main Road Rage game, other modes such as 'Sunday Drive' and 'Mission Mode' feature on the disc, adding a little diversity to the proceedings. 'Sunday Drive' is basically a practice mode, allowing you to drive around at your own leisure whereas 'Mission Mode' opens with five missions (ten once they're all unlocked) of varying capacity and asks you to take one of the characters and complete certain tasks. The Simpsons: Road Rage is aimed at the younger generation and generally seems to be intended to be nothing more than a bit of fun. This it is - there are some genuinely amusing quotes from the characters as you pick them up and drop them off; a lot of effort seems to have been put into the scripting and voice acting. The familiar licence is definitely the game's saving grace - the Matt Groening endorsement adds a great deal to the experience.

Buy The Simpsons: Road Rage for 12.99 GBP

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