Once more my relationship with The Simpsons proves that my taste in animation and comedy is sometimes out of key with the populace. I've enjoyed The Simpsons in the past but never to any great degree, although I did enjoy last year's cinematic outing when it got a so-so review from most publications. However, knowing that the post-modern style of the infamous family from Springfield would suit a videogame, I was eager to try out this DS version of the tie-in videogame… except, in the wacky world of Matt Groening's creations, it's not a tie-in in the traditional sense of the word.

Although released a few months after the movie, The Simpsons Game is in no way related to it. This is a standalone Simpsons game that makes surprisingly good use of its license, providing a story that features all the trademark sharp wit and anarchic humour of the long running TV series. Though the plot occasionally meanders randomly into sub-plots involving wiping out killer dolphins or Marge rallying the inhabitants of Springfield to protest against the Grand Theft Scratchy videogame - much like the random nature of the television show - the main story involves an alien invasion of Springfield, though even this plays second-fiddle to the in-game characters realising that they're in a game and using this knowledge to their advantage, and to our amusement, seeking to defeat the alien invaders by finding their creator.

The Simpsons Game, at its heart, is a platformer. Built around a dozen or so levels, you usually take control of two of the four main characters per level. Each character shares the ability to walk around the 2D landscape (though on certain levels they can move around the 2D plain much like The Legend of Zelda), attack and jump, unless you're Marge. Each character then has a pair of special moves; Homer can turn into a fat ball as he eats food to perform special attacks and jumps, and can inflate himself to rise into the air; Bart can fire his catapult and transform into Bartman to float on airstreams; Marge can deploy Maggie to get into small places and use her megaphone to round up citizens to help her in task; and Lisa can use her Hand of Buddha to manipulate objects and attack enemies with the power of lightning.

Each standard level features a mixture of puzzles and challenges, from platform jumping to activating switches in a certain order and fighting enemies to collecting items. The control scheme utilises a mixture of buttons and the touch screen but I found the button control much easier. At times you have to use the stylus to move objects around during the Hand of Buddha sequences, which can be a pain to swap between, as the movements needed are too precise for all but the smallest of fingers. The combat is simple and often annoying, as you have to be standing next to foes to register punches and if you're slightly further away then you'll miss. Bart does have a catapult to attack enemies at range though, and this is a more rewarding method of combat.

The platforming itself isn't groundbreaking and does become tedious at times too, especially when the controls let you down, most often when playing as Homer in his ball form and attempting to perform essential jumps over lava or hot chocolate, but there's considerable variety in the locations, enemies and challenges, and the use of regular checkpoints aids your progress, especially when the enemies can kill you quite easily at times. The health scheme is practically redundant; when it depletes you return to the last checkpoint and while it often reduces too quickly, any enemies you defeated and switches you activated don't need to be dealt with again. With that said, the difficulty of the game is refreshingly high, especially as you near the final levels and enemies attack you from all angles, jumps become trickier and puzzles harder, only occasionally tipping over into frustration.

Some of the usual TV and movie tie-in clichés do raise their head here; the game does have a large amount of collecting, from Homer's food to collectables that only certain characters can pick up, to Comic Book Guy's videogame clichés, which are a highlight to discover, enjoyable as the game pokes fun at itself and indeed videogames in general. Collecting all of the items in a level for each character unlocks a certain object for that character, visible from the comic book store on the main Springfield map, but they are nothing more than something to view. You can return to levels at any time from the main map to collect items that you may have missed, or to try for better scores on the mini-games and to view the credits in Moe's Tavern. Accompanying the traditional platforming elements are the occasional boss battle and mini-game, one involving Lisa rescuing beached dolphins by moving them off the screen and another seeing Bart firing his catapult at invading aliens in a simplistic Space Invaders clone, adding some variety to the occasionally stale platforming.

There is even a virtual Homer available from the Simpsons house who will keep you amused for a considerable time considering that he's only a small feature; you collect items throughout the game that you can then feed/give to Homer as he sits on his sofa, each making him do something different. Characters also pop by or phone Homer up in a series of amusing encounters. It's inconsequential but fun nonetheless.

Graphically, the game matches the television show perfectly, with cel-shaded graphics and a busy, interesting set of sprites to discover as you explore. It's a big thumbs-up once again to the ACT Imagine codec used in this game, which renders the in-game video in perfect quality, amazing to see on a DS screen. Key story points are told in video form, animated in the same CGI style as the show, perfectly matching its feel. Throw in the original voice artists and the video shines, feeling like clips from the TV show but entirely original, created especially for the game.

The voice artists are also in full force throughout the game, uttering a mixture of helpful and funny titbits throughout the action, and a range of Springfieldians are present, surprisingly varied and customised depending on the level, whether you're eating chocolate rabbits as Homer in the world of chocolate or invading a videogame as Bart. At times the voices do get annoying as the same one is looped over and over again, especially if you're stuck and having to replay a section, but there's enough variety to stave off repetition. The original voice artists complement an impressive musical score that fits the action without becoming annoying.

The inclusion of the actual exclusive cartoon footage and the original voice artists just shows how much love has gone into this game. The storyline is full of hilarious video game references - Space Invaders, Donkey Kong, GTA, Super Mario, Pokémon, The Legend of Zelda, Tetris, the list goes on - and characters. I don't want to spoil any of the surprises along the way but many key figures, old Simpsons games and videogame clichés are immortalised here, plus even Matt Groening sends himself up. It's this humour and self-referencing that will bring you back for more in this game and that'll keep your interest. It's not going to take you long to complete - I managed to finish the main game in under five hours and only extreme completists will want to go back to collect all the items to unlock images - but there's some extra scope with the virtual Homer and the mini-game high scores, plus there is single- and multi-card play available.

The Simpsons Game was certainly put together with a substantial budget to secure the authentic cartoon style and original voice artists of the show, and this is more than apparent in the overall presentation. The platforming side is mostly fun with only a handful of irritating sections that are a challenge to complete, and while the difficulty is refreshing, at choice points it borders on the frustrating due to a dodgy combat system and the annoying absence of a compensating gap between the action as you move from bottom screen to top screen. However, the use of trademark Simpsons humour throughout the game fills in the cracks; if an interactive Simpsons episode sounds like your cup of tea then I can wholeheartedly recommend this.

Reviewed by Philip Lickley for AceGamez (All Rights Reserved).