It’s a banner day for animation-related video games as Electronic Arts Inc. today announced the North American debut of the eagerly awaited The Simpsons Game, while Activision and DreamWorks Animation herald the retail launch of their Bee Movie Game and Shrek: Ogres and Dronkeys.
Created in partnership with 20th Century Fox Licensing and Merchandising, Twentieth Century Fox Television and Gracie Films, The Simpsons Game features an original script created by the TV show’s Emmy Award-winning writers and is voiced by the original cast. Fans can expect parodies of the video game industry, pop culture and current events as they play along as their favorite characters, including Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie. In addition to more than 8000 lines on in-game dialogue, the title offers 40 minutes of new animated scenes conceived by the show’s writers.
‘The story is the heart of the game,’ says Matt Selman, Simpsons writer/producer and head writer of the game. ‘The Simpson family realizes they’re living in an actual video game. At first, it’s fun having video game powers. But when life as a game character is harder then they thought, they must break out into the behind-the-scene world of video games. They must fight their way through parodies of other games in order to achieve their freedom.’
‘Our hope is the number of solid jokes and the speed in which they come, set ourselves apart,’ adds Simpsons exec producer James L. Brooks.
Created at EA’s Redwood Shores Studio, The Simpsons Game is available for PlayStation 3, PlayStation 2, PSP, Xbox 360, Wii and Nintendo DS. The title has been rated ‘T’ for Teen due to alcohol and tobacco reference, animated blood, cartoon violence, crude humor, language and suggestive themes. It will ship in Europe on Nov. 2.
Based on the upcoming DreamWorks Animation film from creator Jerry Seinfeld, Bee Movie Game allows players to race, chase, fly and blast their way through the adrenaline-fueled world of Barry B. Benson, who takes it upon himself to save the bees’ honey production operation when he learns that humans are exploiting them. The title offers more than 15 levels, various side-quests, multi-player mini-games and never-before-seen content co-created by DreamWorks Animation and Activision exclusively for the game. Rated ‘E’ for Everyone, the game is available for Xbox 360, Wii, PlayStation 2, Nintendo DS and PC. For more information and to download the demo go to www.BeeMovieGame.com.
In the Nintendo DS-exclusive Shrek: Ogres and Dronkeys, players can use the unique features of Nintendo’s handheld system to train and play with the mischievous offspring of Shrek and Fiona, and Donkey and Dragon. The game
is rated ‘E’ for Everyone. For more information, see www.ShrekOgresAndDronkeysDS.com.
