It’s time for another Retro Ad Replay article! This is the series where we head backwards in time to reminisce and celebrate the anniversary of some of the most significant moments in gaming. If you find yourself wanting more content like this, be sure to visit Mandatory.com.
In this November 24 edition of Retro Ad Replay, we’re taking a trip back 19 years to when The Simpsons: Road Rage first launched on PS2. That’s November 24, 2001. Developed by Radical Entertainment and published by EA, this game took the Grand Theft Auto formula of dangerous driving and made it child-friendly.
The GameRevolution Left 4 Dead review awarded the game a score of 2.5/5, which is decidedly average. However, positive points included “Still pretty fun,” “Good voices,” “Clearly made by Simpsons fans,” and “Truckasaurus!”
Here’s a snippet from the GR review:
So it seems like we have a pretty solid game here. Not brilliant, but fun and dorky, maybe a “B.” But there’s a horrible curse on this game: the worst” loading times” ever. You can spend more time waiting around than actually playing Road Rage. There’s a long load time before and after every single game, and each game is only a couple of minutes long. Mission mode is even worse; to play a 30 second timed mission, you have to wait for 40 seconds for it to load! Better not fail, or you’ll have to wait again every time you retry. Even one of Grandpa’s interminable stories is less boring.
All this makes The Simpsons Road Rage a perfect rental for Simpson fans, but I wouldn’t want to buy it. In just a few days you can unlock all the bonuses, explore virtual Springfield to your heart’s content and suffer through what will add up to hours and hours of loading time. After the fun wears off, you’ll find Road Rage feels more like stop and go traffic.
Check out some The Simpsons: Road Rage gameplay published by GXZ95 on YouTube:
