The Simpsons Road Rage



The Simpsons Road Rage is a 2001 video game based on the animated television series The Simpsons. It is one of a series of games based on the show.

The Simpsons Road Rage stars Bart, Homer, Lisa and Marge, as well as Mr. Burns and over 25 other characters from the show.

The game has often been criticized for having too many similarities to Sega's Crazy Taxi, and for quite literally having more loading time than gameplay.

Story:
Mr. Burns has bought all transit systems in Springfield and has begun to overcharge everyone for the transportation services.

The citizens of the city (managed by the game player) must earn money by driving cars around town in order to regain control of the transit systems. The game contains 17 different drivable/collectible vehicles, six starting locations (five of which are unlockable), and 10 different missions. In order to collect the vehicles and unlock starting locations, players must earn progressively more money for each vehicle or starting location they want to get. In order to complete missions, players must do certain things (such as knocking down 12 baseball team mascots in 45 seconds or running into Gils within a time limit).

To earn money, players must drive around a vehicle for a given amount of time, picking up passengers and taking them to their destinations. Any of the vehicles that the player has collected can be used as taxis. Players have to avoid certain hurdles, such as other vehicles that spin out of control, rocks, flying street objects, Smithers's car, Mr. Burns' nuclear transit buses, and houses on difficult curves.

Locations:
The game features six locations familiar to Simpsons fans, which have varying levels of difficulty for completing tasks.
 * Evergreen Terrace: Is the location of the Simpsons' house, the Flanders' house, Gerald Ford's (formerly George HW Bush's) house, the Maison Derriere, Milhouse's house, the Kwik-E-Mart, Smithers's apartment, Principal Skinner's house, Chief Wiggum's house, Springfield Elementary School, Willie's shack, the First Church of Springfield, Reverend Lovejoy's house, Edna Krabappel's house, Apu's apartment, Hans Moleman's house, the grocery store, the Springfield Retirement Castle, Barney's apartment, a Krusty Burger restaurant, Spinser City Apartments and a gas station.
 * Entertainment District: Is the location of Moe's Tavern, the King Toot's Music Store, the She-She Lounge, the Duff Brewery, the Rusty Barnacle, the Guilded Truffle, Planet Hype, a milkshake shop, Sir Putt-A-Lot's, the Aztec Theatre, the Gogolplex, the Frying Dutchman, the Noiseland Arcade, the Girlesque, the Springfield Mini Mall, Barney's Bowl-O-Rama, Circus of Values, the Try-N-Save, Moe's house, Fiesta Terrace, Candy Most Dandy, the Box Factory, a dating building, a pet shop, the Duff Center, the office of an insurance company, three Krusty Burger restaurants, five gas stations, a 24-Seven, a Pineas Q. Butterfat's Ice Cream Parlor and a Lard Lad Donuts restaurant.
 * Springfield Dam: Is the location of the Springfield Dam, Mayor Quimby's Mansion, Kamp Krusty, the Stonecutters Lodge, Jittery Joe's Coffee Shop, the office of K Radio, Rancho Relaxo, an interesting home, a builder's shack and a trailer park.
 * Nuclear Power Plant: Is the location of the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant, the Springfield Mall, the Springfield War Memorial Stadium, the Springfield Community Center, a run-off stream, a Lard Lad Donuts restaurant and two gas stations.
 * Downtown: Is the location of Herman's Military Antiques, Helter Shelter, the Springfield Plasma Center, the Veterans of Popular Wars, the office of Burns Transit, the Springfield Observatory, the Android's Dungeon, the Springfield Stadium, a cathedral, Saint Sebastian's School for Wicked Girls, the Springfield Airport, Area 51A, the Little Black Box, the Legitimate Businessman's Social Club, the DMV, Professor Frink's apartment, Snake's hideout, Krusty's house, the Springfield Drive-in, Springfield Park, Whacking Day Park, the Happy Sumo, the Singing Sirloin, Chez Pierre, Clown College, the Springfield General Hospital, Channel 6 Studios, the Popsicle Stick Skyscraper, the 50-Foot Magnifying Glass, the Escalator to Nowhere, the Springfield Revolving Restaurant, the Monty Burns Casino, two car parks, a convention center, the Springfield Natural History Museum, Springfield City Hall, the Springfield Court House, the Springfield Public Library, the Springfield Police Station, Copy Jalopy, the Springfield post office, a savings and loan, three Krusty Burger restaurants, two Lard Lad Donuts restaurants, two 24-Sevens, two Big T's, a Pineas Q. Butterfat's Ice Cream Parlor and four gas stations.
 * Springfield Mountains: Is the location of Mr. Burns' Mansion, the Springfield Pet Cemetery, the Gold House, the Tire Fire, the office of KBBL, the Springfield Gorge, a gas station, the world's largest toilet and an inspiration point

Sega of America, Inc. v. Fox Interactive, et al.
In 2003, Sega filed a lawsuit against Fox Interactive, Electronic Arts and Radical Entertainment. Sega claimed that the game was a patent infringement of Crazy Taxi. The case, Sega of America Inc. v. Fox Interactive et al., was settled in private for an undisclosed amount.

Tropes

 * Artificial Stupidity: The buses in the game crash into things themselves, and crash into you all the time.
 * Big Bad: Mr. Burns
 * Continuity Nod: Arguably the strongest source of praise for this game is the various winks and nudges to the Simpsons universe, such as various sight gags and the vehicles the playable characters drive (including the unlockable Mr. Plow truck).
 * Drives Like Crazy: The point of the game, just like Crazy Taxi, is to drive your charge to their destination quickly. This can include destroying a lot of property as well as driving as dangerously as possible.
 * Follow the Leader: This game is pretty much a Crazy Taxi clone, so much that, well...Sega sued Fox over it.
 * Loads and Loads of Loading: Another major criticism among critics, other than its clone-status mentioned above. We're talking 50 seconds of loading for a task that only lasts for 20 seconds.
 * Self-Deprecation: In Simpsons tradition. The game opens with a cutscene of Bart playing a game in the living room, to which Homer tells him that it's gonna rot his brain. The music from the game is also music from Road Rage.
 * Take That: A subtle one: Marge claims after seeing Hans Moleman on TV that "someone ought to kill him." However, given the context (he was leaving an irradiated nuclear-powered public bus, and saying "Please kill me..." as if in excruciating pain), it's likely that she was meaning someone needs to put Moleman out of his misery.