#573 – The Simpsons: Bartman Meets Radioactive Man

Another tired 8-bit Simpsons game.

PLAYERS: 1

PUBLISHER: Acclaim

DEVELOPER: Imagineering

GENRE: Platformer

RELEASE DATE: December 1992

The final platformer in the “Is Nothing Sacred?” Simpsons NES trilogy, Bartman Meets Radioactive Man is yet another crappy attempt at cross-merchandising. Story: Fallout Boy, Radioactive Man’s nerdy sidekick, calls on Bart/Bartman to rescue Radioactive Man from the Limbo Zone. The concept of playing as Bartman (a more prominent figure in the Simpsons’ early years) is a good one because it gives the developers an excuse to have Bart- er, Bartman defend himself. He can punch fairly well, and if you collect lightning bolt or snowflake icons, he can shoot lightning out of his eyes and freeze enemies with his mouth respectively. Alas, Bartman controls like Grampa Simpson. His jumps are slow and rickety, almost as if his cape was weighing him down instead of streamlining his movement. The level design is boring and many of the stages either begin to repeat themselves or get bogged down in frustrating mazes. There’s a strange outer-space “bonus” stage (called the Limbo Zone – so why can’t you just rescue Radioactive Man once you’re there?) where you can amass extra lives and points and such, but if you die there, you lose a life. One shouldn’t die in bonus stages, one should be propelled back to the level they were on. If only Acclaim could have told Imagineering that good game design doesn’t involve confusing and annoying the player, perhaps the world could have been spared these disappointing Simpsons products. Even fanboys need not apply.

D-