Tuesday 14 October 2014

DAY 287 / GAME 287 Bart vs the Space Mutants

DAY 287 / GAME 287


Bart vs the Space Mutants


      They may as well have titled this game "Simpsons Hates the Colour Blind" because this was easily the most difficult game I'd ever played simply because of my 'disability'.  Bart vs the Space Mutants was another 16-bit Simpsons title released by Flying Edge and Acclaim, in fact, it was the first video game ever created based on the series.
       With that in mind, I loved it, simply because it was the Simpsons.  I'm not sure if it was necessarily a great game as far as games go, but I loved seeing all the great references packed within a game.  Though it was available for a wide array of platforms, I played this on the Sega Genesis.  This would be because I played it at my Uncle's house, and of course he had this game as he was easily the biggest Simpsons fan I'd ever met.  I mean, this was one one adult I'd ever met who had a Simpsons bedspread.  This was not a bad thing.

     When I say this game was difficult, I mean I have never even beat the first level.  You see, the entire concept behind the game is that Space Mutants are taking over Springfield.  Only you can see them with your x-ray specs a la They Live.  The Mutants need all the purple items in town for their plan to work, d'uh.  So of course, prankster Bart and his can of red spraypaint roll around town and make sure there isn't anything left purple.  Of course, the whole time you're being attacked left, right and center and because of the game's age, old school rules apply.  You can't be hit much more than once and you have a very limited number of lives.
         
         


      Of course, here's the real catch, for me at least.  Finding those purple items was really tough.  With the limited colour palette of the 16-bit systems it was exceptionally difficult to see which items were purple, what with my duoteranopia colour blindness and all.  To this day I've never found all the items on the first stage.
          Regardless, it was still pretty fun.  Even in the first level they slipped in as many Simpsons references as possible.  When you pass by Moe's Tavern there's even the opportunity to use the payphone to prank call Moe, as was popular in the early seasons.  Though the jokes were seriously dumbed down from the show, I still spend a ton of time trying it over and over until I had exhausted each and every joke scripted into the game.


     Everyone I talked to that's played this loved it.  It was available on C64, NES and Sega Genesis, so most people had something to play on it.  Though it's seriously dated, it represents the beginning of a long line of Simpsons based video games.  Though, I've always believed the series has deserved better games than it's gotten over the years.

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