Developer: Imagineering Inc. Publisher: Acclaim Release:12/92 Genre: Action
When the Simpsons hit they hit big. And with any popular property the licensed tie-ins came fast. While a lot of us were excited for the Simpsons video games as the years passed and Acclaim churned out one turd after another excitement turned to dread. It says a lot when a puzzle game starring a spinoff character is the best use of the license. Bartman meets Radioactive Man is a sound idea in theory; take the superhero alter ego of the series’ most popular character at the time and make video game gold. But the execution leaves a lot to be desired. In the end this is just another mediocre Simpsons title.
Bart is reading the latest issue of the Radioactive Man comic but is dismayed when notices the titular star has not appeared at all. Suddenly Fallout Boy, RM’s sidekick jumps out of the comic and informs him that the hero is imprisoned in Limbo and only Bartman can save him. The decision to make a game based around Bartman is a bit odd. The “character” had only appeared in a single episode of the TV series but was a merchandising juggernaut. I can see what they were going for; riffing on superheroes should have been an easy slam dunk. But the team involved lacked the skill necessary to make that a reality with the game having problems that are evident immediately.
Bartman meets Radioactive uses the same idiotic control scheme as the prior two games, proving that no one listened to any feedback. Both running and jumping use the A button which is dumb no matter how you slice it. It’s as if they purposely avoided playing any other NES platformer when coming up with this. To the game’s credit it does not rely on the long running jumps that plagued Bart’s first two adventures. But platforming still plays a massive role in the game and that it feels so busted is to the game’s detriment.
For offense Bartman relies on his fists until he finds power-ups. You can unleash a nice three hit combo that deals with most enemies. Soon enough you will find laser vision or cold breath. These are limited in ammo but the game is fairly generous at providing more so that you are rarely….empty handed. Despite the cape and cowl they limit flight to specific sections or with the extremely rare power-up. The tornado item makes you invincible for a brief spell and in general you feel overpowered. To get around this the game delights in placing enemies too small to hit everywhere. It defeats the purpose of having these powers if you can’t use them for their intended purpose.
If you can believe it the platforming in Bartman meets Radioactive Man is even more annoying than the previous titles. Collision detection is all over the place and Bart will frequently fall through solid platforms. The delineation between the background and interactive objects is not always clear either. The game loves its leaps of faith but the camera cannot keep up and falling too far equals death, even if there is ground below. I will give the game credit for at least trying to vary things up. There are a few auto scrolling shooting segments as well as a late game maze. But the game does not know when enough is enough and they drag on too long. Platforming is the game’s life blood and in its present state it leaves the game as mediocre at best.
It is obvious someone on the design team knew this game has issues as it is easy to rack up extra lives. 1-ups litter the environment, collecting twenty exclamation points awards another and the easily found bonus stages practically shower you with extra men. You will need them as the game is incredibly cheap and frustrating, not so much difficult. Between the lacking checkpoints, leaps of faith and confusing layout you will inevitably die to the game’s shoddy design multiple times. The few times it tries to get adventurous such as the moving spotlights of stage two it barely works. The boss battles are a complete joke, even the game’s climactic battle. The question remains whether you will remain interested long enough to bother.
In Closing
Bartman meets Radioactive Man is the most tolerable of the Simpson’s NES adventures. But that does not mean it is good. Confusing and repetitive level design and janky controls ruin what could have been a decent adventure. Try and try as they might Acclaim rarely got it right with this license and we suffered for it. What a waste of a good license.
