The Simpsons: Tapped Out Review: Too Tired to Tap

“The Simpsons: Tapped Out,” is a freemium, mobile, social game developed by EA. It’s slow paced, dull, repetitive and just about everything you would expect from a casual sim game. But as long as you know what you’re getting yourself into, “The Simpsons: Tapped Out” can be a cool way to kill time and is a good use of the Trademark.

The game begins with a short animated film featuring Homer Simpson working at the Nuclear Power Plant. Homer, instead of paying attention to his job, is seen playing a game — much like the one he’s in now — on his tablet. Distracted by his game, he neglects to notice the flickering lights and roaring alarms around him. It isn’t long before a nuclear meltdown reduces Springfield to a small, empty chunk of land.

Homer just-so-happens to be the only survivor and he has no other choice but to rebuild Springfield… this is where you come in.

First and foremost, “The Simpsons: Tapped Out,” like any other sim game, requires a lot of patience. The game is heavily situated around time-based activities; building structures and assigning tasks will entail you to wait a given amount of time ranging from seconds, to days, to even months. However, if you play your cards right, there are a plethora of characters to keep you plenty busy while you wait out the rest. After a task is completed, you are granted with money and XP; there is a library of items to purchase with that money- more become available as you level up.

Completing certain structures or assignments will unlock new characters, which are able to perform their own tasks. For those familiar with the TV show, you will be happy to know the game features authentic voices and most of the characters spit one-liners every time you click on them which gives the game a bit more personality.

Despite there being an abundance of things to do, there are those inevitable moments when you will be stuck with no other option than to exit the App and wait for a task to finish. This change in pace will occur often if you’re trying to go for the big bucks as the tasks that reward more money often take more time.

There is however the option of speeding up the process by paying for the remaining amount of time with donuts, howbeit the donuts are in short supply. Donuts can also be bought with real money and can also be exchanged for more virtual money. Nevertheless, donuts are expensive and not at all worth it.

Many items in the game can only be bought with donuts, which is disappointing since you can only buy virtual money with donuts and not vise versa. If you wish to purchase these items you’re going to have to throw down some cash. The most amount of donuts you can buy at a time is 2,400 which will cost you $100, or you can go for a dozen donuts which costs $2.

If you have a free Origin account, you can connect with your friends online and visit their Springfields to earn money and XP for helping them out or vandalizing their buildings; this can only be done a certain amount of times a day.

“The Simpsons: Tapped Out” is as good as it gets when it comes to social gaming, yet there is not much to distinguish the title from others like it. It does not revolutionize the genre- it simply gives people another game in which they can enjoy from time to time, especially if they are fans of the show.