The story comes straight from a Simpson's Halloween special - Bart's treehouse becomes possessed and steals the souls of the Simpson household. Now Bart, Maggie, Marge, Lisa, and Homer must face nightmarish obstacles in order to break free from the treehouse and return home.

Not too 'epic,' huh?

However the gameplay ties into the plot rather nicely. Levels throw each Simpson into bizarre situations on their own, and the only way out is to complete whatever task is at hand. For example, Bart has to avoid ghosts, spiders, and various creepy-crawlies while searching for fuse plugs that will restore power to the house. Another stage has Maggie as a mutated fly, pitted against the everyday dangers of the kitchen. Basically each Simpson family member gets their own level to tackle, each one being different in play mechanics from the rest.

One would think that all this variety would go over very well, and would too if it weren't for the slow pace and sluggish controls. This is the biggest reason why I personally couldn't get into the game: everything was just too slow. All of the characters move, attack, and animate at such a painful pace, that sometimes you may find yourself looking for the off switch. Maybe the problem wouldn't be so bad if it were prevalent in only one stage or if only certain actions (walking, attacking, etc.) suffered, but the bland pace runs strong from start to finish. If it weren't for this one problem, Treehouse of Horror would be quite an enjoyable game.

If you can handle the lethargic flow though, there's a lot of interesting gameplay to be found. Treehouse of Horror has some decent platforming elements: lots of dodging, jumping, and narrow escapes are the norm and there's a lot of variety in terms of play styles. No two levels are the same with each offering a dose of dedicated platforming, shooting, or side scrolling.

The aesthetics are pleasant too, with Software Creations making good use of the GBC's color palette and providing some really nice Simpsons sprites. Plus the music is quite good too, with a fair set of original stuff along with remixes of the Simpsons' TV theme. Everyone sing along now...

Uh, maybe not.

Overall The Simpsons: Night of Living Treehouse of Horror is what I would think of as a game in 'limbo.' There's enough there to make the game worth a play-through, but the bad pacing negates all the positive points. The end result is a game that could go either way: you could love it or hate it, and stands as worthy of a rental at least.

· · · Reno