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The Simpsons: Bart's House of Weirdness

January 01, 1970

The Simpsons: Bart's House of Weirdness is a platform video game published by Konami on January 1, 1992 for MS-DOS. Developed by Distinctive Software, it is based on the Simpsons franchise and features many aspects from the series. In the game, the player controls Bart as he escapes from the Simpsons' house after being grounded by his parents. On his adventures throughout town, Bart is equipped with various weapons that are used to fend off enemies and animals. Bart's House of Weirdness does not have a wide fan base because it was only released for DOS, but the early reviews of the game were positive, at least in terms of graphics and sound.

Bart's House of Weirdness
Cover art
Developer(s)Distinctive Software
Publisher(s)Konami
Platform(s)MS-DOS[2]
Release
Genre(s)Platform
Mode(s)Single-player

Plot and gameplay edit

Bart's House of Weirdness is an action-adventure platform game[3][4] that uses single-screen movement.[5] The plot sees Bart grounded to his room by his parents Homer and Marge after having pulled one too many pranks. With nothing to do, he quickly gets bored and escapes from the home. He travels around town, and eventually heads to an amusement park where he has to save Krusty the Clown from his archenemy Sideshow Bob.[2]

The game has six levels and a final battle.[6][7] The player controls Bart as he helps his sister Maggie recover her ball,[7] explores the basement and attic of the Simpsons' home, sneaks out to the movie theater and the Springfield Mall, and has a dream in which he is inserted into the Itchy & Scratchy universe.[6] During these levels, Bart fights dust bunnies,[8] spiders (in the attic), ghosts (in the basement), space mutants (at the movie theater), and Itchy and Scratchy (in the dream world).[6]

Bart is able to utilize a variety of weapons in the game, including a burp gun, a slingshot, spray paint, and water balloons.[6] The player controls these weapons with either a keyboard or a joystick. The joystick control has two modes: one for shooting and one for jumping.[7] Whenever the player misses one of the creatures and they are able to hit Bart, the life bar, called the "Cool-O-Meter", drops. In order to regain Bart's coolness, the player must find a cool item that he can use.[7] When the player has completed all levels, Bart goes to the Krustyland amusement park to save Krusty from Bob.[6]

Development and release edit

Bart's House of Weirdness was developed by Distinctive Software[3] and published by Konami.[2] It was announced by Konami at the June 1991 International Summer Consumer Electronics Show in Chicago.[4] The game was released in 1992[1] solely for the DOS platform,[2] and was available for both Color Graphics Adapter (CGA) and Enhanced Graphics Adapter (EGA), but not Video Graphics Array (VGA).[7] Writers for UGO Networks have commented that the fact that Bart's House of Weirdness was released exclusively for DOS "more than likely tells why its critical acclaim is zilch and fan support non-existent. It's surprising it got such a limited release, seeing it was published by Konami, who usually have no problem distributing games on a variety of platforms."[2] Similarly, a 1UP.com editor wrote that the game is "mostly-unknown (there's not even a single video of it on YouTube)" and that it "deserves a little more coverage, if only to acknowledge its existence".[5]

Reception edit

 
A screenshot of the basement level. The bottom display shows, amongst other things, Bart's lives, health, and weapons. It also shows the level's objective; in this case, it is to find a key. The graphics of the game have been praised by critics as being "sharp and colorful"[8] and "pretty lush",[5] and the sprites have been described as "big [and] beautiful".[5]

The game was reviewed in 1992 in issue 179 of Dragon magazine by Hartley, Patricia, and Kirk Lesser in the column "The Role of Computers". The reviewers gave the game five out of five stars, and commented that "Without a doubt, Bart's House of Weirdness is one of the best arcade games we’ve played. It also happens to be one of Konami’s best products!" They added that "With superb Roland sound (the TV show theme and opening animations are quite good) and smooth animation, our only wish is that Konami would consider releasing this fine arcade delight with full VGA support sometime in the future. If you like Bart and really enjoy arcade games, you have to get this one."[7] William Burrill of Toronto Star commented that "the graphics in House of Weirdness are sharp and colorful, and look much like the television show. Music from the real show is also included, along with digitized samples of Bart's rather whining voice."[8] Computer Gaming World liked the graphics' resemblance to the TV show, and concluded that "House of Weirdness stands up as well as any 'Super-Maroid' arcade game".[9]

In 2009, eighteen years after Bart's House of Weirdness was released, 1UP.com editor Bob Mackey reviewed the game in 1UP's official Retro Gaming Blog. He praised the game for its graphics, but was critical of the gameplay.[5] Mackey wrote that "the graphics are far more impressive than any other Simpsons title at the time, outside of the arcade brawler. In fact, the graphics alone were responsible for my childlike [...] excitement over House of Weirdness; [...] they're pretty lush — even if they're not entirely faithful to the show. Bart's PC translation might be just a little off-model, but it's a gigantic leap over his duck-like visage seen on the NES." He added, however, that the game "is completely unintuitive, your goals aren't made clear, it's never certain if you're doing the right thing, and you're often locked into screens with no apparent way out but death."[5] Mackey also criticized the levels' structure that "seems more randomly-generated than anything" and the fact that the "big, beautiful" sprites sometimes do not move well.[5]

References edit

  1. ^ a b . IGN. Archived from the original on February 25, 2004. Retrieved 2010-08-01.
  2. ^ a b c d e "Bart's House of Weirdness". UGO Networks. Retrieved 2010-07-31.[permanent dead link]
  3. ^ a b "The Simpsons: Bart's House of Weirdness Tech Info". GameSpot. Retrieved 2010-07-31.
  4. ^ a b Netsel, Tom; Scisco, Peter (October 1991). "Special report". Compute!. Retrieved 2010-08-01.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g Mackey, Bob (2009-05-14). "Retro Revival Retrospective: The Simpsons Part 4". Retro Gaming Blog. 1UP.com. Retrieved 2010-08-03.
  6. ^ a b c d e "The Simpsons: Bart's House of Weirdness". MobyGames. Retrieved 2010-07-31.
  7. ^ a b c d e f Lesser, Hartley; Lesser, Patricia & Lesser, Kirk (March 1992). "The Role of Computers". Dragon (179): 57–62.
  8. ^ a b c Burrill, William (1992-02-15). "Bart Simpson's world tour lacks TV show's spunky fun". Toronto Star.
  9. ^ Ami, Charles (February 1992). "If Coolnes Were Soul, Bart Would Be James Brown". Computer Gaming World. No. 91. pp. 76, 78. Retrieved 24 November 2013.

External links edit

  • The Simpsons: Bart's House of Weirdness at MobyGames
  • The Simpsons: Bart's House of Weirdness at GameFAQs

January 01, 1970
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The Simpsons Bart s House of Weirdness is a platform video game published by Konami on January 1 1992 for MS DOS Developed by Distinctive Software it is based on the Simpsons franchise and features many aspects from the series In the game the player controls Bart as he escapes from the Simpsons house after being grounded by his parents On his adventures throughout town Bart is equipped with various weapons that are used to fend off enemies and animals Bart s House of Weirdness does not have a wide fan base because it was only released for DOS but the early reviews of the game were positive at least in terms of graphics and sound Bart s House of WeirdnessCover artDeveloper s Distinctive SoftwarePublisher s KonamiPlatform s MS DOS 2 ReleaseNA January 1 1992 1 Genre s PlatformMode s Single player Contents 1 Plot and gameplay 2 Development and release 3 Reception 4 References 5 External linksPlot and gameplay editBart s House of Weirdness is an action adventure platform game 3 4 that uses single screen movement 5 The plot sees Bart grounded to his room by his parents Homer and Marge after having pulled one too many pranks With nothing to do he quickly gets bored and escapes from the home He travels around town and eventually heads to an amusement park where he has to save Krusty the Clown from his archenemy Sideshow Bob 2 The game has six levels and a final battle 6 7 The player controls Bart as he helps his sister Maggie recover her ball 7 explores the basement and attic of the Simpsons home sneaks out to the movie theater and the Springfield Mall and has a dream in which he is inserted into the Itchy amp Scratchy universe 6 During these levels Bart fights dust bunnies 8 spiders in the attic ghosts in the basement space mutants at the movie theater and Itchy and Scratchy in the dream world 6 Bart is able to utilize a variety of weapons in the game including a burp gun a slingshot spray paint and water balloons 6 The player controls these weapons with either a keyboard or a joystick The joystick control has two modes one for shooting and one for jumping 7 Whenever the player misses one of the creatures and they are able to hit Bart the life bar called the Cool O Meter drops In order to regain Bart s coolness the player must find a cool item that he can use 7 When the player has completed all levels Bart goes to the Krustyland amusement park to save Krusty from Bob 6 Development and release editBart s House of Weirdness was developed by Distinctive Software 3 and published by Konami 2 It was announced by Konami at the June 1991 International Summer Consumer Electronics Show in Chicago 4 The game was released in 1992 1 solely for the DOS platform 2 and was available for both Color Graphics Adapter CGA and Enhanced Graphics Adapter EGA but not Video Graphics Array VGA 7 Writers for UGO Networks have commented that the fact that Bart s House of Weirdness was released exclusively for DOS more than likely tells why its critical acclaim is zilch and fan support non existent It s surprising it got such a limited release seeing it was published by Konami who usually have no problem distributing games on a variety of platforms 2 Similarly a 1UP com editor wrote that the game is mostly unknown there s not even a single video of it on YouTube and that it deserves a little more coverage if only to acknowledge its existence 5 Reception edit nbsp A screenshot of the basement level The bottom display shows amongst other things Bart s lives health and weapons It also shows the level s objective in this case it is to find a key The graphics of the game have been praised by critics as being sharp and colorful 8 and pretty lush 5 and the sprites have been described as big and beautiful 5 The game was reviewed in 1992 in issue 179 of Dragon magazine by Hartley Patricia and Kirk Lesser in the column The Role of Computers The reviewers gave the game five out of five stars and commented that Without a doubt Bart s House of Weirdness is one of the best arcade games we ve played It also happens to be one of Konami s best products They added that With superb Roland sound the TV show theme and opening animations are quite good and smooth animation our only wish is that Konami would consider releasing this fine arcade delight with full VGA support sometime in the future If you like Bart and really enjoy arcade games you have to get this one 7 William Burrill of Toronto Star commented that the graphics in House of Weirdness are sharp and colorful and look much like the television show Music from the real show is also included along with digitized samples of Bart s rather whining voice 8 Computer Gaming World liked the graphics resemblance to the TV show and concluded that House of Weirdness stands up as well as any Super Maroid arcade game 9 In 2009 eighteen years after Bart s House of Weirdness was released 1UP com editor Bob Mackey reviewed the game in 1UP s official Retro Gaming Blog He praised the game for its graphics but was critical of the gameplay 5 Mackey wrote that the graphics are far more impressive than any other Simpsons title at the time outside of the arcade brawler In fact the graphics alone were responsible for my childlike excitement over House of Weirdness they re pretty lush even if they re not entirely faithful to the show Bart s PC translation might be just a little off model but it s a gigantic leap over his duck like visage seen on the NES He added however that the game is completely unintuitive your goals aren t made clear it s never certain if you re doing the right thing and you re often locked into screens with no apparent way out but death 5 Mackey also criticized the levels structure that seems more randomly generated than anything and the fact that the big beautiful sprites sometimes do not move well 5 References edit a b The Simpsons Bart s House of Weirdness IGN Archived from the original on February 25 2004 Retrieved 2010 08 01 a b c d e Bart s House of Weirdness UGO Networks Retrieved 2010 07 31 permanent dead link a b The Simpsons Bart s House of Weirdness Tech Info GameSpot Retrieved 2010 07 31 a b Netsel Tom Scisco Peter October 1991 Special report Compute Retrieved 2010 08 01 a b c d e f g Mackey Bob 2009 05 14 Retro Revival Retrospective The Simpsons Part 4 Retro Gaming Blog 1UP com Retrieved 2010 08 03 a b c d e The Simpsons Bart s House of Weirdness MobyGames Retrieved 2010 07 31 a b c d e f Lesser Hartley Lesser Patricia amp Lesser Kirk March 1992 The Role of Computers Dragon 179 57 62 a b c Burrill William 1992 02 15 Bart Simpson s world tour lacks TV show s spunky fun Toronto Star Ami Charles February 1992 If Coolnes Were Soul Bart Would Be James Brown Computer Gaming World No 91 pp 76 78 Retrieved 24 November 2013 External links editThe Simpsons Bart s House of Weirdness at MobyGames The Simpsons Bart s House of Weirdness at GameFAQs Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title The Simpsons Bart 27s House of Weirdness amp oldid 1182955503, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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