It features an original storyline, not related to the movie, written by Simpsons writers Tim Long and Matt Warburton.

Eventually, they must save their 8-bit predecessors from Will Wright, and the creator of their video game character selves, Matt Groening.

They praised its visuals, writing, and faithfulness to the original material, while they criticized its short length and poor camera system, which did not always function properly.

[1][3] The DS version of the game was developed separately from its console counterparts and is a side scrolling adventure.

Several minigames are available to unlock and play, most which are updated versions of arcade games such as Frogger and Space Invaders, the latter which references the aliens Kang and Kodos from the Simpsons Treehouse of Horror episodes.

His abilities involve turning into the "Homer ball" by eating food power-ups to let him roll and slam objects;[2] turn into a Gummi Homer by eating small gummi Venus de Milos to shoot gummi grenades;[1] eat hot chili peppers to become Insanity Pepper Homer to use lava and fire bombs;[7] and inhale helium to become a balloon to float in the air.

He can turn into Bartman, allowing him to use zip-lines, climb certain walls, glide over long distances, and do other acrobatic feats.

Introduced in the fifth level, "Mob Rules", Marge learns her power is to make large crowds obey her.

[11] When using the "Cop Marge" power up, her strength is increased for a short period of time - but this feature is only available in the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions.

Maggie is, in effect, an extension of Marge, briefly playable in air ducts and other small spaces.

Realizing none of their powers are strong enough to defeat the alien attack, Bart and Lisa visit Professor Frink.

First, Bart and Lisa assist Captain McCallister in fighting back mind-controlled dolphins that are attacking the city's aquarium.

Finally, they save the Springfield Mall and Cletus from an alien force led by Sideshow Bob.

The family manages to save their 8-bit predecessors before they are destroyed by Wright, and discover that they will also become obsolete when the next The Simpsons game is released.

In order to access his mansion, the family needs to acquire four key cards from four upcoming Simpsons games.

First, Homer and Marge defeat a two-headed dragon whose heads are those of Patty and Selma in the Neverquest game.

Along the way they have to defeat deceased historical figures William Shakespeare and Benjamin Franklin, and several other "recycled" enemies that the family had killed during previous levels of the game.

Realizing his mistake, he promises to restore Springfield, let them keep their powers, and to improve the working conditions of all video game characters.

[15] Matt Groening and the writers had continuous feedback on the game's content, from its "look and feel" to its puzzles and gameplay.

[19] The development team found it particularly difficult to render Lisa's spiky hair as 2D in the game's 3D environment.

[42] ELSPA presented the game's Wii, Xbox 360 and PlayStation Portable versions with "Silver" certifications,[43] for sales of 100,000 units or more each in the region.

He elaborated that the game would appeal primarily to fans of the television series, but would not be worth playing for people unfamiliar with it.

[22] GameTrailers thought the graphics and animations looked great and appreciated the hand-drawn appearances, even though they found it obvious that the characters were "never really meant to jump into the third dimension" because of their second-dimension roots.

GameSpot considered the gameplay "nothing special"[26] while GameZone called it a "pretty shallow" game that depended too much on repetitive jumping puzzles and a weak combat system.

IGN lauded the DS version's unique gameplay experience[29] and GameSpot proclaimed that it was satisfying from start to finish.