User blog:Shnopp.shniederheimer/Review - The Simpsons: Tapped Out (2014)

Hey guys, here again with another Review blog post, and this time I will be reviewing, or at least try to review, the majority of the content, new or old, that we got this year in our little games. I've been very busy lately so these posts haven't been coming out as often as some people might like, plus having all these new articles to create and having to deal with spammers and vandals and just immature editors, it's a lot of work, but I'm managing. I'll try to get them out more often if you like reading them. Anyways, per the usual, if this is the first of my blog posts that you're reading, feel free to check out any of the other ones I have here. If you don't like scrolling and clicking through all the pages of posts, then on my User Page, under the McBain Video, there's a full list of all my blog posts sorted into different categories for easier navigation. Feel free to look there as well. Anyways, back to the review!

So this year, we got a lot of content, a lot. In summary, we got 11 level updates, 8 episode tie-ins, and 10 events (major and minor ones combined). That's a lot of content. And with 9 days left in the year, and me being a hopeful, there might even be one more for this year. I will be dividing this into three sections, "Episode Tie-Ins", "Levels", and "Events". I'll also try to add some pictures as too not make it look like an excessively long essay. Let's get right to it.

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Our first tie-in of the year came with the Married to the Blob episode. We got the limited time, never before seen, character Kumiko. Along with her, we got the Mr. Sparkle Billboard and the re-release of the Swanky Fish. Now two premium items and a free character. It was new for a character with a full set of jobs to be released like that, and I think that was awesome. Plus Kumiko is a character that many people that missed out on her have asked for so that's also a plus. As for the premium items, they were "eh"... Not much to be said there unless you're a player that likes having all the items that have released in your town. For an official review though, I give it a 3 out of 5 stars. A free character with a full set of jobs was really good, but the premium items were not as awesome.

===Diggs and The Man Who Grew Too Much    === The next tie in we got was the Diggs and The Man Who Grew Too Much, which was a two for one episode tie in. For a two for one, it was pretty underwhelming. We got a new crop for Cletus' Farm, GMO Potatoes, which was awesome, but then a premium character, Freedom, which zero jobs was pretty disappointing. Not much to say about this one, I give it a 2.5 out of 5 starts. A premium character and a new crop for two episodes was "eh".

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The War of Art tie-in was next, where we got the free Guinea Pig Rescue Center and two premium items, Pokey the guinea pig, and the Strupo Statue. A new building was awesome, since it had steady income, but again, the premium items were a bit underwhelming. The building saves it from less that three stars, so I give it a 3 out of 5.

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The Days of Future Future tie-in followed with a pretty good amount of content for a tie-in. We got Homer's Grave decorations, ten of them actually, the Cremo Bot, and the Capital City Goofball as a new Friend Points Prize. For returning content, we go Maude and the Gypsy Fortune Teller Shop. Now Homer's Grave was a nice addition to some graveyard sections of some player's towns, but that part of the quest was a bit too repetitive. The Cremo Bot, a premium decoration, was "eh", and the Capital City Goofball, while a character, has no jobs, so not the best either. The real highlight here was the Gypsy Fortune Teller Shop with Maude. A glitch with its released cause it to be available for 25 for a limited time. It was soon fixed for it's regular price, but a 25 donut premium character, plus a premium building was awesome while it lasted. Because of the glitch, I give this tie-in a 4 out of 5. The decorations were OK, but the character and building are pretty much a Tapped Out must have.

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The Yellow Badge of Cowargde was the last tie-in of Season 25, which gave us FitTM Milhouse and Macaroni's Shed. The costume was pretty good, gave us new options when sending Milhouse on jobs, and Macaroni's Shed was a decent decoration. The quest lines here saved this tie-in from being not so great, to decent, so I give it a 3 out of 5 stars.

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In the first tie-in of Season 26, we got Tuxedo Krusty and Krusty's Mansion. Again, like FitTM Milhouse, Tuxedo Krusty was an OK costume which just gave us a couple of new options for Krusty. Krusty's Mansion was a building a lot of people were waiting for, but it came at a premium price, so that kind of killed it for some of us. A pretty underwhelming tie-in for a pretty underwhelming episode, in my opinion, I give this tie in a 2.5 out of 5.

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The Simpsorama was our second tie-in of Season 26 and resulted in mostly disappointment among fans who were expecting cameos from their favorite Futurama characters. Instead, we got Matt Groening (The Creator!), the Writers Building, and the Mutant Rabbit. Now besides the fact that we didn't get our Futurama characters, Matt Groening was not a bad substitute. "The fourth wall has never been so broken!". A free character along with a free building, both having income from jobs or just collection, and a premium character with jobs, isn't that bad. In all honesty this was probably the best tie-in of the year, which is why I am awarding it was a 4.5 out of 5 stars.

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Following the best tie-in of the year, was probably the Worst. Tie-in. Ever. With only one item released, a premium building, Guitar Central, and the only way to complete the whole quest line of the tie-in was to buy the building, it was just crap. The only reason I'm giving it 1 out of 5 stars was for those players who actually purchased the building, who got a below decent quest line. I'm not even going to dignify this section with a picture.

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Our first level of the year, following more than two months without one, was Level 38. It brought us Judge Snyder and the Blue-Haired Lawyer, the Court House and the Springfield Grocery Store, and the Lady Justice Statue. Judge Snyder was an OK character, not much to say there except that he was decent. Blue-Haired Lawyer was clearly the highlight of the update. Both characters were voiced with this update, which is pretty rare, and the new buildings were nice little additions to Springfield, but not the best. The Lady Justice Statue was just "eh". I give it a 3 out of 5 stars.

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Level 39 came almost two months after Level 38 and brought us Apu's Family. We got Sanjay and Manjula, Apu's Apartment and Sanjay's House, and the Shiva Statue and E.A.R.L.. Again, just as in Level 38, the premium character was the highlight of the update, as Sanjay was a pretty underwhelming character to be added. The buildings were average additions, (Sanjay's House a bit too big in my opinoin) and the Shiva Stature was appropriately themed. E.A.R.L. was released as the newest Friends Points Prize. A lot of content, but all of it not the best. Again, a 3 out of 5 stars for an average level.

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Level 40!! This is what I call a Level. Three characters with the update, Miss Hoover, Cocoa Beanie, and Dewey Largo. Two of them free! Miss Hoover, one of the most anticipated characters was released, this was probably the best level of the year. Cocoa Beanie was probably the lowest point to this Level, but his romance with Miss Hoover, and the fact that we was free, made up for it. Mr. Largo was also an OK addition, he is voiced and has pretty funny quotes. The Ah, Fudge! Factory and the Lotto 'N' Liquor were average sized buildings, can't complain much there. And then the Concrete Wall. "eh". All in all, this Level was great (mostly because of Miss Hoover). So I give it 4.5 out of 5 stars.

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Now, I know that I did review this Level back when it originally came out, and back then, I gave it a pretty decent score, 3.5 out of 5, but that was almost seven months ago.

Chester who? Level 41 was probably a low point in the Levels. Bernice is not a character that I expected to be released before some other big names, and again, Chester who? Level 41 gave us Bernice Hibbert and Chester Dupree, some of Dr. Hibbert's family. Neither character voiced, and both very very underwhelming. Vulgari Jewelry Store and the Unfinished Shed were below average additions to the game. That's pretty much all I have to say. Pretty bad level. 2.5 out of 5 stars.

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Again, I did review this Level when it originally came out, giving it a 3.5 out of 5 stars

Level 42 was a decent level. We got Lampwick and Roger Meyers Jr.. Two average characters, not much complaining except maybe neither is voiced. We also got Itchy & Scratchy Studios, the Rocket Car, the Mansion of Solid Gold, and the Itchy and Scratchy Billboard. All of these OK additions, not much to say. Lampwick was the hightlight of Level 42, Roger Meyers was not. A lot of premium content in the level though drops it to a 3 out of 5, half a star less than the original rating I gave it.

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Level 43 brought us some new Krustyland content. For the first time, a character in a Level update was not unlocked in Springfield. We got Princess Penelope, Krusty's Giant Wheel, One Plate Maximum Buffet, and the Unoriginal Log Ride. All of these pretty good additions to Krustyland, which did need some spicing up, and Level 43 did just that. The quest lines were pretty funny and Princess Penelope has some pretty funny jobs. All in all, a good level considering it wasn't released for Springfield exactly. I give it 3.5 out of 5 stars.

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Level 44 brought us some more kids to Springfield as we got Database. A couple of random grunts as quotes, but pretty funny addition to Springfield. Akira on the other hand was not as funny. Again some random grunts for quotes, but came with The Happy Sumo which has a pretty funny animation when a character is doing a job in there. Along with them, we got Honest John's Computers and Bloaters at the Squidport, a new building for the Squidport. Pretty funny quest lines as well. Finally we got Mr. Teeny as the newest Friends Points prize, who has one job with Krusty. Not so bad for Level 44 if I do say so myself. 3.5 out of 5 stars.

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"You can't spell party without misspelling Artie!" Leve 45 brought us Artie Ziff and Uter. Two pretty anticipated characters. Neither is voiced, but the characters themselves make up for it. On Artie's side we also got the ZiffCorp Office Building, the ZiffCorp Sign, and the Indoor Tennis Courts. All very good additions for Level 45, and work well together. On Uter's side, we got The Hungry Hun. These two characters alone made for a pretty good Level 45, and the quest lines just added to the greatness. Level 45 also wrestled with Level 40 for the best level of the year, and for that, I give it 4 out of 5 stars.

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Mrs. Muntz arrived to Springfield along with Greta Wolfcastle during the Level 46 update. Now I don't think either of these characters were really expected to be released together, but I also don't think anyone is complaining, as they were pretty good additions to Springfield. Again, neither character voiced, Mrs. Muntz came with the Classy Girls Strip Club and Greta came with the Preparatory School. Each character's quest lines were also pretty funny. The biggest disappointment for Level 46 at first, was probably Greta's lack of jobs, which was kind of fixed not too long ago, which a new 60m job for her. Pretty good level which reunited some families, I give it a 3.5 out of 5.

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We got some more Quimby with Level 47 as Freddy Quimby arrived to Springfield. And though not released for Level 47, they were released with Level 47, we also got the French Waiter and Princess Kashmir. In my opinion the French Waiter was a throwaway that was supposed to serve as a foil for Freddy. But both Princess Kashmir and Freddy were pretty good additions to Springfield. Freddy and the Waiter were both voiced, but it was really Princess Kashmir who, along with Miss Springfield stole the show in her quest line. We also got the Quimby Compound and Florence of Arabia. Pretty good Level, earning a 3.5 out of 5.

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In what seems to be our last Level update of 2014, we got good old Janey and Lurleen. Janey more than Lurleen, both were popular characters just waiting to be released. Really enjoyable level. If this is the last one of the year, then EA closed out on a good note. We got Gold Navy with Janey and the Beer-N-Brawl with Lurleen. Each came with their own funny quest lines though neither voiced. The Barbecue Pit was also released during Level 48, a classic decoration in reference to the episode Mom and Pop Art. I highly praise this Level, maybe a bit too much, but am giving it a 4 out of 5 stars.

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The Super Bowl Event was a notably small event. Only one new item released, the Duff Blimp. Two returning items, the Duff Racer and the Duff Party Bus. Pretty decent Event. Nothing much, and because of that, acceptable mini event. I give it 3 out of 5 stars.

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Even if many of you hated the Valentine's Wheel, not many of you can argue that this wasn't a pretty good event. With a two really popular characters like Mindy Simmons and Brandine, the Event already started off right. Plus the whole Spuckler Brood, Madame Chao's, the Up, Up and Buffet! and the Tunnel of Love, it was a pretty solid Valentine's Day Event. The main quest line loosely mirrored the episode The Last Temptation of Homer, which I though was really funny. All in all, good event to start off 2014. 4 out of 5 stars.

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The St. Patrick's Day 2014 Event was a decent one. Not very notable. We got the Sham Rock Cafe, the Yupprechaun and Tom O'Flanagan for free. Free character? really can't complain there. Even some free donuts, so it was an ok event. I give it 3 out of 5 stars. Not much to say about it.

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Now, many of you may argue the rating that I gave the Easter 2014 Event because of the Easter Boxes, but content wise, this was a really good Event. We got characters like the Crazy Cat Lady, Shary Bobbins, Chirpy Boy & Bart Jr., and the Egg Council Guy. Even some of the NPCs were nice additions to the game. Building wise, we got the Blocko Store, Banana Dictatorship, and the Crazy Cat House. The decorations were decent, and the quest lines were as well, but in general a pretty good event. Content wise, which is what is displayed at the top of the section, I give this event a 4.5 out of 5. I thought it was cool for them to have added the Easter Boxes and it was fun chasing the bunnies around town and zapping them. Now actually winning the prizes, for most players it must have been a 1 or 2 out of 5, so I will be generous and give it a 2.5 out of 5 based on that.

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I did review this Event when it originally came out and I stand by the rating I give it of 4.5 out of 5 stars.

Now for this Event, I thought it was cool that they based a whole Event around a single episode. Even though most of the new content was either a decoration or a costume, I thought it was really cool. The addition of daily puzzles to be solved plus the randomization of the character types with the jobs was also something I enjoyed. The quest lines were cool, the decorations were all appropriately themed, and this Event shows how much EA can actually pull out of a single episode and turn it into a month long event. It was the last major Event before the "Summer Drought of Updates" as I call it. It was good enough to earn and maintain a 4.5 out of 5 star rating.

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Similarly to the St. Patrick's Day Event, this was a pretty underwhelming Event. Two new characters, Guiseppe and George Washington. A couple of patriotic decorations, and the integration of the Sit-N-Rotate. Very "eh" event. Mediocre written all over it, I give it a 3 out of 5 stars.

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Hmm, where to begin. Umm, a parody of one of the most popular games on the Market right now. I gotta say this was very different. And I really did not enjoy this event too much. It was too repetitive and my goodness, almost 9 weeks long. 9 weeks! Umm, only two new characters, the Barbarian and the Two-nicorn. I really don't have many positive things to say about this Event. At first, it was cool, and hilarious that it was parodying Clash of Clans, and if it had ended maybe four or five weeks earlier, then it would have been fine, but it ran for way too long and if you weren't playing very often, then it was very difficult to collect all of the prizes offered. Not much else to say. Maybe I can be persuaded otherwise, but I am giving this Event a 2.5 out of 5. Not very impressive EA.

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This was a pretty good Event to follow Clash of Clones. It was very different, and very enjoyable. As I mentioned in the Tips and Tricks post I wrote about it, it combined many features from past events that combined in a very cool way. I enjoyed collecting and crafting the prizes, and the different prize tracks. Though again, as the Clash of Clones Event, if you weren't playing often then it was difficult to win the prizes. Some enjoyable additions were Hugo, the Drive-In Theater and the Space Mutant, U.B.O., the Diet Sign and the Donut Torture Device. All in all, a pretty enjoyable event that won a 4 out of 5 star rating.

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The Thanksgiving Event was an acceptable one. With the additions of Mrs. Bouvier and Puritan Flanders, and the Heimlich Machine, it was good. The Event introcuded a new part to the main quest line every day and gave a bit of flexibility to how often the player logged in. It wasn't as great as the other 4 out of 5 star Events so it earn a 3.5 stars out of 5.

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The Christmas 2014 Event was in my opinion the best Event of 2014. It introduced new enjoyable characters like King Winter, Bonestorm Santa, and Zutroy, some enjoyable decorations like Destroyed Holiday Wheel, the Ski Lift and the Fever Cabin, buildings like the Toy Workshop, and costumes like Stupid Sexy Flanders. The reintroduction of splitting the Event into parts and very doable Prize Tracks added to the enjoy-ability. Santa's Tasks were a very acceptable replacement to last years' Holiday Wheel. Despite setbacks like the Zutroy glitch it was very fun and a very very good way to close out the year. Most decorations and characters came with very funny quest lines and the blanket of snow covering all of Springfield really set the mood for the Event along with the façades for new and returning buildings. Sending Elves and Springfielders on jobs and chasing Feds around town added to the fun. All in all a terrific Event that earned a 5 out of 5 star review.

So that's my review of The Simpsons: Tapped Out (2014). What did you think of this year? Do you agree or disagree with any of the ratings I gave the updates? Why or why not? If you disagree with one, what would you rate it and why? Let me low in the comments, or simply discuss your favorite or least favorite parts of the year. Which characters were you most excited about seeing added. Which ones were you disappointed that EA didn't add? Any predictions for next year? Write what you think below.

As always feel free to check out any one of my other posts here.

Until next time, - shnopp.shniederheimer