Games parody

If you haven't played the new Simpsons game, I recommend a rental to anyone who grew up on games and knows a bit about the industry assembly line. I tried it last week, and it's an excellent parody -- a video game that makes fun of video games.

Each level has a cliché for the player to find. These range from the infamous crates to heroes who apparently never learned to swim. The "marketing machine" is just one of many settings devoted to game production. And, of course, the endless stream of Simpsons-style dialogue is hilarious.

I mention it because it's worth checking out, but also because I've never seen a game before that appealed so directly to industry insiders. Some of the humor requires familiarity with particular developers, like Will Wright. Other parts seem much funnier if you know the business of making games. It reminds me of Adaptation or other Hollywood films making fun of Hollywood.

There's a demo for the Xbox 360. I'm not sure about other trials. But the demo doesn't contain many of the inside jokes I'm referring to. Go rent it.