The Simpsons: Hit & Run

"GTA but with a spiky head instead of slicked back hair."

When I bought this game for PC about 6 months ago, I was hoping for it to have the fun factor of The Simpsons. It did at first, but I quickly got frustrated.

Gameplay: 6
The gameplay is GTA like, wandering around the Simpons universe, performing main missions along with dinky side races that are required for some of the better cars. Of course, there isn't nearly as much territory to explore as GTA, and once you see it, there isn't any appeal to go back. The game revolved around an original but dinky story created by the Simpsons team for this game. What really ruined it for me was the story missions. Either the missions were way too easy, or nearly impossible to complete. Thankfully, after multiple attempts and failures, the game gives you the option to skip a mission and proceed to the next one, although you won't unlock the goodies that way. The mini-races cheat by using the car from the next level, so it takes multiple trys and many temper-tantrums to win one.

Replayability: 8
The replayability is probabaly best part of the game, but even going back to complete all of the tasks is very bland. Collecting all the cars, bonus cards and killing all of the wasps as well as the meager collection of side quests amount to a pretty beefy but bland replay experience. As well as that, there are hidden easter eggs that Simpsons fans will enjoy to see them. All the landmarks from the Simpsons episodes are there, but as I said before: once you visit them once, it's not appealing to make a return trip.

Multiplayer: -NA-
I really wouldn't expect multiplayer for this type of game, so I'm not really going to rate it. The only thing that I would count as a multiplayer game is the small top-down car driving game that you can unlock as you progress in the game. This way, you can play with multiple people on one keyboard, but it really isn't very fun. (Believe me, I've tried.)

Graphics: 7
The graphics to this game are very bland, but what do you expect for a Simpsons game. No places for high budget FX affects here. The graphics are cartoony, and have a medium amount of detail. They don't take an advanced computer to run, so casual gamers should have no problems running it.

Sound: 10
The high point of this game, the sounds are direct music taken out of the shows, and the real voice actors did the voices for this game. Also, there are some funny things pedestrians say, and nearly every Simpsons character is accounted for voice-wise. No crappy voice acting in this game.

Controls: 10
Very easy and basic, you can play this game with just a keyboard. Also, there are options to play with mouse and keyboard, or a gamepad.

Fun Factor: 6
This game boils down to an open ended platform game with a crappy plot and subpar features. It might be worth a look for casual gamers or Simpsons fans, but veterans to the PC gaming category might be turned away.

Thank you for reading my review. I hope I helped you make a buying descision and that you have a good gaming experience.

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 01/18/05