Simpsons: Hit & Run
I will not read game reviews in school. I will not read game reviews in school.
Tags: Simpsons: Hit & Run, The Categories: Reviews, Xbox Reviews
Posted by Daniel "monk" Pelfrey on Nov 6th, 2003
| Title | Players | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Simpsons: Hit & Run, The (title page) | |||
| Developer | Publisher | Genre | Online |
| Action | No | ||
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I stopped watching The Simpsons somewhere during the 4th season. It stopped feeling relevant to me. How many years can a kid go through 2nd grade? Heck, how many years can anybody not progress and develop? The only character on the show that (as far as I saw) had any progression was Sideshow Bob.
Don’t get me wrong. I think the show is funny, but I got tired of the kids not growing up. It’s the same reason that Bill Watterson stopped doing Calvin & Hobbes – character progression.
So that’s why I don’t watch the show today. The game, however is another matter.
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There are inevitable comparisons to the Grand Theft Auto franchise. Players embark on various missions and can “borrow” any car within the town, drive virtually anywhere, and just generally explore if they want.
That’s the beauty of the way the game was designed. Aside from the missions, the levels are packed with items to find, collect, observe, or events to participate in. Basically, Simpsons Hit And Run has the open ended gameplay that allows players to explore the game at their own pace, which is where the true saving grace of the game lies.
As somebody that has only had a passing interest in the license for the last few years, I found many of the references to past shows going right over my head. That’s to be expected though, and I sure as heck don’t feel bad about that. Especially when there is so much more non self-referential humor throughout the game.
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The character interactions are hilarious, the missions are fun, and at any point, players can get out of their car and explore the town of Springfield. All of this This makes the game accessible to both the hardcore Simpsons fan, and the casual gamer as well. The humor (provided by the show’s writers) is great and you don’t need to have watched every episode to laugh at Homer in a mumu.
Various coins are spread throughout the games environments, so after collecting enough, characters can purchase new outfits or cars or…. Well, there are some things that should be discovered – though I’m sure other reviewers at other sites will have ruined some the surprises by now.
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The coins are pretty easy to find and collect, and the beauty of the game is that you don’t need to collect each and every one (thankfully) in order to complete the missions – that’s all part of the open ended gameplay. Simpsons fans will of course want to go through and collect every little thing – which will eventually get a bit tedious and boring. Start exploring early and mix up collecting with performing the missions to keep things “fresh” while playing. The game could have used a little less collecting, but the payoffs are generally worth it.
The graphics are good, giving the game a definite cartoon look and the city of Springfield is pretty large, providing a good chunk of space to explore. Why, however, you can’t explore certain areas, such as the Simpsons’ house is beyond me.
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The game looks like a computer generated version of the show. It sounds odd, and looks a little odd at first, but ultimately it was a great way to go. The framerate is good, and the collision detection is as well, which comes in handy when driving down the road and hitting things such as lamp posts, mailboxes, signs, etc.
Characters are voiced by the actors from the show, music is spot on – basically, it sounds like an episode of the show. That’s pretty much all that needs to be said, right?
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Lisa, Apu and Marge each have a level (with various missions) and Homer and Bart have two. There are other characters from the show that are interspersed throughout Springfield, some just say hello, some complain about whatever they complain about, some have races to compete in. These races change things up a bit, gameplay-wise, and offer another car to use after completion.
You can unlock a two-player race (that’s why the game is labeled as being able to be played by two people). It’s not really worth it. If Radical would develop a real Simpsons Racing game, then that would be cool, but don’t go into this game expecting a multiplayer fiesta (or whatever).
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There’s enough gameplay variety in here to keep things interesting. The humor, while aimed at the fans that watch the show religiously, is widely accessible. While not a perfect game, it does appear that the game Simpsons fans have been waiting for has arrived.
| What Works | Score |
|---|---|
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+ Gameplay & execution does the license right + Plenty of "in" jokes for the Simpsons faithful, but the humor is accessable to anybody with a funny bone |
8.2 |
| What Doesn't | |
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- Too much collecting - Lame tacked on spartan multiplayer |
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| Under the Shrink-wrap | |
| Finally, a game that does right by the Simpsons, and it appeals to the non-fan as well. | |
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Tags: Simpsons: Hit & Run, The
Posted by Daniel "monk" Pelfrey on Nov 6th, 2003 and is filed under Reviews, Xbox Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can post a comment, or trackback from your own site.
