The Simpsons: Hit & Run
Best Simpsons game ever made, and not a bad piece of code to boot.
Published: November 25, 2003
I'm sure every review for Hit & Run has started off with some comment about previous Simpsons games. The fact is, they were crap, so much so that I'm tempted to use a slightly stronger expletive. All you need know, really, is that you should never, ever buy a Simpsons game – save for this one. If you're even a closet fan, there's enough stuff in here to keep you chuckling all the way through, and if you're as die-hard as I am, you finally have a game that can sate that need for a Simpsons fix in between the 20 times a day they're shown in syndication these days.
The key to Hit & Run's appeal is the fact that it packs more references, in-jokes and cameos in it than any licensed game to date – and probably for some time to come. It's obvious that the full weight of the talent that resides behind the show was put behind this project, and it shows; it's easily one of the best uses of a license ever adopted into video game form. From show writers to actual voice talent to a game structure that allows full exploration of Springfield in a way that could only be pulled off in a quality game, Hit & Run is just as much a decent Grand Theft Auto clone as it is a showcase for the 15 seasons the show has been on the air.
The "plot" goes a little something like this: a swarm of cameras thinly disguised as robotic bees have suddenly shown up all over Springfield, as have dozens of mysterious black vans. By taking turns jumping into each of the Simpsons' shoes, you'll explore the whole of Springfield in an attempt to find out exactly who is to blame for the recent invaders. Simple, yes, but it works well enough to introduce you to the world you'll soon be exploring.
Springfleld is laid out in such a way that you won't actually explore the whole area all at once. Different members of the family have their respective areas, and within these microsections of the city, you'll learn the ins and outs of famous landmarks. Nearly everything you would expect is here; the Qwik-E-Mart, the nuclear power plant, the Android's Dungeon, Springfield Elementary, and plenty of other places built to house some of the more famous side characters from the series. While you won't quite get a sense of the Springfield from the show being brought to life in 3D, it's detailed and done well enough that it satisfies your urge to keep looking for show references.
Hit & Run's problem doesn't like in its recreation of Springfield, though, it's more in the gameplay itself. While it is true that this is in effect a GTA clone, Simpsons-style, it's nowhere near as complex. The bulk of your missions in the game are either racing against someone or the clock, hitting someone, or running fetch quests. It's fair to say that a good 75% of the missions you go on – if not more – are made up of these basic ideas. It dampens the freshness that you first feel upon starting up the game, and even some hilarious dialogue with the different denizens of Springfield while running the missions can't hide the fact that the game is really quite shallow. There are more things to do in each level, of course; you can run races, buy new clothing outfits from different episodes of the show, destroy the camera bees, collect trading cards (complete with quotes from the relevant episode), or find gags around the city, but it's all mainly padding to add to the main game.
If it weren't for the fact that the vehicles control so well (despite an odd reversal of controls from the GTA model where O is reverse and square pulls the handbrakes), and things are laid out so nicely, Hit & Run would largely be a bust, but clever writing, an astonishing level of authentic recreation of events from the show, and a feeling that this really is one step closer to getting an interactive episode of the show means things are still genuinely entertaining – even if they get very repetitive very quickly.
One of the main contributing factors to keeping things interesting are the game's graphics. Developer Radical Entertainment wisely chose to steer clear of cel-shading techniques, and instead went for an effect closer to the Treehouse of Horror episode where Homer and Bart go 3D. It's not CG-level, obviously, but it does a good job of representing what is normally in 2D in three dimensions. Things are usually shaded rather than heavily textured, and it works to a nice effect. Aside from a few hitches here and there, things also move along at a decent framerate, which is impressive given the size of each of the sections of the city you'll be exploring.
Animations are also quite well done, though there's no real lip synching from the models, just their mouths opening and closing. It's a minor gripe, and doesn't really distract from the fact that what is coming out of their mouths is hilarious. What's more, hitting characters is one of the best ways to not only hear them speak, but watch the game's physics in action. Smacking into a player and watching them ragdoll across the ground or down stairs then dust themselves off and utter a line or two is more fun than it sounds, and with the game's near complete lack of real violence, it's one of the most GTA-like aspects you're going to get.
It's already been mentioned that the game's audio is top-notch. Each of the different parts of the game offer personalized audio (i.e. sax music for Lisa, rock tunes for Bart), and there's limited variety in each of the cars. Smack into enough people and you'll alert the cops, cueing some fitting chase music that's different for each character. It's a nice touch and shows once again that there was plenty of detail paid to the audio department. The music itself usually consists of some variation of the main theme, and it's utterly forgettable, but at least it won't grate on your nerves.
In fact, the only part of the audio that actually will comes sadly from the voice acting. For some odd reason, Radical felt the need to have the characters regularly bust out lines while driving. Granted, at first it's cool to hear them react to everything they're doing, but after hearing a couple hours of the same half-dozen sound bites repeated every 30 seconds, it's little more than an annoyance. Luckily, the rest of the voice acting is fantastic; hearing the entire cast of Springfield utter original lines the tie into what you're doing (or about to do) has an intangibly "neat" feeling. It's enough to get Simpsons freaks like me all giddy to hear Professor Frink describe what would happen if his newest invention (the Truckasaurus, if anyone's interested) ever rampaged through the city. For sheer comic value, it's easily the best voice acting heard in games, and the writing behind it is almost as sharp as the show.
The sheer wealth of Simpsons reference material saves Hit & Run from falling into the same trap the previous games had. Sure, they boasted voice acting from the cast and had some funny bits, but the core gameplay wasn't there. In Hit & Run, it is, albeit in small amounts that are milked to death by the end, but for hardcore Simpsons fans, there's enough "ooh, look at that!" moments to keep things fresh until then. For those of us utterly addicted to the show, this is a definite buy.
The key to Hit & Run's appeal is the fact that it packs more references, in-jokes and cameos in it than any licensed game to date – and probably for some time to come. It's obvious that the full weight of the talent that resides behind the show was put behind this project, and it shows; it's easily one of the best uses of a license ever adopted into video game form. From show writers to actual voice talent to a game structure that allows full exploration of Springfield in a way that could only be pulled off in a quality game, Hit & Run is just as much a decent Grand Theft Auto clone as it is a showcase for the 15 seasons the show has been on the air.
The "plot" goes a little something like this: a swarm of cameras thinly disguised as robotic bees have suddenly shown up all over Springfield, as have dozens of mysterious black vans. By taking turns jumping into each of the Simpsons' shoes, you'll explore the whole of Springfield in an attempt to find out exactly who is to blame for the recent invaders. Simple, yes, but it works well enough to introduce you to the world you'll soon be exploring.
Springfleld is laid out in such a way that you won't actually explore the whole area all at once. Different members of the family have their respective areas, and within these microsections of the city, you'll learn the ins and outs of famous landmarks. Nearly everything you would expect is here; the Qwik-E-Mart, the nuclear power plant, the Android's Dungeon, Springfield Elementary, and plenty of other places built to house some of the more famous side characters from the series. While you won't quite get a sense of the Springfield from the show being brought to life in 3D, it's detailed and done well enough that it satisfies your urge to keep looking for show references.
Hit & Run's problem doesn't like in its recreation of Springfield, though, it's more in the gameplay itself. While it is true that this is in effect a GTA clone, Simpsons-style, it's nowhere near as complex. The bulk of your missions in the game are either racing against someone or the clock, hitting someone, or running fetch quests. It's fair to say that a good 75% of the missions you go on – if not more – are made up of these basic ideas. It dampens the freshness that you first feel upon starting up the game, and even some hilarious dialogue with the different denizens of Springfield while running the missions can't hide the fact that the game is really quite shallow. There are more things to do in each level, of course; you can run races, buy new clothing outfits from different episodes of the show, destroy the camera bees, collect trading cards (complete with quotes from the relevant episode), or find gags around the city, but it's all mainly padding to add to the main game.
If it weren't for the fact that the vehicles control so well (despite an odd reversal of controls from the GTA model where O is reverse and square pulls the handbrakes), and things are laid out so nicely, Hit & Run would largely be a bust, but clever writing, an astonishing level of authentic recreation of events from the show, and a feeling that this really is one step closer to getting an interactive episode of the show means things are still genuinely entertaining – even if they get very repetitive very quickly.
One of the main contributing factors to keeping things interesting are the game's graphics. Developer Radical Entertainment wisely chose to steer clear of cel-shading techniques, and instead went for an effect closer to the Treehouse of Horror episode where Homer and Bart go 3D. It's not CG-level, obviously, but it does a good job of representing what is normally in 2D in three dimensions. Things are usually shaded rather than heavily textured, and it works to a nice effect. Aside from a few hitches here and there, things also move along at a decent framerate, which is impressive given the size of each of the sections of the city you'll be exploring.
Animations are also quite well done, though there's no real lip synching from the models, just their mouths opening and closing. It's a minor gripe, and doesn't really distract from the fact that what is coming out of their mouths is hilarious. What's more, hitting characters is one of the best ways to not only hear them speak, but watch the game's physics in action. Smacking into a player and watching them ragdoll across the ground or down stairs then dust themselves off and utter a line or two is more fun than it sounds, and with the game's near complete lack of real violence, it's one of the most GTA-like aspects you're going to get.
It's already been mentioned that the game's audio is top-notch. Each of the different parts of the game offer personalized audio (i.e. sax music for Lisa, rock tunes for Bart), and there's limited variety in each of the cars. Smack into enough people and you'll alert the cops, cueing some fitting chase music that's different for each character. It's a nice touch and shows once again that there was plenty of detail paid to the audio department. The music itself usually consists of some variation of the main theme, and it's utterly forgettable, but at least it won't grate on your nerves.
In fact, the only part of the audio that actually will comes sadly from the voice acting. For some odd reason, Radical felt the need to have the characters regularly bust out lines while driving. Granted, at first it's cool to hear them react to everything they're doing, but after hearing a couple hours of the same half-dozen sound bites repeated every 30 seconds, it's little more than an annoyance. Luckily, the rest of the voice acting is fantastic; hearing the entire cast of Springfield utter original lines the tie into what you're doing (or about to do) has an intangibly "neat" feeling. It's enough to get Simpsons freaks like me all giddy to hear Professor Frink describe what would happen if his newest invention (the Truckasaurus, if anyone's interested) ever rampaged through the city. For sheer comic value, it's easily the best voice acting heard in games, and the writing behind it is almost as sharp as the show.
The sheer wealth of Simpsons reference material saves Hit & Run from falling into the same trap the previous games had. Sure, they boasted voice acting from the cast and had some funny bits, but the core gameplay wasn't there. In Hit & Run, it is, albeit in small amounts that are milked to death by the end, but for hardcore Simpsons fans, there's enough "ooh, look at that!" moments to keep things fresh until then. For those of us utterly addicted to the show, this is a definite buy.
