The Simpsons: Hit & Run

THE BAD:
Becomes quite repetetive
Suprisingly difficult in the latter stages

SUMMARY:
The game is basically GTA in Springfield. Everything is here , from general kicking/punching and carjacking , and every Simpsons character (and several others are excellently recreated with their legendary quotes and the like .Don't be fooled by the exterior , although the graphics appear to be blocky and childlike , the game can become very difficult and some missions are very challenging. With the array of unlockables and little mini-games , this will keep you going for months , a must buy.

THE BAD:
final level difficulty

SUMMARY:
This game is SO fun! For what Hit&Run is, it's really a complete game, plus it's absurdly fun! So, where to start...?
Well, the places in springfield are shaped for fun exploring and driving, and are SO vast, it'll take you some time just to get all the way through, So it stays fun and exciting.
You also have the "Hit and run!" meter where you can attract the attention of the police. At that point, it's up to you to run from the law! If you get caught, you get a 50 coin fine. It really makes you feel alive when you're in hit and run mode though.
The storyline is perfectly sculpted using what the writers had. They used the characters perfectly for humor and a cool storyline which makes hit and run not just any other simpson game anymore.
It has the best simpson graphics I've seen yet, though Marge's hair looks a little funny. Other than that though, they are more real than they are in the show!
The collectable cards can get you some information on the show to, and the game has gags which cause side-splitting laughter.
You can also buy cars with different abilities to make driving easier depending on how you like to drive.
Finally, Don't like the simpsons default outfits? No prob! You can purchase other costumes that look both funny and cool.
overall this is a great game. Keep 'em coming!

THE BAD:
- Overwhelmingly big.
- Slow movement on foot.
- Repetative mission styles.
- Repetative jokes soon makes them annoying.

SUMMARY:
"The Simpsons" is a work of genius. Anyone who disagrees is wrong... sorry, but they are. The difficulty with such a great thing, however, is translating that outstanding success into the video game world. For an example of how not to do this, look at "Tomorrow Never Dies" on the PSone and the countless games from Disney that, quite frankly, seem to be made for the bargain bins of GAME. For an example of how to do it, thankfully... well, you're reading a review of one such example.

"The Simpsons: Hit & Run" is outstanding. While some may moan that it is, basically, a weak copy of "Grand Theft Auto", I actually prefer it. You see, with "The Simpsons", I'm having just as much fun but I don't have to be selling drugs to children out of an ice cream van to be having it. The questionable morality of "Grand Theft Auto" is the factor that makes those games possibly some of the worst games in recent years, whereas "The Simpsons" has no questionable elements: if you run someone over, they get back up. There are no drugs to sell and no policemen as enemies, and while some missions may pit you against Chief Wiggum while you work alongside Snake, they're soon balanced out with a job as Police Officer Marge or a task to stop the evil villains of the plot... the sinister space aliens, Kang and Kodos. It's a plot that involves a new brand of Buzz Cola that's becoming addictive to the townsfolk of Springfield, and along with the appearance of mysterious wasp cameras and the disappearance of several key characters, things start to unravel. Weak, I know, but who cares about the plot? The average "The Simpsons" episode has barely any story anyway, so the formula works well as an excuse for some driving and on foot missions.

You begin as Homer Simpson around the Evergreen Terrace area and Power Plant, before the action shifts to Bart Simpson in Downtown Springfield, Lisa Simpson at the Squidport, Marge Simpson back in Evergreen Terrace, Apu Nahassapemapedelan (phew) in nightime Downtown, Bart again at the Squidport and finally concluding with Homer. The characters each have their own funny sayings lifted from the TV episodes: for example, Homer's two most favourite quotes, "I am evil Homer! I am evil Homer!" and "I am so smart! I am so smart! S-M-R-T... I mean, S-M-A-R-T!", crop up on more than one occasion. Sometimes, these jokes can get a little annoying when they're repeated for the fifth or sixth time, but that's something that is easily overlooked when the rest of the presentation is taken into account. The voice acting is superbly spot-on, the graphics are very nice and while some may find "The Simpsons" in three dimensions a little unsettling, you soon get used to it. The lip-sinc is far from perfect, either, but that hardly matters when the lines are so funny.

Moving away from the characters, the vehicles are the next most important part of "The Simpsons: Hit & Run". Practically everything you've ever seen in the TV show is available, from the family sedan to Burns' limousine, the car built for Homer that plays "La Cacuracha" when you honk the horn, a Canyonero, one of Professor Frink's hovercars and the Mr. Plow and Plow King vehicles. Each one handles slightly differently without making it too difficult to change quickly between them, and easy access is given to your ever-growing garage through telephone points spread throughout the levels. The levels themselves are also well constructed, and are often overwhelming in size. Whether popping into Moe's Tavern, visiting Grandpa at the Retirement Castle or driving through Burns' Manor to get to the Power Plant, all the environments are there and they're all looking very nice indeed. It may take you a while to trawl through each level to find all the hidden extras, but to be honest, this just makes the lifespan of the game much more impressive, even if the mission styles are a little repetative in themselves.

The hidden extras really are something, too. Collector Cards gain you Bonus Mission tracks for the multiplayer "Micro Machines"-style races, different outfits for the characters can be purchased (Homer in a Muumuu is priceless), the vehicles can be unlocked through extra sub-missions and races during the main game and there are tons of hidden "Gags" that consist of switches or actions that produce a hillarious result: knock on the door of the Flanders' bunker and a voice from inside yells "Yay! It's the Rapture!", for example. It all works well to produce a solidly interactive environment and effectively creates "The Simpsons" on your PlayStation2, makes it fully interactive and challenges you to get lost, find your way, complete tasks and generally have a laugh.

So, a shining example of what to do with a extraordinarily phenomenal franchise when making a video game from it. If you're a "The Simpsons" fan, you've probably already got this game, but if you haven't, don't waste any time in grabbing a copy, especially since it's now on Platinum. If you're not a "The Simpsons" fan... oh, wait, don't be silly!

THE BAD:
-To easy
-Repetitive
-Aimed at the younger Simpsons fans

SUMMARY:
The Simpsons Hit & Run is a great game and has done an excellent job re-creating the town of Springfield. In addition to the very destructible environment and superb voice acting this game will have you laughing in no time.

Having said that however this game does come short in many areas. The first being that this game is far to repetitive, it seems that all you do is drive from one place to another, after an hour I became extremely bored from just driving from one place to another.

I also found this game to be a little bit to easy, it seems a to be based more at the younger Simpsons fans and doesn't really cater for older fans (such as myself). This was mainly represented in the games difficulty more than anything else, as the scripting is classic Simpsons.

The game has tried to expand on the previous title (Simpons Road Rage) by allowing you walk around freely and such however this does have a rather empty feel to it and you will have much more fun in a car.

All in all this is a solid game however lacks in a few areas that could have really helped the games replay value and such. My personal preference is Simpsons Road Rage, however this game is very different so the two can't really be compared. A great game, especially for those aged 10 and under however I would recommend renting this game before buying it game.

THE BAD:
-Camera dodgy
-Controls are again dodgy
-Very repetertive
-Mini-games

SUMMARY:
Hit & Run is a great game, nearly. Much better than the past two Simpson games(Skateboarding and Road Rage). Thumbs up for the exploration/More freedom part and the voice overs. But it can get repetertive, 1 mission could be collect 10 batterys and then 5 missions later collect 10 blue monkeys, same style you see!?!

But the worst thing is the mini-games, birds-eye view is extremerly rubbish, i couldn't stand it.

The camera and controls are rather dodgy and it seems so slow

But lets end on a good thing. Homer Simpson. He must be the 2nd funniest character in a video game (1staxter from Jak and daxter) One comment is: Find Flanders stupid picture of his stupid family and give it back to stupid flanders. Orto the tune of the conga), I am evil Homer, I am evil Homer, I am evil Homer!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Not a great game, if i were you rent it not buy it!!!

THE BAD:
nothing really.

SUMMARY:
A great game until completed then it becomes boring as with most games. Its great fun and it follows many of the episodes from tv.
There are loads of crazy cars and characters from the simpsons to chose from.
A great game to player I would recommend it.

thanx for readin

from

JuSt 2 xTrEme

THE BAD:
Far from a tough game<br>Crap unlockable minigames<br>Some missions you couldn't be bothered with

SUMMARY:
This is a good Simpsons title. Developers Radical, copy lots of games and now a GTA clone. Before you get too excited, there is no guns or swearing but you can now drive any car you see. Yep, it's as simple as hitting triangle when you are next to a car. The cars are great. For starters, you can drive cars like the Plow King and Krusty's limo. There's tons and quite a lot cars you have seen in the episodes. Cars also have proper strenghs and weaknesses. For example you might find cars with 2 star speed and 5 star handling. It's a lot better than Road Rage's invincble cars. In the game you have to do missions like follow the black car and collect the stuff he drops. But some of these are tedious and you want to skip it. You can now enter buildings but they are claustrophobic and there is not a lot of things to do. This game is far from hard and it will take you around a week to complete. But for those die hard Simpsons there are magic tokens that are hidden and they give you extras. This game is good and enjoyable. Go buy it if your a Simpsons fan and the others, it's your choice what to do.