Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1257 in Computer & Video Games
• Brand: Sierra
• Released on: 2004-08-27
• Rating: To Be Announced
• Platform: PlayStation2
• Dimensions: 7.48" h x .79" w x 5.51" l,

Amazon.co.uk Review
Up to now The Simpsons games have been nothing if not consistent: they've all been completely rubbish. However, The Simpsons: Hit & Run thankfully breaks this 100 per cent record, and although it's hardly a classic in its own right it's just the thing for fans who want to worship their favourite characters through the medium of the joypad.

Like many of the more recent Simpsons games Hit & Run is primarily a racing game--a racing game that's very obviously using Grand Theft Auto as its primary inspiration. There's less swearing and gore but just as much running people over and driving lots of different vehicles. You can't steal them off the street, admittedly, and the missions are presented in a much more linear fashion, but otherwise this is GTA: Springfield through and through.

Somewhat embarrassingly for GTA, the on-the-foot sections are actually handled rather better than Rockstar's game, with a fairly non-rubbish camera and a decent control system that actually makes the occasional platform sections rather fun.

Most of the game is about driving, though, whether it be racing Principle Skinner to school in order to give Lisa her homework or helping Bart buy some illegal fireworks from around town. It's only when controlling underage characters such as Bart that the game's concept really starts to seem peculiar (he only drives unmotorised vehicles) but otherwise the addition of all the proper voice actors from the TV show make this the first Simpsons game ever that is in any way worthy of a purchase. --David Jenkins

Customer Reviews

Doh!
My 7 year old loves this game, bought when it was £34.99. The size allows loads of free roaming, you can steal cars as well as earn them, run pedestrians over and smash things, and the challenges are well do-able. Much more suitable for the youngsters than the "Vice City" series, and interesting enough to return to again and again. It has proved well worth the asking price, and is now an absolute bargain.

From a Simpsons fanatic...excellent game
I don't like to blow my own trumpet, but I know pretty much everything about the Simpsons. I've probably seen every episode there is to see. And I tell you what - the producers of this game have done a heck of a lot of research.

Every single episode you can think of, there is some relation to it in the game. Whether it be the solid gold house, the broken down monorail, Herman's Military Antique Shop...it's all there. This makes the game incredible in itself. As a hardcore Simpsons fan, I found most enjoyable about this game exploring each level, admiring the sheer detail of Springfield. The levels are designed so intelligently.

Often when I watched the Simpsons, sad as it may be, I imagined how fantastic it would be to live there. To drive the streets, explore the town and to meet the hundreds of different people. Well, when I got this game, it wasn't a matter of imagination - it was reality. First hand experience of wonderful Springfield.

Onto the missions. These let the game down, unfortunately. They are SO REPETITIVE! There is literally about 5 different types of mission, and there are 50 main missions on the game. And the missions are rarely explained well. For example, most of the time (particularly towards the later levels), there is a time limit for each level. Why? Don't ask me - they don't tell you. They just shove on a time limit for the hell of it. And it always involves chasing some other car, or collecting something falling out of the back of a car. It gets so tedious. Furthermore, the difficulty level is pretty awful. Considering young(ish) kids will be playing this game, it is a disgrace how hard some of the missions are. They require near, if not total, perfection. One mistake, and you may as well end the mission. What makes it worse is that on every mission, cars on the road randomly drive into you, so you run out of time, or lose the vehicle you are chasing. There is no explanation of this either. And it happens ALL THE TIME! Equally as bad is the fact that some missions are really long, and contain many different sub-tasks. If you fail one sub-task, the whole mission is over, so you have to go back to the start. So that wastes 10 minutes of your time, then you fail again and have to start over. So prepare to break a few controllers - because this is the most frustrating game I have ever played.

However, the best thing about missions on this game is the ability to SKIP. I am surprised GTA haven't come up with this option yet. If you are struggling with a mission (i.e. fail it 5 times), you get the option to skip the mission the next time you fail it. So you can move on with the story. So much better than GTA, where if you can't do a mission, you can't progress. What a great feature the SKIP option is.

Another great thing about this game is the character voice acting. All the originals are there, and there are loads of different characters all over Springfield. Think of one? They're in the game, no doubt.
One of the most impressive things with the game is the interactivity. There are loads of objects that you can use the action button with, which provokes some sort of response from that item. It is very detailed in this aspect.
The cars - well they're alright. Very generic, some of them, but there are some really good inclusions too, from a variety of episodes. Like the Homer Car (the one he builds in the episode with his brother). That has got a terrific hooter, which made me laugh a lot the first time I heard it. The way the characters walk is funny too. Homer walking in an unlockable muumuu outfit - priceless comedy. The character likeness to the original show is second to none.

So to summarise, The Simpsons Hit and Run is the perfect video-game for diehard Simpsons fans. It may be insanely frustrating, but the detail, interactivity and hilarity of this game makes the player feel as if they are experiencing Springfield first hand - an experience I for one have pined for for a very long time.

Dangerously Addictive
For starters, this game is excellent fun! Naturally based around the Simpson's world there is a lot of the usual humour and madness involved in the game, as well as great attention to detail with regards to where everything is in the game with regards to the television series. Simpsons fans will appreciate this.

As opposed to all-out racing the game is based around certain missions that push the comic storyline forwards. Such missions often include following a car to a certain place, or rushing around to a timer whilst collecting certain things. There are races that you can take part in to win money which can later be used to buy new vehicles or clothing for the characters. The game is completed in such a way, not just by doing the missions but also by collecting all of the cars available and by collecting certain bonus items along the way.

This game is great fun although it is also highly addictive. I have seen family members spend 4 hours at a time sat in front of it! Its not serious at all although how could you expect such a thing from the Simpsons?!