cars and bikes

THE SIMPSONS HIT AND RUN is a quantum leap from the ROAD RAGE game previously released. In ROAD RAGE you played a driving game that imitated CRAZY TAXI, and this one is more like GTA - missions on foot and driving. In HIT AND RUN you hoof it for some portions of the game, and you drive a variety of cars (just pick one off the road by standing in front of it and pressing the "y" button). You have to complete missions and tasks for the residents of Springfield while also looking out for some evil aliens that are spying on you from cola machines and robotic insects.

The SIMPSONS actors voiced all the characters and the writers had a hand in the plot of the game. Springfield is lovingly reproduced in massive detail and depth. You want to stop driving every now and then to look around at all the billboards and other items that have SIMPSONS lore : ads for Duff Beer, Krusty Burger restaurants and delivery vans, ads for The NEW area code, and tomacco plants fill the horizon.

This ones not too hard - although many of the bonus missions are tricky! But it's so BIG and there's so much to explore! WoW! And unlike ROAD RAGE the characters talk a lot more than just their catch phrases - and there are more mini-movies in the game and they look better. Great game!

"Simpsons Hit and Run" works on all levels: as a driving game, an RPG, and an adaptation of the cartoon. The entire Simpsons voice cast performs some of their best work here. 80% of the game's dialogue is brand new (Homer: "I just keep making God madder and madder!"), with the occasional classic Simpsons quote peppered here and there where appropriate.

The plot is actually quite engaging, although you can easily spend hours kicking around Marge or driving over Hans Moleman with your car. The game keeps you engaged even during loading times, via hilarious newspaper headlines.

Unlike previous Simpsons games that foolishly tried to attach actual plots (Bart saves Springfield from aliens? Please), "Hit and Run" stays true to the entire world of Simpsons characterization, making the mundane insane. Sample missions include Marge trying to stop a violent video game from being distributed by destroying the delivery truck, and Comic Book Guy racing home to be the first to write a negative review for the latest McBain movie.

So buy this game, right now, and set aside a lot of free time to play it. But please avoid making any "Best. Game. Ever" jokes. You can only imitate Comic Book Guy so much before you BECOME him.

The Simpsons:Hit & Run is what us loyal fans have been waiting for, Grand Theft Auto/ True Crimes:Streets of LA/ Simpsons put in a blender and bam! This game is vast, exapanding from Evergreen Terance to even the pond next to the power plant, which is inhabited be three-eyed fish. Your can command such lovable characters as Apu, Lisa, Homer, and Bart; also that rude fat guy from the comic store. The story has no true path, which as we all no is what makes the show great. The game has many side tracks like racing for the DMV with Patty and Selma. The game is not very difficult so less serious gamers can enjoy it but, it is still entertaining for the expert players. I would recommend this game as a must buy to faithful Simpson followers and definitly worth renting if not buying even if you have no clue who Apu is.