Simpson, Homer Simpson, he's the greatest guy in history, From the, town of Springfield, He's about to com
As is in the show, the story begins with a very typical day in Springfield as Homer must go to the Kwik-E-Mart for food. But it's not long before a misadventure is off on its way; almost immediately, something seems awry. Krusty is shamelessly endorsing a new Buzz Cola, Wasp cameras are wandering around Springfield, and there's something going on with Aliens. The core of this story is pretty damn simple, stupid, and not really the game's focus. Instead it's the messenger boy system where you talk to a ton of the many classic Springfielders and help them out to give you a lead that eventually progresses the story. As much as the story is go here, ok? go there, good? we need you up there, it's the characters that shine through; each embodies their classic personality and it's their situations and humor that keep things rolling.
You'll play as each of The Simpsons family (Homer, Bart, Lisa, and Marge) and even Apu in three distinct areas of Springfield. If you've seen Springfield in the show, you'll notice that locations of places are not definitive; the school could be 5 minutes way, it could be 30 minutes away because that detail wasn't important in the show. Obviously geography matters in this kind of video game and yet, how the locations have been arranged feels believable. The first area is home of all the neighbors and the most prominent locations including the Kwik-E-Mart, Springfield Elementary, Nuclear Power Plant, and Springfield Retirement Castle. The second is a business district with the statue of Jebediah Springfield, Moe's Tavern, DMV, City Hall, and the destroyed monorail. Finally, the third is the entertainment district sporting Springfield Docks, Android's Dungeon & Baseball Card Shop, Krustylu Studios, Springfield Dam, Mr. Burns' Casino, and the fourth area being Shelbyville… nah, I'm just kidding. Each of these 3 areas will be visited 2-3 times and while they'll be mostly the same, they'll be a noticeable day transition and a handful of changes.
In Hit & Run, the biggest thing you do is mission based driving; there are a good handful of variants that you've probably seen in other games before *cough* GTA. You'll pursue other drivers while trying to not lose their tail, hit drivers continuously to destroy a vehicle or drop enough of an item (in one case, this is road kill for Krusty Burger). Of course you'll also be pursued in missions and there's the odd race; often, these activities will have old tick-tock on your ass, so no slacking while on a mission. The police will also pursue, if you raise too much havoc; but this can also be reduced by abstaining and the penalty is low. Hit & Run isn't as mature as who it imitates, GTA; you can get out and explore, but you don't shoot, kill, or find hookers. You can jump around and kick, perform a jumping kick, and a buttock stomp, but this world isn't made for killing people; GTA is to violence as Hit & Run is to recklessness.
So, what does a Simpson do when he steps out his car and walks in this world?... this at first sorta weird version of a 3D Springfield, that doesn't use cell shading, where nobody even knows what state they're in? He finds collector cards that are references to the show, activates what's called a gag that's also a reference to the show, and picks up mysterious coins that banks probably wouldn't consider being legal tender. Though with said coin, he can buy expensive fashion, additional cars (most of which aren't as good as what he's got access to), and repair cars if they get blown to nothin' from a phone booth. Get this: he can even call in any new car he has access to from a phone booth, maybe there's a Superman connection. But he's got foes, like Wasp cameras, mail boxes, garbage cans, and he'll kick anything else he doesn't like!
The worlds aren't superbly interactive; some areas like roof tops clearly have invisible walls and many could be easily reached by jumping if the game allowed it. Also, the camera locks up quite easily while on foot, though it's fine in generally open areas and while driving. But like many struggling camera systems, it hates confines; you'll have to adjust your navigation to how the camera dictates and it does this a fair bit when you go exploring. It should also be noted that while vehicle control is as tight as it needs to be, walking / running is a slightly slippery which makes some jumps a little tricky. The driving AI is programmed to be aggressive and this keeps good tension while driving, but it can become frustrating. To start, while playing every-so-often, I'd find one mission to be easy, the next would really push me, and the one after that was back to easy again. Sometimes, a mission became remarkably hard because of the strict time limit or the AI noticeably got warped ahead to stay neck and neck with me (I consider both of those tactics to be very cheap). Local traffic occasionally drove into my proper driving lane for no reason which might ruin your lead and in later missions, cops will commonly enter the situation. In some missions, it's difficult to stay ahead, but it only takes a small amount of wreckage and you'll have cops tailing you; they catch you and it's probably mission failed. Last of all are some glitching issues; the one in particular of focus is where you drive along a curved surface (like a guardrail) and the vehicle suddenly catches onto it, causing you to wipeout and lose a lot of momentum. All of these issues at one point or another put a bit of damper on the experience and just made certain portions of gameplay feel cheap.
It'll take around 5 minutes to get passed the computerized colourings of the Springfield and the 3D look of what has always been 2D. Characters and environments do have a bit of a simple look, but you're never gonna be able to really get past that; it is how the show is designed. The animations are what the show and game exceed in; they look natural, correct, and bring the cut scenes to life. The effects are pretty simple but look closely and you'll see a ton of well placed references to the same atmosphere of the show. The music keeps with the same jibe of the show; often, it uses the show's music and performs whimsical alterations or takes specific keynotes to make a simple, brief, instantly recognizable chip-tune. The music also adapts to the tone of the situation; commit a felony and it sounds like you're doing something mischievous. Each character also has their own theme, Lisa's is saxophone, Apu's is Indian Guru Guitar riffs, Bart's is rock / metal like of a teenage mentality, and yaba-aba-ya, onwards. The effects are distinctive, but appropriate and of course, every show actor voices his / her character to a tee and they really say something funny. If you're not driving well with homer, he'll say "You're not very good driver", get big air and he'll say "Just call me 'Air Homer'" and so forth with all other characters.
It's easy to see where it draws inspiration from: Grand Theft Auto. Both games are obsessed with American culture and its stereotypes and while Hit & Run is using a lot of GTAs concepts and in a somewhat simpler form, its imitation succeeds. There's still more to do in this game that I haven't even mentioned and it'll easily last you 15 – 20+ hours. At the end of the day, this is a Simpsons' game that you should play.
8.0 / 10 GREAT (PS2)
+Mission based driving is really fun
+A ton of music, sound effects, and really funny dialogue
+Genuinely feels like the world of 'The Simpsons'
+A good length and lots more to do
-Camera locks easily
-Unbalanced AI and minor glitches can make some missions REALLY hard