Review: 'The Simpsons' hit the road
By Marc Saltzman
Gannett News Service
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Bart Simpson joy rides in this scene from the game.
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Editor's Note: The opinions expressed in this column are solely those of Marc Saltzman, a freelance technology journalist whose reviews also appear on the Gannett News Service.
The hit animated series, The Simpsons, continues to wow its television fans. The series' video-game fans, on the other hand, have been sulking like Homer without a beer.
Past titles such as The Simpsons Skateboarding and The Simpsons Wrestling were a disappointment for many fans, but the latest game about America's favorite cartoon family should make fans shout "Woo hoo!" rather than "D'oh!"
The Simpsons: Hit & Run is a mission-based driving adventure that takes place in Springfield, the Simpsons' hometown. After playing the tutorial, it doesn't take a Professor Frink to realize the game is strongly influenced by the Grand Theft Auto series. As in GTA, characters can drive around a 3-D town teeming with pedestrians and traffic, and they can step out of the vehicle to enter buildings on foot.
The goal of the game is to complete tasks for family members and townsfolk. In one scenario, Homer must get to work at the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant before Mr. Burns, his supervisor. To complete the mission, Homer must pay Barney to use his "Plow King" truck and then ram Smithers off the road before he gets to the power plant.
In total, there are more than 50 driving and on-foot missions, and roughly 40 familiar locations such as the Springfield Church, the Simpsons' residence, the Kwik-E-Mart convenience store and Springfield Elementary, Bart and Lisa's school. Game characters can enter some of these buildings, but this feature is more of a gimmick because there isn't much to see or do inside.
Like Rockstar's GTA, every vehicle in the game can be carjacked, plus there are racing challenges and some missions that impose strict time limits to complete.
Because the game was penned by The Simpsons writers and voiced by the cast, fans of the series can expect all kinds of gags and countless references to the TV show, such as a floating Drink Duff blimp overhead or a "Vote for Quimby" billboard along the road.
The dialogue is quite humorous, too. During the game's training exercises, Bart moans, "Urgh, why did I agree to do this tutorial? It's so boring!" and the many controllable characters, including Principal Skinner, Cletus and Apu, will each say silly things while driving recklessly through town and smashing into objects or people. Speaking of which, the Springfield cops will begin a pursuit if a character creates too much havoc on the streets, just like the police in the Grand Theft Auto games.
To add some customizability and replayability, The Simpsons: Hit & Run lets characters collect gold coins that can be used to buy new clothes (including a muumuu for Homer!) and new vehicles. Characters can repair damaged cars by finding gold wrenches, and they can use collectible cards to unlock additional items and also a multiplayer racing mode.
The Simpsons: Hit & Run can be considered Grand Theft Auto: Springfield, but that's fine. What it lacks in originality it more than makes up for with its fun and easy-to-pick-up game play that will appeal to fans of the long-running comedy.
The game is available for Sony PlayStation2, Microsoft Xbox and Nintendo GameCube.
