Gaming Target - GameCube: The Simpsons: Hit & Run

Written by Kyle Williams on October 14, 2003

Full Review: mmmmm... Moving Violations....

America's favorite Nuclear family has come a long way from their beginnings on the Tracy Ullman show. Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, and Maggie have had more than 300 adventures on FOX and are still going strong, what with contracts extending them for the next two TV seasons. With all of the merchandising that has taken the Simpson moniker, it is amazing that we, the gaming public, have yet to see a quality videogame that has borne their name. Luckily, The Simpsons: Hit & Run bucks the trend of marginal adventures and worn out genres starring the yellow clan. Finally, we are served a quailty title that incorporates the best of Springfield into a digital realm.

At its very heart, The Simpsons: Hit & Run is a mission based platform and driving title. Taking control of the various members of the Simpson household, you have the opportunity go cruising around the animated town in search of coins, trading cards, and missions to complete. Missions are primarily driving based and consist of races against the clock, destroying target vehicles, and evading pursuers. The town sprawls and every square block is full of destructible lampposts, mailboxes, and fire plugs. For everything you destroy there are coins to be had and a rap sheet to build. It isn't a complicated formula and maybe that is why it works so well.

Now, when it comes to licensed videogames, faith in the product tends to be rightfully thin. There are tons, and when it comes to the Atari 2600's E.T. we are talking literal tons, of low quality products based off of movies and television shows. The trick that most developers have yet to master is balancing licensed novelties and appealing gameplay. Fortunately, The Simpsons: Hit & Run pulls this off better than any other licensed game I've ever seen. The game is chock full of vocal tidbits and coin generating gags that are torn straight from some of your favorite Simpsons episodes. In all reality, it is the character culled from the animated series that gives Hit & Run a charm beyond it's gameplay.

Of course, replay is always a concern with any videogame, but licensed titles are even more prone to the repetitive doldrums than the next game. To shed the skin of mediocrity, The Simpsons: Hit & Run, is packed full of unlockable goodies and collectible happiness. Everything that you destroy in the game yields coins that you can, in turn, use to purchase alternate outfits and additional vehicles to drive. There are also a plethora of collectible trading cards to find, allowing you to unlock a bonus multiplayer racing game that bears a strong resemblance to the acrade sprint titles of the early 1990s.