Game Review: The Simpsons Hit and Run

There was one point in time when The Simpsons ruled the world.  What originally started as a small animated segment featured on episodes of the Tracey Ullman show soon turned into a worldwide institution in animated comedy. With the phenomenal success the show had behind it, it only made sense for Fox Television to branch the franchise out into extended media.  Videos, DVDs, comics, toys and most notably video games were utilized to capitalize on the popularity of the show. While the quality of the early Simpsons video games never really reflected the same quality of the show, it’s fair to say that changed during the sixth generation of video game consoles. With newer, more advanced technology to work with, it only made sense that we’d finally start seeing video games which realized the actual potential behind what a Simpsons video game could offer.  After hitting it off relatively well with Simpsons Road Rage, it only made sense that Radical Entertainment would get the green light to develop another title, one which would earn a reputation as one of THE best Simpsons games of all time. 

Simpsons Hit and Run was developed by Radical Entertainment and published by Vivendi Games. The game was released in September 16th 2003 across PlayStation 2, Xbox and Gamecube. It’s noted that after Radical’s success with Road Rage, the developers wanted to push the scope of their next Simpsons game with an idea that was titled “GTA for kids” with key focus on detailed, explorable environments the player can explore by car or on foot.  The other key focus was that the game reflects the Simpsons IP in every capacity so the developers actually got some of the show writers to actually get involved and pen the original narrative for the game. The end product is a game which truly encapsulates the DNA of The Simpsons within its design.  Critically, the game obtained an aggregated score of 80 on Metacritic and commercially the most recent numbers noted the series had sold 8-10 million units within its lifetime.

The setup behind the story of Hit and Run follows The Simpson family and their friend Apu from the Kwik-E-Mart as they stumble upon a strange conspiracy that is unravelling at the heart of Springfield. Strange robotic wasps begin to flood the town, recording the citizens as they get into all of their familiar mishaps. Along with the influx of robotic insects, a brand-new cola drink is being marketed and sold in Springfield heavily called Buzz Cola. While seemingly a normal soda drink, the insanity-inducing effects of the drink soon clearly begin to take effect on the residents of the town. This all leads the Simpson family to learn these are all connected elements to a truly extra-terrestrial threat that may see the end of Springfield as we know it.

What ultimately makes the narrative of Hit and Run work so well is the fact Radical had the foresight to get the original writing team involved.  It’s clear the game was written to transcribe the trademark humour and style of a standard Simpsons episode.  The overall narrative makes use of a lot of the core Simpsons characters, though the odd inclusion of Apu for one level seems a little out of place I will admit.  The overall mystery and developing story are well paced and it knows never to take itself too seriously as it is a Simpsons story in the end. Another area the writing comes to the forefront is the mission structures too. Having all the original voice actors play the respective characters in the show helps to fully realize the jokes and dialogue that are layered throughout each level of the game. 

The main gameplay behind Hit and Run is driving.  Radical made a conscientious effort to re-work the engine from Road Rage to benefit from the already tight driving mechanics but to build environments which can accommodate the functionality. There’s a plethora of vehicles available within the game, you’ll always start a level with a vehicle associated to the playable character but you’ll be able to acquire more by either purchasing or unlocking them through missions.  Each major vehicle in the game is taken directly from the original show and offers a unique design and handling setup.  The major range of vehicles along with the tight driving controls makes navigating the multiple levels of Hit and Run so fun.  What also helps is the mission design too.  All of the missions in the game revolve around the use of your vehicle but their objectives differ notably. Some missions will have you racing, while some will have you collecting scattered items or doing damage to a particular vehicle.  The variety in mission objectives means there’s always an opportunity to utilize different vehicles for different purposes. It’s really clever the way Radical are able to justify the range of vehicles and missions by providing a fresh variation all throughout. 

The level design in itself also invites notable praise. While sadly limited to 3 general areas (albeit set in different times of day across the levels), the way Radical were able to visualize distinct areas of Springfield directly from the show itself is genuinely impressive.  Often at times the show only frames central locations in select shots so it must have been a substantial challenge for the developers to take these iconic buildings and areas and connect them within a living, breathing world.  Take those requirements and balance with a need to make a fun, explorable environment to drive and walk around, you can’t blame the developers for only really getting out three areas.  It’s a good consolation in that case that the 3 areas themselves are dense and well mapped out to reflect distinct districts of the city.  You have the suburbs, inner city and harbor district which are all designed superbly.  Each of the 3 features a well idealized map with fun routes and shortcuts to utilize for driving. 

It helps that like the narrative; the world design’s key aim is to realize The Simpsons property as much as possible. Each of the three areas is filled to the absolute brim with references and gags to prior Simpsons stories. Not only will you come across iconic buildings from the show but you’ll be able to explore a selection of them inside and see funny gags played out from key characters from the show.  Include on top of that the collectable cards which pay tribute to items from existing episodes and you really get a true sense of how much the writers and developers wanted to make this a proper realization of the world of Simpsons 

Even visually the game is able to capitalize on a style that works to reflect the imagery behind the show.  While we can all probably agree the 2007 game realized the show’s animated style better graphically, this game still works well for the time it was made in. Even the soundtrack by Marc Baril, Jeff Tymoschuk and Allan Levy holds notable value to it in my opinion. Each track realized the vibe and theme of the level and its central character superbly. 

Everything about Simpsons Hit and Run feels designed to appreciate The Simpsons as a property.  Am I looking at this game with a bit too much nostalgic bias? Maybe, but I’d argue you cannot objectively dismiss the core quality of this game. Its core elements are built and presented in such a memorable fashion that it only helps cement this game as one of the very best The Simpsons property has ever had.  Its gameplay is responsive and fun, its narrative is funny and compelling in all the right ways and its general design does a wonderous job in realizing the pure comedic heart behind the show within the confines of the game. I’m happy my time replaying this game was just as enjoyable as I remember it being when I was a kid, it really is a special kind of game.