At first glance, The The Simpsons: Hit and Run looks like a Grand Theft Auto 3 clone, and in many ways it is. Take away the excess violence and hookers, and you'll have The Simpsons: Hit and Run. It's an unlinear, free-roaming, missions-based game with an interactive environment in the Simpsons world.

• Simpson Hit And Run Download
• Simpsons Hit And Run Police Car

Simpsons fans rejoice! This latest release from Radical Entertainment will have gamers champing at the bit. Apart from the 1991 arcade release from Konami, this is the first title not to fall under the curse plagued by previous Simpsons titles. Usually, the premise of games has been good but somehow execution has fallen to by wayside, resulting in poor gameplay or graphics.

Simpson Hit And Run Download

Springfield is becoming weird of late. Mechanical bees and mysterious black vans are overrunning the town. Crop circles are appearing at random and present a bigger mystery than who shot Mr Burns. In the game, you take control of four of the Simp-sons characters (Homer, Marge, Bart and Lisa) and the resident Kwik-E-Mart em-ployee, Apu. You must investigate these strange occurrences and identify the respons--ible individuals. Following a definite GTA (Grand Theft Auto) style, gameplay is based on character interactions and the use of vehicles. There are seven maps to explore in this title, with eight missions for each character. All of the maps have one bonus mission and three non-story race missions. The title does follow a very linear form, unlike GTA, and some of the missions can become repetitive, but this can be overlooked due to the great Simpsons humour of this game. Well-known Simpsons quips and catch phrases will keep you laughing for ages, and the voice-overs done by the official cast keep that authentic feel.

Simpsons Hit And Run Police Car

The town of Springfield has been broken up into sections and each character has its own stomping ground. The layout of the town keeps true to the show and allows gamers to familiarise themselves with it. New cars and character-specific clothing can be unlocked by collecting coins from smashing objects or completing tasks. Some missions require you to purchase faster cars from certain characters to finish that elusive race task. Reckless drivers should keep an eye on the special meter that counts how many objects/people you hit; run the meter off the chart and you’ll soon have Chief Wiggum on your case, giving you a chance to outrun his porky behind.

Hit and Run is a great addition to the Simpsons franchise. It plays more like a long-lost episode, and the visuals and audio are sumptuous (it does suffer from bad camera angles, but this plagues most 3D titles). The characters and environments offer lots of interaction and humour, and the replay value is high due to the increasing difficulty in later levels. This title can be enjoyed by people of all ages, and for hardcore Simpsons fans, it’s a must-have.

Publisher: Vivendi Universal
Developer: Radical Entertainment
URL: www.thesimpsons-hitandrun.com