The Simpsons: Hit & Run

aka: Les Simpsons: Hit & Run, Os Simpsons: Hit & Run, Xingpuseng Yijia: Da Dai Pao
Moby ID: 10421
PlayStation 2 Specs
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Description official descriptions

The Simpsons: Hit & Run can be best described as Grand Theft Auto in Springfield.

The player takes on the role of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa or Apu and tries to uncover a mystery surrounding mechanical bees that are taking over Springfield, mysterious vans, and cola that can control the minds of those who drink it.

Like GTA, the game follows a linear-based path through fifty plus missions. The player will have to chase cars and find out where they're headed, grab all the spilling cola cans before people can drink them, and chase down villains before they get away.

Throughout the course of the game, the player can unlock tons of rewards by completing missions in a set amount of time or performing outstanding stunts.

All voiceovers are performed by those who act in the show, including Dan Castellaneta (Homer), Julie Kavner (Marge) and Yeardley Smith (Lisa).

The game supports multiplayer action for up to four players.

Spellings

  • 辛普森一家:打带跑 - Chinese spelling (simplified)
  • 심슨가족: 히트앤런 - Korean spelling

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Credits (PlayStation 2 version)

250 People (175 developers, 75 thanks) · View all

Producer
Associate Producer
Vice President of Technology
Publishing
Vice President of Marketing
Marketing Directors
Assistant Marketing Manager
Director of Public Relations
Creative Services Director
Creative Services Manager
Senior Designer
Account Manager
Manual Layout
Vivendi Universal Games Special Thanks (Marketing)
[ full credits ]

Reviews

Critics

Average score: 75% (based on 52 ratings)

Players

Average score: 3.7 out of 5 (based on 112 ratings with 9 reviews)

Finally, the Simpsons are Captured in a Quality Game

The Good
While it is a rip-off of the whole Grand Theft Auto gameplay, Hit and Run is a terrific take on the maniacal driving game.

The voice acting, supplied by the complete Simpson cast, makes the game. Numerous lines are taken from actual episodes, while new lines provide extremely funny moments throughout gameplay.

The game controls well too. Basically, all terrain is fair game for rampage driving sprees. There is also a well programed recognition of 'stuck' situations -- that is, if you flip over the car, the game will reset it right-side-up.

The ability to play as 5 characters from the series provides a nice sense of varied gameplay. Moreover, the use of a huge number of unlockable vehicles (such as 'Homer', the car Homer built, or Mr. Burns' Limo) each which their own controls and abilities keeps things interesting.

The missions themselves do increase in difficulty, but never beyond the point of fun. And even if you're not terribly skilled, you can play through the entire game, since you are given an option to skip a mission if you fail it too many times.

Probably the most fun of all is seeing a completely rendered Springfield. If it was in an episode, it is probably in the game. Krustylu Studios, the Duff Brewery, The Android Dungeon, Burns' Human Chess Board, Moe's, the Try 'n' Save... they're all here.

The Bad
While the voice acting is terrific, some lines are repeated to excess. If I heard Homer yell "Ow, my ass" one more time, I would have lost it.

The Bottom Line
A game to own for any Simpsons fan. Unlike every other Simpsons game, this one is a satisfying experience.

GameCube · by Game22 (35) · 2004

One of the best Simpsons game

The Good
I liked the fact that the game has an insane amount of replay value, as you can explore the levels at will and can look for the many things hidden throughout the levels, such as wasps, gags and hidden cars.

I also liked the fact that many of the characters from the series are in the game and you can play as the main characters such as Homer.

I liked the plot from the game as they put some thought into it and made the most of the characters.

The graphics are okay for its time, and the voice acting is on top form as it is the original cast, and there are lots of quotes from the show.

The music is also okay but there is not too much to say about this.

The Bad
I noticed that there are some major bugs, sometimes the car can fly off the road for no reason, or sometimes you can fall through the ground and get stuck.

Some of the missions are repetitive and the game will ask you to do many of these similar missions over and over in different levels, such as race to point X before Y does, or Collect X from Y.

I also noticed that the camera is a nightmare to control, sometimes it will move, sometimes it will not move, or not let you judge jumps appropriately thus leading to many frustrating falls and making missions harder.

After a while on a level, the quotes will get repeated over and over and can get quite annoying after a while.

The Bottom Line
I would say that The Simpsons Hit & Run is a great game that any Simpsons fan should have in their collection.

PlayStation 2 · by Mathew Mayne (6) · 2013

For Simpsons Fans only.

The Good
It's obvious that the Simpsons writers were involved in this game. The storylines and the gags are pure Simpson. As a Simpsons fan, I really enjoyed the convoluted storyline that’s trademark of the show. Especially enjoyable were the oneliners tossed by Homer, who’s takes up most of the game. You often get chewed out by the character after hitting an object with your vehicle.

The music is top notch, and most of it is clearly in the spirit of Danny Elfman’s original theme. Sound was great too. Most of it recycled from the stock sounds of the show. The engine noises were indicative of the state of your vehicle. A nice touch.

The developers did a good job recreating Springfield on the game map. The body motions varied partially when costumes were changed. If you’re lucky, you’ll catch the “I am Evil Homer” dance.

The challenge of the game comes from the goals and the limitations of each vehicle. Most races can be easily completed if you have and use the best vehicle for the race. The best vehicle isn’t necessarily the fastest. Handling, toughness, acceleration and size are also to be considered when racing. There are some races that require you to use a particular vehicle. Those are by nature, tougher than the others. You can assume control of almost all vehicles that you get close to. Part of the fun is finding those secret vehicles. The physics engine is used to great effect, having your vehicle fly off in different directions, or knocking other vehicles out of your way.

The game is gentle with us of slower reflexes and lets us skip all but the last mission if we fail enough times. It also lets you go back and try the mission at any time in the game with any vehicles you’ve acquired later on.

Each level comes with collector cards, gags, cars, costumes and a bonus mission that you can complete to unlock hidden items. The game is very PG, no swearing, no blood, no sex or overt violence.

And it’s the first time in a very long time I’ve played a game out of the box that I didn’t need to patch.

The Halloween level was a major laugh!

The Bad
The game is relatively short with only 7 levels. The bonus races you unlock only really work for consoles. You will hear the same one liners over and over and over.

Some parts of the game require you to hop and jump to get items. The controls are unwieldy for that kind of play and you often find your perspective jumping around due to bound box boundaries of the camera. In those situations, you would be happier with a first person perspective.

No online player component. And you don’t get to play any characters except for the Simpsons and Apu.

The Bottom Line
Play it if you’re a Simpsons fan. If not, you’ll probably be really annoyed with it.

Windows · by Scott Monster (986) · 2008

[ View all 9 player reviews ]

Trivia

Advertising

Most, if not any, advertising in this game are actually references to previous episodes. For example, the Itchy and Scratchy Movie poster was used in an episode where Bart is grounded from seeing said movie.

Cut content

There's quite a gaggle of cut content for The Simpsons Hit and Run. These range from unused voice clips, vehicles, character models (Agnes Skinner being one example), mission objectives, graphics and more. You can look up all missing content on The Cutting Room Floor.

Christmas

On Christmas day (December 25th), Homer's character in the main menu is dressed as Santa Claus.

Lionel Hutz

There are billboards throughout the game advertising the legal services of Lionel Hutz. Matt Groeing, producer for the Simpsons, retired Lionel Hutz and Troy McClure when Phil Hartman tragically lost his life.

Music

The hoity-toity music you hear in the Stonecutters hallway is the Spring of The Four Seasons by Antonio Vivaldi.

Awards

  • Computer Games
    • March 2004 - #10 Best Game of the Year 2003
  • GameSpy
    • 2003 – Most Pleasant Surprise of the Year (PC)

Information also contributed by PCGamer77, Pizzaking27, Scott Monster.

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Contributors to this Entry

Game added by clef.

Windows added by Sciere.

Additional contributors: Unicorn Lynx, JPaterson, chirinea, Daniel Albu, Sciere, Xoleras, Cantillon, Patrick Bregger, Rik Hideto, Tony Denis.

Game added September 26, 2003. Last modified March 6, 2024.