Straight Jacket Type Fun
The Simpsons Hit & Run for PC
I'm not going to bore you with my own brief synopsis of Simpsons history. I'm going on the assumption that even if you're part of the Right Wing Moral Majority you've probably watched a Simpsons episode in it's 14 year run on televisions. Heck, you might have even laughed. This review is geared towards any fan of the Simpsons, whether you're a hardcore nut or have a passing interest in the antics that take part in the town of Springfield in the great state of.. well, you know which state don't you?
Playing the Simpsons is a bizarre nostalgic trip for a fan of the Simpsons. You're in a town you've never set foot in, in a world that doesn't exist, and with people who if they really did exist would all be thrown in jail or on so much Prozac they'd be comatose. Yet, you feel you know this place like it was your own block. Look, there's Dr. Hibert at the hospital getting a good laugh. Or Apu behind the register on his 40th straight hour of work since that lazy good for nothing untouchable Sanjay didn't show up for work again. Heck, there's Krusty kicking an Irish bum who's in his way. Show those dirty Irish who is boss, Krusty! Or hey, there's Cleteus the slack jawed yokel guarding his dirt pile. Yeah, Springfield is town with a lot of stories. And oddly enough a lot of driving missions!
The premise of the game is that you are given missions around town by various characters while you are also trying to unwrap the mystery of robotic bumble bees infesting the town, crop circles showing up in tomaco fields, and some vast alien conspiracy. While of course it's important to finish these missions, the fact that all the maps have so many references to the episodes you might be stopping yourself to get out and look at the Bowl-A-Rama with it's ecologically unfriendly bowling pin maker, Burns' Casino, or even hop into the Observatory to have a word with Professor Frink or take a cruise in his hovercar. There also exist side missions which will unlock secret cars, help you make more money to buy various outfits for the characters, or just work on your driving skills. Those of you with anal retentive tendencies will most likely find yourself occupied for quite some time trying to finish all these missions.
The missions, while fun, do tend to get a bit repetitive. There are five major mission types: destroy another vehicle, race another vehicle to a point on the map, lose the bad guy, beat the clock, and pick up the items that are either on the ground or you must knock out of a truck. Sometimes the game mixes them up for you. At one point in the mission you're running to beat the clock and then you have to lose another car following you. After seven levelsof this, it starts to wear a little thin and the fact that there are maybe five lines of in-car dialogue for each major character does make it a little annoying. While running over pedestrians on the sidewalk can be a problem, hearing Homer continually sing "I am Evil Homer" four or five times during one mission can be grating.
What keeps the game fresh and entertaining in these missions is the dialogue between the characters and the humorous setups for the missions. For example, in one mission you must find and pick-up all the gifts that Comic Book Guy had purchased for Mrs. Skinner including some lovely new dentures, Depend undergarments with a red heart pattern, and a new walking cane. In another, you need to help Snake lose Chief Wiggum. While you would think throwing a few donuts or a few pairs of shoddy counterfeit jeans out the window would do the trick, Wiggum actually appears to be trying to do his job in this game. It's the one part of this game that didn't feel like the Simpsons universe.
One interesting part about the missions is that if you get stuck on a mission (save for the very last one of each level), after four or five times the game will give you the option to simply skip the mission and proceed with the game. This is a very welcome addition and I'm hoping to get this somehow into my love life. "Date going too hard? Can't think of things to say? Just hit the skip button and be back at your place testing the viscosity of various baby lotions on your date! Order today!"
The racing and driving is simple and intuitive. With the PC version the default config is the basic WASD key setup and then the mouse1 and mouse2 serve as the brake and emergency brake respectively. This really does a number on your fingers since holding down that W button the entire time while also trying to slide around a turn can really cramp your fingers after a while. You can, however, remap the keys so it's not anything too terrible. Various cars act as you would expect. While far from perfect physics, the basic principles apply. For example, Otto's school bus is slow but may dish out a lot of damage, Lisa's Malibu Stacy sports car is great for cornering but bad for smashing, and of course Homer's Mr. Plow is excellent for those head on collisions that are just too tempting too avoid. Not to say that I ever crossed the yellow line down the middle of the road but... well, ok I did a lot. But I swear that dump truck was just asking to be rammed into that yuppie's sports car. You can also hop into any car on the street or that drives by you. The most entertaining one has to be the Monster Truck while you play as Apu. If that doesn't get you to laugh, there's really something wrong with you.
Graphics wise, I experienced no problems on my machine but your mileage may vary. The entire world has been moved into a full 3-D so that the entire game looks as it did in the Simpsons episode where Homer and Bart are rendered in CGI. While the 3rd person camera sometimes moves inappropriately this only occurs in very rare instances. One animation quirk I noticed was that when running over someone (again something I rarely ever did!) the roadkill.. err, victims, flail their arms around but fail to roll once they hit the ground. Instead, they appear to slide or skip across the concrete as if they hit a patch of ice. It took me a while but I finally recognized seeing this before in that crappy game Black & White with it's villagers but please believe me that it does not detract from the overall game. Eventually you tend to ignore the civilians altogether like you would a light post or mailbox or a child's bicycle.
I can't help but give The Simpsons Hit & Run a high recommendation, particularly to all you Simpsons fans. Driving around Springfield and talking with every single major (and most minor) charcaters from the show's long history is a real treat that has been vividly captured by this game.
Cheater Program that I needed to finish the last mission of this game. Grandpa's Jeep just doesn't handle good with a V-2 Rocket strapped on the back of it. Who'd a thunk that.
Silly humans!