The Simpsons: Hit & Run

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Simpsons: Hit & Run
The Simpsons Hit and Run cover.png
Developer(s)Radical Entertainment
Publisher(s)Vivendi Universal Games[a]
Producer(s)Vlad Ceraldi
Designer(s)Joe McGinn
Programmer(s)
  • Cary Brisebois
  • Nigel Brooke
  • Darren Esau
Artist(s)Yayoi Maruno-Chorney
Writer(s)
Composer(s)
Platform(s)
ReleaseGameCube, PlayStation 2, Xbox
  • NA: September 16, 2003
  • EU: October 31, 2003
Microsoft Windows
  • NA: November 11, 2003
  • PAL: November 21, 2003
Genre(s)Action-adventure
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

The Simpsons: Hit & Run is a 2003 action-adventure game developed by Radical Entertainment and published by Vivendi Universal Games. It is based on the American animated sitcom The Simpsons, and is the twenty-second installment in the Simpsons series of video games.

The game follows the Simpson family and their friend Apu Nahasapeemapetilon, who witness many strange incidents that occur in Springfield; security cameras, mysterious vans, crop circles, and a "new and improved" flavor of the popular soft drink Buzz Cola that causes insanity. Taking matters into their own hands, they discover numerous shocking secrets, and soon realize these incidents are part of a larger alien conspiracy, caused by Kang and Kodos. The gameplay largely focuses on exploration and missions; players often race enemies and interact with supporting characters on timed quests. The game also features many elements found in role-playing games, such as explorable worlds and side tasks.

Beginning in late 2001, the development of The Simpsons: Hit & Run was extensive. The team sought to differentiate the game from The Simpsons: Road Rage, deeming their new entry into the franchise required a different direction. The game was heavily inspired by the Grand Theft Auto series, and the development team re-purposed the open-world design and nuanced character development for the game. This encouraged collaboration with the show's writers and cast, who helped craft the story and dialogue. It was released in September 2003 for the GameCube, PlayStation 2, and Xbox. It was then ported to Microsoft Windows two months later.

Upon release, it received positive reviews from video game critics, with praise particularly focused on the interpretation of The Simpsons television series as a video game, its parodical take on Grand Theft Auto III, and graphics, while criticism mostly surrounded some aspects of gameplay, such as bugs and glitches. It is often considered to be the best Simpsons tie-in game and has gained a cult following. The game was also a commercial success, with recorded sales of over 3 million worldwide. It received the award for Fave Video Game at the 2004 Nickelodeon Australian Kids' Choice Awards. On the PlayStation 2, GameCube, and Xbox, it earned Greatest Hits, Player's Choice, and Platinum Hits respectively.

Gameplay[]

Hit & Run (top) and Grand Theft Auto III (bottom). Hit & Run, inspired by the Grand Theft Auto series, shares some similarities with the games, including the radar, and a strong focus on their driving aspect.

The Simpsons: Hit & Run features seven levels over three separate maps, each with missions and a sub-plot.[1] The player can control one specific character in each level. The game's playable characters are Homer (played twice), Bart (played twice), Lisa, Marge, and Apu.[2] When travelling on foot, the player character can walk, jump, run, and perform three types of melee attacks: a normal kick, a jumping kick, and a smashing move.[2] To drive, the player can either hitchhike and control the driver in one of the many civilian vehicles that drive endlessly around town, or use a phone booth to select a car.[1] Several hidden vehicles are present in each level and can also be used by the player if found. The game's driving missions are also similar to those of Grand Theft Auto III.[3][4] In both games, the player races against other characters, collects items before a timer runs out, and wrecks other cars.[1][5]

The game has a sandbox-style format that emphasizes driving, and the player controls their character from a third-person view. The character can perform certain acts of violence, such as attacking pedestrians, blowing up vehicles, and destroying the environment.[2] The Simpsons: Hit & Run has a warning meter that indicates when the police will retaliate for bad behavior. Located in the bottom-right corner of the screen, the circular "hit and run" meter fills up when the character runs people over or destroys objects, and decreases when they cease doing so. When full, several police cars chase the character for the duration of the hit and run.[1]

Each level contains items the player can collect, such as coins, which can be gathered by either smashing Buzz Cola vending machines, Buzz Cola boxes or wasp cameras, the latter of which become more elusive as the game progresses. The coins can be used to buy new cars and player outfits, some of which are required to progress through the game.[2] The player can also collect Itchy and Scratchy cards. There are seven cards in each level. When the player collects all seven cards in a level, a racing mini-game called 'Bonus Game' is unlocked. Overall, there are seven racetracks to unlock for the Bonus Game by collecting every card in a level. When all 49 cards are collected in all the levels, the player unlocks a special The Itchy & Scratchy Show video.[1] Several events cause the player to lose coins; because the character cannot die, injuries cause the player to lose coins.[2] If the player is apprehended during a hit and run, they will be fined 50 coins.[2]

Plot[]

Mysterious happenings are occurring in Springfield; a horde of robot wasps descend upon the city at the beginning of the game. After a tractor beam abducts Bart outside a stadium, Lisa attempts to find her brother by exploring the town for clues. She learns that the black sedans that have been appearing around town are connected to Bart's disappearance. Lisa eventually finds Bart on a ship in Springfield harbor. He appears to have memory loss and is mumbling unintelligibly while occasionally mentioning the sedans and Buzz Cola, the "new and improved" cola drink recently launched by television personality Krusty the Clown. Marge sets out to learn what has affected Bart. As she investigates a crop circle that recently appeared in Cletus Spuckler's crop field, Abraham Simpson tells Marge that the crop circle is an exact replica of the Buzz Cola logo. Marge gives a can of the cola to Bart, which snaps him out of his stupor. Bart reveals that the Buzz Cola is a mind-control cola produced by aliens. Marge decides to purge Springfield of the cola, but in spite of her valiant efforts, the drink still maintains its popularity.[6]

Inspired by Marge's efforts, Apu tries to discover the source of the cola. He finds out that the cola trucks are registered to the Springfield Museum of Natural History. Apu and Bart decide to go inside the museum, where they find a meteor as the source of the cola. They eavesdrop on a conversation between aliens Kang and Kodos, who are masterminding a scheme. Apu and Bart learn that the wasp cameras are filming the antics of Springfield for an intergalactic reality show, Foolish Earthlings. The aliens are using the cola to make people insane, by which time Kang and Kodos will distribute laser guns among the populace to drive the town to a violent massacre sure to draw many viewers.[6]

Apu is frightened of the aliens and refuses to help any further, so Bart takes it upon himself to foil Kang and Kodos' plan. He asks Krusty for help, but Krusty informs Bart that he has already helped the Duff Brewery set up free laser gun stands around Springfield. Bart then goes to his father, Homer, for help, and the duo quickly pursue Kang and Kodos to the brewery. However, the aliens escape, and before departing, they reveal that they have already released Buzz Cola throughout Springfield's water supply. As the cola seeps into the ground, it releases the un-dead from the Springfield Cemetery, who invade Springfield on the night of Halloween. When Homer collects supplies to protect his family and home from the marauding zombies, he decides to pursue a black sedan—which he believes belong to the aliens—to the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant. The sedan, however, belongs to Professor Frink, who has discovered the aliens' weakness: nuclear waste. He plans to use the space ship's tractor beam to suck up cars that are loaded with drums of nuclear waste. After successfully loading Frink's car, along with three more, into the aliens' tractor beam, the ship explodes. The following day, Springfield is returned to normal, while the Foolish Earthlings show reaches peak popularity even on Earth. Homer is hailed as a hero and gained a large following of alien fans that have come to see him. In heaven, Kang and Kodos are happy that they do not have to watch the game's credits, but they do anyway. The game ends with Kang screaming in horror and frustration.[6]

Development[]

The developer, Radical Entertainment, received the rights to create games for The Simpsons franchise when they demonstrated a playable prototype. Radical released its first The Simpsons game in 2001, called The Simpsons: Road Rage. After Road Rage was released, the development team for Hit & Run decided not to create a direct sequel to Road Rage; instead, Radical wanted to steer the franchise's video game series in a different direction by giving the game engine a complete overhaul. The developers felt that everything else needed a new approach, while only the driving portion of Road Rage was worth keeping;[7] in Hit & Run, enhanced traffic artificial intelligence is introduced, which makes computer-controlled vehicles react better to the player's driving. The internal development name for The Simpsons: Hit & Run was simply "Simpsons", as referenced by the executable file of the game.[8] They also decided to add an exploration element to the game to make players get out of the car and navigate the area on foot, so that the game offered a better experience of Springfield.[7]

When developing the graphics, the team decided to include landmarks from Springfield. The player is able to enter some of them, including the Kwik-E-Mart, Moe's Tavern, Springfield Elementary School, and The Android's Dungeon and Baseball Card Shop. During Hit & Run's development, 20th Century Fox, Gracie Films and Matt Groening, the creator of The Simpsons, played important roles in bringing The Simpsons universe into a 3D environment. All character voices were supplied by the actual cast, and the series' writers wrote the entire story for the game, including dialogue.[7] Voice samples original to the game, as well as one-liners from the show, can be heard in Hit & Run. Some of the dialogue is reused from a previous game The Simpsons: Road Rage. Tim Ramage, the associate producer of the game's publisher, Vivendi Universal Games, considered it a blessing to have the opportunity of working with The Simpsons cast, along with the writers, with Ramage saying "...you have no concerns about quality; you know you’re getting the best there is."[7]

The game's soundtrack was primarily composed by Marc Baril, with additional compositions by Jeff Tymoschuk and Allan Levy.[9] The soundtrack includes various arrangements of the original Simpsons theme by Danny Elfman, and features specific melodies for each playable character; for example, Bart's gameplay is accompanied by hard rock, while Lisa has laid-back motifs that Steven Hopper of GameZone compared to beach party films.[5]

Reception[]

Over one million copies of the game were sold as of June 2004,[38] and three million as of July 2007.[39] It had sold 500,000 copies in the United Kingdom by January 2004.[40] The game's PlayStation 2 version received a "Diamond" sales award from the Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association (ELSPA),[41] indicating sales of at least 1 million copies in the United Kingdom.[42]

Hit & Run received "generally favorable" reviews on all platforms according to the review aggregation website Metacritic,[34][35][36][37] and many consider it to be the best Simpsons game to date.[43][44][45] Praise focused on the move from the Simpsons television series to the video game format, while criticism targeted some aspects of gameplay. Hit & Run won the award for Fave Video Game at the 2004 Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards.[46]

A number of reviews complimented the transposition of the Simpsons television series to a video game. Justin Leeper of Game Informer and Alex Navarro of GameSpot commented on how well the game depicted the fictional city of Springfield from the television series, and called it the most accurate representation of Springfield ever put into a game.[14][19] Official Xbox Magazine said that the game did the show justice,[3] and Play felt that it was "essentially the show in real time", summing up its review by calling the game a "truly great cross-over product".[47] Navarro thought that the humor that the game offered included many excellent self-referential jokes,[19] and Eric Bush of TeamXbox concluded its review by predicting that the game would be extremely appealing to gamers, especially hardcore Simpsons fans.[48] Entertainment magazine Variety surmised that Hit & Run was the first Simpsons game to include humor comparable to what was in the television series.[49]

Hit & Run's parodical take on the Grand Theft Auto III video game was praised by several reviewers. Zach Meston of GameSpy considered it to "deftly satirize Grand Theft Auto while being almost as entertaining", and suggested that Hit & Run improved several gameplay aspects that it borrowed from Grand Theft Auto, including instant mission restarts, a superior guidance system, and an easily accessible collection of vehicles.[22] Official Xbox Magazine agreed that Hit & Run was an excellent game in its own right, and found the game to be a "brilliant" clone of Grand Theft Auto.[3] The combination of the Simpsons universe with the gameplay of the Grand Theft Auto series was also praised by Douglass C. Perry of IGN as "pure brilliance".[27]

Positive reviews of Hit & Run focused on its graphics and gameplay. Play appreciated the virtual world that the game offered, describing it as "grandiose in its expanse and artistic rendering".[47] Navarro found the gameplay to be very engaging.[19] Meston found the game to be "very fun and very funny",[22] and Leeper called it "nothing short of astonishing".[14] Despite positive reactions, the game also had serious issues that were brought up in several reviews, which focused on the game's bugs and glitches. Both Bush and Mr. Tickle of Game Revolution pointed out that Hit & Run had a few gameplay issues and graphical shortcomings that included strange artificial intelligence behavior and a broken camera system, which they felt hindered the overall experience of the game.[17][48]

Non-video game publications gave positive reception on the game as well. Nick Catucci of The Village Voice gave the Xbox version a score of nine out of ten and stated, "This delightful, deep, and detailed (but unfortunately not cartoon-style cel-shaded) rip on the Grand Theft Auto series critiques itself better than any untenured academic could."[50] Marc Saltzman of The Cincinnati Enquirer gave the game four stars out of five and said that "What it lacks in originality it more than makes up for with its fun and easy-to-pick-up game play that will appeal to fans of the long-running comedy."[32] Geoff Keighley of Entertainment Weekly gave it a B and said, "If some of the missions seem repetitive, others stand out, like the one that has you confiscating copies of a particularly violent videogame (wink, wink) corrupting Springfield's youth."[33] In Japan, Famitsu gave the Xbox version a score of two eights, one seven, and one eight, for a total of 31 out of 40.[13]

Notes[]

  1. ^ Released in PAL regions under the Sierra Entertainment brand name

References[]

  1. ^ a b c d e Ricardo Torres (September 5, 2003). "The Simpsons: Hit and Run Preview". GameSpot. Retrieved August 20, 2016.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Perry, Douglass C. (August 28, 2003). "The Simpsons: Hit and Run (Preview)". IGN. Retrieved August 20, 2016.
  3. ^ a b c d "The Simpsons: Hit & Run". Official Xbox Magazine: 82. October 2003.
  4. ^ Mikel Reparaz (March 28, 2007). "Battle of the GTA clones (Page 4)". GamesRadar+. Retrieved August 20, 2016.
  5. ^ a b c Hopper, Steven (December 22, 2003). "The Simpsons Hit & Run - PC - Review". GameZone. Archived from the original on January 3, 2009. Retrieved August 20, 2016.
  6. ^ a b c McCutcheon, David. "The Simpsons: Hit & Run Guide". IGN. Retrieved 2008-12-17.
  7. ^ a b c d Kinnear, James. "The Simpsons Hit & Run Interview". Gamers Hell. Archived from the original on January 28, 2011. Retrieved December 17, 2008.
  8. ^ Scalzo, John. "The Simpsons: Hit and Run (Preview)". UGO Networks. Archived from the original on January 23, 2008. Retrieved December 17, 2008.
  9. ^ Vivendi Universal Staff (2003). The Simpsons: Hit & Run Instruction Booklet. Vivendi Universal Games. pp. 19–21.
  10. ^ a b c Sewart, Greg; Ford, Greg; Byrnes, Paul (October 2003). "The Simpsons: Hit & Run (GC, PS2, Xbox)". Electronic Gaming Monthly (171): 140.
  11. ^ Marriott, Scott Alan. "The Simpsons: Hit & Run - Review". AllGame. Archived from the original on December 11, 2014. Retrieved March 29, 2017.
  12. ^ Reed, Kristan (October 30, 2003). "The Simpsons Hit & Run (PS2)". Eurogamer. Retrieved August 21, 2016.
  13. ^ a b "The Simpsons: Hit & Run (Xbox)". Famitsu. 785. January 1, 2004.
  14. ^ a b c Leeper, Justin (November 2003). "Simpsons: Hit and Run [sic] (GC)". Game Informer. No. 127. p. 157. Archived from the original on January 23, 2009. Retrieved August 21, 2016.
  15. ^ Leeper, Justin (October 2003). "Simpsons: Hit and Run [sic] (Xbox)". Game Informer. No. 126. p. 134. Archived from the original on March 27, 2009. Retrieved August 21, 2016.
  16. ^ DJ Dinobot (September 16, 2003). "The Simpsons: Hit & Run Review for PS2 on GamePro.com". GamePro. Archived from the original on February 12, 2005. Retrieved August 21, 2016.
  17. ^ a b c d Mr. Tickle (October 2003). "The Simpsons: Hit and Run Review [sic] (GC, PS2, Xbox)". Game Revolution. Retrieved August 21, 2016.
  18. ^ a b c Navarro, Alex (September 15, 2003). "The Simpsons: Hit & Run Review (GC, PS2, Xbox)". GameSpot. Retrieved August 21, 2016.
  19. ^ a b c d Navarro, Alex (November 13, 2003). "The Simpsons: Hit & Run Review (PC)". GameSpot. Retrieved August 21, 2016.
  20. ^ Meston, Zach (September 24, 2003). "GameSpy: The Simpsons Hit & Run (GCN)". GameSpy. Retrieved August 21, 2016.
  21. ^ Accardo, Sal (November 10, 2003). "GameSpy: The Simpsons Hit & Run (PC)". GameSpy. Retrieved August 21, 2016.
  22. ^ a b c Meston, Zach (September 24, 2003). "GameSpy: The Simpsons Hit & Run (PS2)". GameSpy. Retrieved August 21, 2016.
  23. ^ Meston, Zach (September 24, 2003). "GameSpy: The Simpsons Hit & Run (Xbox)". GameSpy. Retrieved August 21, 2016.
  24. ^ Raymond, Justin (September 30, 2003). "The Simpsons Hit & Run - GC - Review". GameZone. Archived from the original on December 20, 2008. Retrieved August 21, 2016.
  25. ^ McElfish, Carlos (October 1, 2003). "The Simpsons Hit & Run - PS2 - Review". GameZone. Archived from the original on May 1, 2009. Retrieved August 21, 2016.
  26. ^ Code Cowboy (October 5, 2003). "The Simpsons Hit & Run - XB - Review". GameZone. Archived from the original on June 25, 2008. Retrieved August 21, 2016.
  27. ^ a b c d Perry, Douglass C. (September 16, 2003). "The Simpsons: Hit & Run (GCN, PS2, Xbox)". IGN. Archived from the original on February 26, 2007. Retrieved August 21, 2016.
  28. ^ Butts, Steve (November 12, 2003). "The Simpsons: Hit & Run (PC)". IGN. Retrieved August 21, 2016.
  29. ^ "The Simpsons: Hit & Run". Nintendo Power. 172: 138. October 2003.
  30. ^ "The Simpsons: Hit & Run". Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine: 96. September 2003.
  31. ^ Osborn, Chuck (January 2004). "The Simpsons Hit & Run". PC Gamer: 105. Archived from the original on March 15, 2006. Retrieved August 21, 2016.
  32. ^ a b c d Saltzman, Marc (September 23, 2003). "The Simpsons meet[s] Grand Theft Auto (GC, PS2, Xbox)". The Cincinnati Enquirer. Archived from the original on June 12, 2008. Retrieved August 21, 2016.
  33. ^ a b c d Keighley, Geoff (September 5, 2003). "The Simpsons Hit & Run (GC, PS2, Xbox)". Entertainment Weekly (726): L2T 22. Retrieved August 21, 2016.
  34. ^ a b "The Simpsons: Hit & Run for GameCube Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved August 21, 2016.
  35. ^ a b "The Simpsons: Hit & Run for PC Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved August 21, 2016.
  36. ^ a b "The Simpsons: Hit & Run for PlayStation 2 Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved August 21, 2016.
  37. ^ a b "The Simpsons: Hit & Run for Xbox Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved August 21, 2016.
  38. ^ Pham, Alex (June 22, 2004). "Vivendi Game Unit Slashes 350 Jobs as Sales Fall". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 16, 2008.
  39. ^ "Video Game Hits and Misses (Hit: Simpsons Hit & Run)". Bloomberg Businessweek. June 25, 2007. Archived from the original on May 29, 2010. Retrieved August 21, 2016.
  40. ^ Reed, Kristan (20 January 2004). "UK Charts: A month in the top spot for Need for Speed". GamesIndustry.biz. Retrieved 2021-11-09.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  41. ^ "ELSPA Sales Awards: Diamond". Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association. Archived from the original on May 19, 2009.
  42. ^ Caoili, Eric (November 26, 2008). "ELSPA: Wii Fit, Mario Kart Reach Diamond Status In UK". Gamasutra. Archived from the original on September 18, 2017.
  43. ^ Llewellyn, Michael (30 May 2017). "Ranking Every Simpsons Game From Worst To Best". The Gamer. Retrieved 5 June 2018.
  44. ^ Towell, Justin (25 April 2017). "Every Simpsons game ever: from worst to best". GamesRadar+. Retrieved 5 June 2018.
  45. ^ "Top 10 Simpsons Games". YouTube. Archived from the original on 2021-11-14. Retrieved 5 June 2018.
  46. ^ "2004 Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards!". K-Zone. Archived from the original on September 19, 2006. Retrieved December 16, 2008.
  47. ^ a b "The Simpsons: Hit & Run (GC, PS2, Xbox)". Play: 78. September 2003.
  48. ^ a b Bush, Eric (October 13, 2003). "The Simpsons Hit & Run Review (Xbox)". TeamXbox. Archived from the original on January 12, 2008. Retrieved December 16, 2008.
  49. ^ Variety staff (November 2, 2005). "EA signs 'Simpsons'". Variety. Retrieved August 21, 2016.
  50. ^ Catucci, Nick (September 23, 2003). "Funner Than GTA Clones, Funnier Than Recent Simpsons". The Village Voice. Retrieved August 21, 2016.

External links[]

Retrieved from ""