Taking major kudos from the GTA series, H&R is a mission based game that takes your around Springfield in an open ended manor. You can either choose to do the mission assigned, do side missions asked by townsfolk, or just run ramped steeling cars, beating people up, and finding hidden items and gags. How you play the game is completely up to you, but to finish the game, you MUST complete all the story level missions to progress. You begin as Homer; complete with humorous tutorial to teach you the basic game play aspects. The story pits you trying to find out why spy cameras are all over Springfield. As you progress by doing missions for certain Springfieldianites, you move the story along. You eventually get to play as other characters such as Bart, Lisa, and Marge too. Each family member’s story is tied together with the major plot line. Each person also has a different local of Springfield to conquer, so the amount of insider jokes are endless and seem to find room for jokes up to the latest seasons.

If you’re stuck in a scenario, bored of a mission, or just want to cause trouble and check out Springfield in a more non-linear style, you can wander around town and do tasks for folks you meet on the street. Ralph Wiggum is there to ask you to race, as is Legs from Fat Tony’s Mob outfit. Apu is always at the quickie mart, except for those 10 minutes to party like it’s on sale for $19.99. You’ll also meet Prof. Frink, The Comic Store Guy, Skinner with Mother, Millhouse, Dr. Nick, Grandpa, Otto, and a slew of others that would take a page to name them all. Whatever you choose to do, there is fun and laughter to be had by all.

Visually, the Simpsons are in 3D here, but do not take away from the animated styling of the show. Each character is lined in their classic outfits from the everyday life, but you can change into some classic getups such as Homer in a Muumuu, Bart in a Ninja Costume, and Lisa as “Floredia” Homer’s costume design for Lisa as Marge was at Mr. Burns Casino gambling, and was captured by Gamblor, the gambling monster that enslaved her and held her captive with his neon claws…or as Homer puts it at least. Anyhoo, you also get a fine choice of vehicles to get around town in, such as the classic pink sedan, Mr. Plow, The Canyonaro, Apu’s Trans-Am, and many more. You can even hijack cars that pass by on the road, but instead of stealing, you more or less catch a lift with the driver. Each area is detailed well, and all the famous Springfield landmarks are present. You have Mr. Burns Casino, The Observatory, Moe’s Bar, The Quickie Mart, and many more! With everything in place, the game looks pretty good, and even the camera never gives you much of an issue and is far more friendly than GTA’s. If you ever wanted to step into the fictitious world of the Simpsons, you can’t get much closer unless becoming an animated character yourself.

The game’s audio is also priceless. Many of the show’s one liner’s and catch phrases are present, and too boot they’ve written entirely new dialog for the game. Everyone you meet, whether it’s a generic townsperson, or the regular cast, original actors accurately portray a familiar favorite. This makes the authenticity that much sweeter…even sweeter than the Gummie Venus De Milo, the rare-est Gummie of them all! An original score that supports each character’s charm as you drive from place to place also supports the game. The sound effects are straight from the show as well, which makes for a good listen while enjoying the sights of Springfield.

All the Simpsons references in the world would be a waste if the game play were trash. Just ask Simpsons Skateboarding on that one. Thankfully the game play is very tight, responsive, and easy to maneuver or rookies or vets. What’s more, each vehicle has it’s own handling. If you are driving a heavy tailed truck, expect your turning radius to be clumsier than if you were driving a sedan. Sports cars are faster than trucks, and do and take less damage too. Despite some small camera glitches, and maybe the necessity to complete a mission in a vehicle you hate, there is little to complain about the controls here.

While die-hard Simpson’s fans will no doubt eat this up, like I did, casual fans may find the missions a bit repetitive. Sure the story line keeps things riveted, but the missions are very similar to one another with the exception of different characters and objectives. But alas, my bias shows, as I just don’t give a damn. There are plenty of missions, side missions, and secrets to uncover in Hit & Run that will keep gamers and fans playing for quite some time. If I were to give a guess, at least 20-30 hours of game play if you want to find everything. Being the fan I am, I never once got bored, but I guess I can see how some casual fans or just plain old gamer could lose interest. Unfortunately these are the same imbeciles that will complain about this game, yet say they never get sick of GTA? Whatever? But what are you going to do?

In the end, Simpsons Hit & Run is a great and fun game to be had by all, fan of the show or not, the game is just that good. The rating of a B+ is geared for that particular gamer. If you are a Simpsons nut, than bump that score to an A as it is a Simpsons’ fans dream come true. I love the game and hope you will too, now if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to Moe’s for a beer. Mmmmmm beer.