The Simpsons franchise doesn't exactly have a stellar record when it comes to licensed video games. While most Simpsons games come across as simply cashing in on the popularity of the show, Hit and Run combines the great gameplay of Grand Theft Auto 3 with lots of good voice work and a remarkably accurate recreation of Springfield. Surprisingly, the game runs well even on lower end PCs. Camera issues and a handful of bugs can't keep this game down, and it is a must buy for any Simpsons fan who doesn't have the console version already.

The storyline of the game is fairly simple; there's mechanical wasps spying on people and a new and improved version of Buzz Cola in town. You take on missions as Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, and Apu as you try to get to the bottom of what is going on. The missions are all fairly simple driving missions; either you are dropping something off, picking something up, racing someone, trying to avoid someone, or trying to blow up someone's car. You get several missions that are a combination of the basic types, but nothing that really breaks the formula. You also have access to a wide range of cars, with each character having their own signature car. The cars have different rating for speed and handling and if you find that another car would better suit your current mission you can switch out cars at the nearest pay phone for a few coins or you can ask anyone on the road to give you a ride. You gather coins as you wander around Springfield, every destroyable object has some in it and they can be spent to buy cars and new outfits for each character.

Simpsons Hit and Run looks fantastic, opting for a 3D look instead of cel shading, and runs remarkably well even on a minimum requirement machine. The town is quite large, with several different areas to play in, and you'll recognize tons of traditional Springfield landmarks in the game. The cars and additional outfits that are available are also inspired by classic episodes, such Marge's Canyonero and Homer's muumuu. The voice work in the game is done by the original cast of the Simpsons, and they do an incredible job and are the real contributing factor towards the game feeling like an actual episode of the show. While the voice acting is extremely good, there simply isn't enough of it. Each character has their own set of driving taunts, and after a while you have a pretty good idea which one you are going to hear next. They also don't have a set of passenger lines, so when you have more than one person in the car it can get obnoxious extremely fast.

The controls for the game are simple and easy to learn. You can accelerate, go into reverse, and use the handbrake. You'll be using the handbrake a lot as most of the races in the game have some extremely tight turns. Outside of the car you can walk, run, jump, and attack. Performing a double jump and hitting attack gives you that character's personal attack, which you use for breaking wasp robots. While the camera is pretty minimal and effective while driving, trying to perform the platformer-inspired sections out of the car can quickly become a nightmare. If you play with mouselook turned off, as it is by default, it seems like half the time the camera will position itself right where you can't see anything and getting it to move out of that position can take time and patience. If you turn on mouselook, as PC gamers will most likely be inclined to do, you will encounter a new problem in this version of the game. In the console versions of the game the camera stayed behind your character most of the time, except when you approached signs, corners, or other obstacles that could present a problem, in which case it would automatically swing to a theoretically better angle. With mouselook turned on the camera still tries to swing into those positions, which can lead to you having to occasionally fight the game for control of the camera.

Simpsons Hit and Run is also a fairly good game for people new to the driving game genre. The cars are all clearly labeled so you have an idea how fast they can go, how well they handle, and how much of a beating they can take. While you have a small map in the corner of the screen that lights up the location of your next destination, the game also puts a series of huge glowing arrows on the road leading you to it. They might not give you the fastest route there, but you know you can get there. The learning curve is gentle, with the first Homer mission being accompanied by a tutorial that really walks you through every aspect of the game. The difficulty does ramp up in later levels, but does so at a nice rate, and if there's a race you just can't win right now, you can always come back to it later when you have a better car.

With a healthy mission-based storyline and tons of collectables, this is a game with a good lifespan, and one that is easy to introduce non-gamers to. Good graphics and excellent voice work really brings the town of Springfield to life, and Grand Theft Auto 3 inspired gameplay is a known winner. Simpsons Hit and Run is not only one of the best Simpsons games ever, it's a pretty good game on its own.