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News: Tom Morello stars in Guitar Hero III
Activision has announced that Tom Morello, from Rage Against the Machine and Audioslave, will guest star as a boss character in Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock. Click here to read the article.
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The Simpsons: Hit & Run
In the words of Homer Jay Simpson, "Woohoo!" Finally the fans of the Simpsons get a game that is worth the name. You would think that with such as awesome license as the Simpsons, past games would have been better, but sadly they weren’t. The last Simpsons game that I played and actually enjoyed was the old arcade game by Konami. Now out of nowhere, it seems, Vivendi Universal Games blesses us all with the releases of The Simpsons: Hit & Run.
The story as Vivendi Universal puts it, goes like this: Strange things are happening in Springfield. People are missing, very mysterious crop circles are appearing, and hidden cameras are being exposed. When Homer notices a black van with a satellite dish parked outside the Simpsons home, he decides to investigate further into these odd events. What he reveals could be the biggest mystery to rock Springfield since "Who Shot Mr. Burns?"
I don’t really want to go much into the storyline because I would ruin it. Rest assured it is great, and how could it not be, it was written by writers of the Simpsons! It is classic Simpsons writing and humor that you have come to expect from the genius writers.
Hit & Run is what most would call a Grand Theft Auto clone, meaning it has the same type of gameplay. You will be able to play as Homer, Marge, Lisa, Bart, and Apu and drive many famous vehicles from the show such as the Plow King and Lisa’s Malibu Stacy Doll car. The game has missions such as racing Mr. Skinner to the school, or picking up Apu’s babies from the hospital. Each mission is unique and very fun. Over 50 missions should keep you busy.
Like Grand Theft Auto, you can get out of your car at any time and "borrow" any car you want. Walking down the street and don’t like how a generic character looked at you? Well you can punch or kick him/her to the ground. The Simpsons being violent? Wow, what a surprise! [/end sarcasm]
Controls in Hit & Run are extremely simple. The Left Thumbstick controls your character or your vehicle. The Right Thumbstick controls the camera (which can be a pain once in a while, but nothing too serious). While walking you use the A button to jump, the B button to run, the X button to attack, and the Y button to get into a car or talk to someone. While driving, you use the A or Right Trigger to accelerate. To brake you use the Left Trigger, B, or X button. To blow your car horn, press the White Button and to switch views, press the Black Button.
Visually, Hit & Run is packed full of Simpsons goodness. The look of the game is cartoony and resembles the 3D Halloween Episode when Homer and Bart enter the 3rd dimension. The style is adequate for the Simpsons franchise. You’ll meet tons of characters from the show, all of which look just like the show, only in 3D. Springfield is huge. You’ll be able to go pretty much any where your little hearts desire.
Now onto the sound section of this review. All I have to say is actual voice-overs from the Simpsons cast! People that actually know how to voice act. Using the actual voice actors from the show ads an unbelievable amount of depth to the Simpsons universe. From Comic Book Guy to Chief Wiggum, all your favorites are here with the voices you have come to love over the past 14 seasons! Cars screech, generic characters shout at you, and horns blaze. In-game sounds are done well enough.
Overall, Hit & Run is the best Simpsons game to date and one of the best games of 2003. One thing though, let’s end the Grand Theft Auto comparison with this review. Hit & Run is a game all it’s own -- a damn good one. Excellent work Radical and VU Games! Editor’s Choice.
Report Card:
Gameplay = 8.5
Graphics = 8.5
Audio = 8.5
Replay Value = 9
Overall: 9/10
Click here for the Hit & Run screenshots gallery!
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