It seems that it has been a very long time since there was a really good game based on The Simpsons license.  It's a great license; no doubt.  The show is zany, full of action and humor, and has great characters with lots of personality.  It would translate extremely well to a game (and, of course, sell very well), so it's no surprise that developers have been trying to adapt the series into a solid game.  Unfortunately, it seemed that luck would never change, and nearly every game that came out under the license was doomed to a number of flaws.

Thankfully, that curse seems to have been broken with this latest title.  Hit and Run is great fun.  The game takes on a structure largely based on that of games like Grand Theft Auto III, in which you walk or drive around the environment, taking on various missions in order to progress the story.  Here, you'll do a number of missions as one Simpson family member in one section of the city, and move onto another member of the family in another section of the city.  It works pretty well, and the pace is nice and comfortable so you never get too frustrated, but never get tired of repetitive work, either.

Easily the best thing about the game is the fact that you get to drive around beloved Springfield in all its glory.  The designers didn't take a lot of creative liberty in making new buildings, so they used almost entirely locations that were, at one point or another, featured in the show.  And since the show largely takes place in a single town, the developers were able to make a cohesive town that is full of things to do and see and actually makes a lot of sense in the Simpsons universe.  Compared to games like GTA and Crazy Taxi, the few areas of Springfield are relatively small, but they are comfortably large and so jam-packed of secrets in their nooks and crannies that you will be finding new things long after you've completed all of the missions for that level.

The game controls very well.  I had no trouble controlling it and I have watched several people who have barely ever touched a controller sit down and have fun with it.  The on-foot controls are extremely simple and consist mainly of using the analog stick to move around and the Y button to interact with objects or get into vehicles.  You can jump and kick things; too, which is fine, but I do have one gripe: you have to hold in the X button to run at full speed.  It's not usually a problem, but while running, I had a tougher time maneuvering my character than when he wasn't running.  The camera isn't quite perfect either; and while you can easily fix it by adjusting the C stick, it's nearly impossible to adjust it while trying to outrun the cops because your car blew up.  It's a rare thing, but it does happen now and again.

The driving controls are simpler yet, though.  The A button accelerates your vehicle, button B is your handbrake, and the X button will send you in reverse.   Powerslides are possible and extremely useful, especially when using the heavier vehicles that don't turn as quickly as others.  Physics in the game seem almost perfect.  All of the vehicles feel like they have the proper weight to them, and controlling them just plain feels natural and fun.

There are an amazing amount of vehicles to man.  You'll be able to use the family's pink car, Bart's Honor Roller, Barney's Plow King, Moe's beat-up sedan, and Otto's schoolbus - just to name a small number of them.  You'll use them to partake in the missions, of course, which usually consist of collecting or blowing up certain things within a certain time.  You might need to help Cletus the redneck round up twenty ketchup packs in two minutes to help his family survive the long hard winter, or help Chief Wiggum follow a donut truck and collect the donuts that fall out of the back of it.  You might need to smash up mysterious black cars or stay within a certain distance of others.  Though a lot of the objectives are similar, everything is mixed up enough so that things never get too tedious.  The game's biggest fault is that it doesn't add much that we haven't seen before, gameplay-wise, but when everything is so great, it's hardly a reason to complain.

The graphics are really nice.  In the strange occasion that you see a closeup of the character models, you'll find that textures a bit low quality and the Simpsons do look rather funny in 3D, but 90% of the time when the action is zoomed out a bit, everything looks great.  Colors are everywhere, no two structures seem to be found in any given location, and animation is really nice.  It really does simply feel like you are taking part in the cartoon, and driving around Springfield has never been more fun.

Cutscenes do look a little hokey, but only in the visuals department.  Sound is another one of the game's great points.  Each of the cutscenes sport great writing that really is funny, and the real voice actors bring each of the lines to life beautifully.  Music is excellent.  It's always extremely fitting and helps set the mood of each mission; some missions feel very funny and lighthearted while others are very dramatic, and the music plays a big part in this.  Characters will also spout random sentences while driving, and yes, they will repeat occasionally, but never to the point of being annoying.  A great, great effort.

What it all boils down to is this.  Simpsons: Hit & Run is a solid, fun game that really does make great use of a good license.  Springfield is great, the characters are great, the writing is great, the vehicles are great, and there are so many references to things from the show that fans might explode on contact.  Yes, the game could have tried a little harder with creating some new, innovative missions, but when everything else is so good, there's no reason to complain.  If you're even slightly interested, give it a rent; if you're a diehard Simpsons fan, this should be at the top of your list of things to get.  Even if you've only seen an episode or two of the show, you're bound to have some fun with it.  This is the Simpsons game we've all been waiting for.

Gameplay: 8.5

Admittedly, the game is not very ambitious in the gameplay department.  In fact, it almost entirely rips off Grand Theft Auto.  But it works so amazingly well here that each mission is a ton of fun and I never found myself bored.  Some quirks abound, surely, but it's all very solid.

Graphics: 9.0

Aside from a few little technical annoyances when the camera gets a bit too close, the game looks fantastic.  It really feels like you're in a cartoon, with great scenery, characters, animation, and so forth.

Sound: 9.3

The music's excellent; the quality of the tunes really caught me by surprise.  The original voice actors are all here, too, voicing some darned funny lines that will catch some chuckles from just about anyone.

Concept: 6.0

The game is not so strong in this aspect, as it borrows heavily from just about every other game without adding much to the genre itself.  Still, everything comes together so nicely here that it's really hard to notice and isn't a problem.

Difficulty: Medium

There are definitely a few tough missions, but the game took the smart route and made a lot of the extremely hard missions optional.  Yes, they grant great rewards, like fantastic cars, but you'll be able to complete a large portion of the game without a ton of trouble.

Overall: 8.7

The Simpsons Hit & Run is one of those few games that nearly anyone can try out and have fun with.  And the fact that fans simply love it for all of its allusions to the show make it all the better.  The gameplay's fun, the production values are great, and it's funny to boot.  This game is not to miss.