Rating: 
Summary: A shame...
Review: At first, I could install the game, but I could not play it. I got a message that an error occurred in Simpsons.exe, which seemed utterly ridiculous.
Then, I upgraded to XP, and I couldn't even install the game! I kept getting an error that I had the "wrong volume" of the CD in the drive. The readme file said that it was because my drives' drivers were out-of-date (even though I could install the game previously). Thus, the game is basically a coaster because thus far, nothing I have done has worked.
I *have* actually played the game, and it is loads of fun, but I think it is almost criminal that software companies can sell games that do not work.
Rating:
Summary: I HATE THIS GAME...IT's TOO HARD!!!
Review: the game starts out so awesome, exploring the Simpson's world is great. But by level three it sucks. the races are IMPOSSIBLY HARD. It is leg-poundingly frustrating. You'll end up doing a race 40 times before you give up. and they are just the same repetitive stuff every level. Its almost worth it to ignore the races and just explore the levels which are great, but how could anyone think this is fun when its so hard? The game designers really screwed up.
Rating: 
Summary: The kids love it
Review: I had one problem with this game. We bought the PC version and it just wouldn't turn right. Anytime you tried to turn a player to move right it would go into slow motion. You had to kind of tack, like a sailing ship, to move that direction. I finally fixed it by installing a different version of DirectX. This was enough to frustrate me and turn me off to the game. However it didn't stop my kids (who I bought it for anyway.) They havn't stopped playing it for over a month. They even played it when turning right wasn't working. My son, 7, and my daughter 11 would spend every free minute playing it, if I didn't kick them off periodically. And they watch each other and scream when one accomplishes some feat. I'd say it is a very entertaining game for the kids. I gave it less than 5 stars because of the trouble I had finding and installing the right DirectX driver and because I am not particurally facinated with the game myself. However the kids love it so much I couldn't really give it less than 4 stars.
Rating: 
Summary: Awesomely frustrating
Review: If you suffer from high blood pressure or a low pain threshold, then for the love of Jebus, do not buy this game. It's a bunch of fun, it's funny, the graphics are good, the sound is great, and yes, it's like GTA3 but without the violence. You are given a whole world to play in, several characters to inhabit, plenty of vehicles and bonus missions and a dozen other lovely goodies. Perfect for the kiddies or, sickeningly, the kid in us all. What you are not given, however, is a chance. All in all this is a very short game - you can play the story missions all the way through in under a couple hours. What makes it last longer than three episodes of the television show, however, is the insane level of difficulty in the mid to later missions. Not only are they mind-numbingly repetitive, but they are just ridiculous in their execution. You are given time limits and minimum distance from the vehicle/item, otherwise you fail the mission. There's no reason for these time limits - not that we're looking for reason in a fantasy world - but nevertheless they seem only to serve to make the game more difficult and, hence, stretch out the playtime. Some missions you will try over a dozen times, maybe twenty or more. Even the game realises it's too hard - if you fail a mission something like five or more times, it gives you the option to "skip" that mission and move on to the next one. Only the next one's going to be much worse. Another thing is that you aren't sufficiently rewarded. Play through a mission, tearing out your hair and chewing your fingernails to pieces, screaming obscenities at the computer and kicking the cat, and finally you reach your objective with a second to spare, black smoke pouring out of your vehicle. And what happens? Do you get a new vehicle, some money, some kind of bonus powerup? Very rarely, if at all. Instead you are immediately transported into the next painfully frustrating "collect 'em all" or "smash 'em up" or "race 'em there" (yes, there are only three types of mission) task, which is twice as hard as the last. Pretty soon you get bored of the whole thing, playing the same annoying missions over and over just to progress the story. And the story's ridiculous, but we didn't expect anything else. What we expect as game players is to be given some sort of pat on the back for a job well done - not just another two lines of dialogue for the fanboys. We want better vehicles, better weapons, something, ANYTHING. Sure, from time to time you'll get an extra car, but that's it. And if the mission's too hard, you're not even given the satisfaction of finally *winning* it - you just have to skip to the next one. What I propose Vivendi do is implement some sort of sliding difficulty scale. If the game realises that you're having a hard time, it should automatically give you an extra few seconds on the timer for your next attempt, or make your car slightly tougher, or give you more "strikes" before the cops turn up, or marginally improve handling. I'm a pretty good gamer, but I've been stuck on the final mission for about thirty tries, and yes, I've skipped a few others before that one. Besides that, there's only one way to finish a mission. Unlike GTA3, where you are usually given the freedom to explore and try different approaches to an objective, with Hit & Run, there's just one way to do it - go as fast as you can and take all the shortcuts you find, and try not to hit anything along the way, or else the stupid cops will appear out of nowhere and annoy you even more. This gets old fast, and when you couple complete linearity with the eye-bleeding difficulty level and repetitiveness of the missions, it's hard to recommend this game to anyone. However, the saving grace is that this is, yes, a Simpsons game. All the characters are there doing their various wacky things, and dialogue from the actors has been recorded especially for the game, making it an occasionally hilarious experience. You get to explore all of Springfield which is a bunch of fun, take on a few self-imposed sidequests (destroy all cameras, collect all cards, make as much money as you can to buy cars and clothes by smashing stuff up, find all the gags etc.), or just generally goof around. These things save the game from mediocrity, but only barely. If this was anything but a Simpsons game, I would advise you to stay well clear of it. But as it stands it's a potentially worthwhile purchase for the fan (when the price drops a bit), so long as you're not too keen on actually "winning" the game. If you want a game like this with challenges you can actually *overcome* through your own ingenuity, and not just sheer luck or digital dexterity, then stick with the GTA games, or True Crime. And if you just want a laugh, try an old adventure title from Lucasarts. But if you want to learn to hate your computer, then sure, buy this.
Rating:
Summary: Windows limited users can't save games
Review: My son bought this game and from what I can tell so far, he loves it. As a parent however, I've got a beef with this game. My son is set up with a "limited user" acccount on Windows XP so I don't have to worry about him dinkering with the control panel settings, changing other kids' passwords, etc. The problem I have with this game is this: he can't save a game unless his account is changed to an "administrator" account. This is confirmed by Vivendi's tech support. So now, either I give him full access to the computer, or he can't save. Doh!
Rating:
Summary: Does the Simpsons proud...
Review: Alot of reviews about this game have been bringing up point that this is finally a "good Simpson game" in a gimmicky like fashion. However, The Simpsons have had a string of great entertaining games and software on the PC with the AfterDark! Simpson screensaver collection, to the Simpson's Cartoon Studio and Virtual Springfeild. However if we talk about console is definately the best with maybe a minor expection of the Konami arcade game.
What's so good about it? Well essentially it's just a Grand Theft Auto clone but the game itself is fun because of the environment in which you are surrounded and it stays very accurate. Devout fans will notice and pick up on all the places you've seen from the show, for example Moe's Tavern being next door to the music store or Mr. Burn's impressive back garden while casual fans will have the joy of seeing all their favourite characters, voiced by the real actors, spouting all their trademark personalities.
It's a fantastic production with one major criticism: Some of the missions are just too unforgiving. In some missions where you need to chase a vechile while picking up items, the mission will automatically fail you if you're not close enough to the item even if you are close to the vechile. But besides that this is worthy game for all Simpson fans.
Rating: 
Summary: What are these other reviewers talking about?
Review: I saw good reviews for this game elsewhere, then almost didn't buy it after reading the reviews here. What a mistake that would have been! First of all, I stink at driving games. I especially stink at games using the keyboard to steer (although you can use other methods with this game if you want). However, I've found this to be the best/most controlable driving game I've ever played. Many of the cars are regular cars and they respond the way you'd expect (aside from when you're crashing through telephone poles, trees and people). The levels are well designed. They require a little exploration and thought. Without cheating, I was able to find all the secrets, beat all the races, get all the cards, etc without spending forever on a level. The key to remember is that THIS IS A GAME! If you can't beat a race in level 1, don't sweat it. It's non-linear, for the most part. Unlike bad games, you can go back and try again. There was one non-critical race that I tried at least 20 times, skipped it for a while, then went back. I then realized a trick that I was missing (hint - you can get out of the car). DOH! Bottom line - this game is super fun. If you even like the Simpsons, you should get it. If you're a big fan, you MUST get it. If you find it frustrating, you probably should spend a few minutes thinking instead of mashing the keyboard. If you have a teenager nearby, ask them for ideas. Last note - the only negative is that the language is pretty bad at certain points. I know it's the Simpsons. But it would have been nice to have a filter to just turn off about 3 or 4 words that get repeated over and over.
Rating:
Summary: Fun-Fun-Fun
Review: It was a graet game and I liked it alot. It really seemed like the real thing!
Rating:
Summary: Yuck!
Review: I got this so called "best simpsons game ever" for christmas. It started out good, with nice un-frustrating missions. But then you get up the the "frustrating point". This game is EXTREMELY frustrating. Okay, Okay, I'm not a very patient person, but if you've played this then you'll know excactly what I mean. Although the extras like costumes from Simpsons Eps like Homer with A Donut Head and Lisa as Florida are pretty cool, this game is still annoying. "The First Great Simpsons Game Ever" oh please, more like "The Third Worst Simpsons Game Ever". This is not worth $70.
PS: I LOVE The Simpsons TV Series.
Rating:
Summary: A Pity
Review: I must say this because of the fact that the missions are impossible. They don't give you enough time in any of the missions. If you do complete it, your lucky. In the races they don't give you even the slightest bit of equality in the later races. If you do want a chance to beat the races get every car ahead of time and good luck. As the comic book guy Would say: WORST GAME EVER!!!!
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