For the longest time, Hit and Run has been one of those games that's always been on my radar but I've never had the means to actually play myself. I've loved the simpsons since I was a kid so I'd always wanted to play it, but once I actually got my own copy of the game, for the longest time it would be one of those games that I'd pick up, play for a bit, then drop it before every finishing the first level. This was my third attempt at actually finishing the game and it finally clicked for me.
First of all, if you've ever been in a similar situation to me where you'd drop the game because of the repetitive gameplay loop, I'd recommend going for 100%. This is what I did this time and taking the extra time to explore Springfield and look for collectibles really helped break up the repetition of the earlier driving missions, while I was still getting used to the controls.
Going on to the positives, this is without a doubt the most engaging and lived in Springfield has ever felt in a Simpsons game (at least out of the ones I've played). The hubs are all fun to drive around and explore and filled with so many little details, jokes and references. It's very clear the devs had a lot of fun designing the hubs and it only adds to the charm of the game for me. The sandbox is also just really fun to mess around in whether it's testing out new cars and costumes or just being a general nuisance (kicking the npcs is more fun than it has any right to be).
The writing is also great and feels right out of the classic era of the show. The actual plot is pretty nonsensical, but the game has fun with it and never takes it super seriously.
The controls can be kind of hit or miss. It's very clear that most of the focus was spent on the driving controls because the driving feels great and is really fun. The best cars have that perfect fast and loose feeling and provide that "easy to be use, but tough to master" controls design that makes completing tough drifts or taking harder to access shortcuts feel really rewarding the later you get into the game.
On the other hand, the controls that do not involve driving are really janky. Going for 100% will require some platforming and it doesn't feel good. Everyone feels oddly heavy and the double jump timing in particular feels super awkward and delayed. The closest description I can think of is that it feels like Crash's weird double jump timing in crash 3 N sane but more delayed. The weird thing though is that Hit and Run's platforming is consistent in it's jankyness. So while it never feels good, it's far from impossible and you can adjust to the weird heaviness and double jump timing with a little effort.
I'm also not a fan of how the cost of the costumes and vehicles scale up in the later levels. On it's own this isn't a problem, but the game reuses a few levels without adding more places to get the coins needed to afford the later mandatory vehicles and costumes. I don't think this would be a problem on most casual playthroughs, but buying all the vehicles and costumes is required for 100%, so that means coin grinding will be required if you wanna go down that route and it sucks.
Lastly, the final level really drops the ball. The set up is super fun, but the second half of the level just consists of doing the exact same drive 3 times and it's very repetitive. The difficulty curve can also be all over the place in this game. The final mission has become pretty infamous for this, and while I don't think it's as bad as most people say it is it's still noticeably harder than the missions leading up to it. Level 6 also has this issue with the mission where you have to destroy the laser gun stands (I still don't know what I did differently from my previous attempts in my one successful one) and it's also an issue in a lot of the street races.
Overall, the strengths and charm massively outweigh the cons for me. The open world is the best in any simpsons game and the writing and voice acting are all perfect. I'd still probably say The Simpsons game is my favorite Simpsons videogame between the two, but I'd have to replay that game in order to say for sure.
First of all, if you've ever been in a similar situation to me where you'd drop the game because of the repetitive gameplay loop, I'd recommend going for 100%. This is what I did this time and taking the extra time to explore Springfield and look for collectibles really helped break up the repetition of the earlier driving missions, while I was still getting used to the controls.
Going on to the positives, this is without a doubt the most engaging and lived in Springfield has ever felt in a Simpsons game (at least out of the ones I've played). The hubs are all fun to drive around and explore and filled with so many little details, jokes and references. It's very clear the devs had a lot of fun designing the hubs and it only adds to the charm of the game for me. The sandbox is also just really fun to mess around in whether it's testing out new cars and costumes or just being a general nuisance (kicking the npcs is more fun than it has any right to be).
The writing is also great and feels right out of the classic era of the show. The actual plot is pretty nonsensical, but the game has fun with it and never takes it super seriously.
The controls can be kind of hit or miss. It's very clear that most of the focus was spent on the driving controls because the driving feels great and is really fun. The best cars have that perfect fast and loose feeling and provide that "easy to be use, but tough to master" controls design that makes completing tough drifts or taking harder to access shortcuts feel really rewarding the later you get into the game.
On the other hand, the controls that do not involve driving are really janky. Going for 100% will require some platforming and it doesn't feel good. Everyone feels oddly heavy and the double jump timing in particular feels super awkward and delayed. The closest description I can think of is that it feels like Crash's weird double jump timing in crash 3 N sane but more delayed. The weird thing though is that Hit and Run's platforming is consistent in it's jankyness. So while it never feels good, it's far from impossible and you can adjust to the weird heaviness and double jump timing with a little effort.
I'm also not a fan of how the cost of the costumes and vehicles scale up in the later levels. On it's own this isn't a problem, but the game reuses a few levels without adding more places to get the coins needed to afford the later mandatory vehicles and costumes. I don't think this would be a problem on most casual playthroughs, but buying all the vehicles and costumes is required for 100%, so that means coin grinding will be required if you wanna go down that route and it sucks.
Lastly, the final level really drops the ball. The set up is super fun, but the second half of the level just consists of doing the exact same drive 3 times and it's very repetitive. The difficulty curve can also be all over the place in this game. The final mission has become pretty infamous for this, and while I don't think it's as bad as most people say it is it's still noticeably harder than the missions leading up to it. Level 6 also has this issue with the mission where you have to destroy the laser gun stands (I still don't know what I did differently from my previous attempts in my one successful one) and it's also an issue in a lot of the street races.
Overall, the strengths and charm massively outweigh the cons for me. The open world is the best in any simpsons game and the writing and voice acting are all perfect. I'd still probably say The Simpsons game is my favorite Simpsons videogame between the two, but I'd have to replay that game in order to say for sure.