4/5 ★ – KrissyBMayb's review of The Simpsons: Hit & Run.

After years of pondering whether or not there was ever going to be a remaster, or even a port of this game, I finally decided that it was best to just dust this game off, and play it the old fashioned way, and make six-year-old Kris proud. This is one of the first games that I’ve managed to retain in my memory from my childhood. Sonic Adventure 2 was the very first, but the most memorable game from that period in time, was The Simpsons: Hit and Run. I would play this game day-in and day-out on my PS2, and I think this game probably channeled my completionist antics of today. I had done EVERYTHING in this game as a kid, all of the collectible cards, the wasps, everything had been bought or completed, except for one thing. 7-7. Even though 7-5 and 7-6 are very similar, if not just about the same, something about 7-7 had me beat at that point, and I don’t know if I rage quit on it, or if I just dropped it for another game or console, but I just know I never got that nice, red “Mission Complete” on it. That was my goal. I wasn’t as concerned about 100%ing it this time, all that mattered was doing the game justice, and finishing 7-7. I’m sure I don’t need to explain a lot regarding this game’s world, and its characters. Playing as Homer, Bart, Lisa, Marge and Apu, in a selection of maps, there are plenty of gags on every corner, original to the game, or classics from the many episodes of the show. With its relations to a much more family-friendly alternative to Grand Theft Auto, you can see where the gameplay and the comedy collide, as I run Milhouse into the dam with the Malibu Stacy car, and he begs for his life. The missions as well, for how long this game is, actually make level design of this type feel refreshing. A lot of these missions will ask for you to drive across the levels for the most part, often with a time limit, or needing to race somebody to the location first, or maybe even tail a car and pick up, these missions only take a couple of minutes a go as well, not keeping you roped in if a mission is lacking in entertainment. To keep you occupied in the open world as well, some missions will have a certain pre-requisite, requiring a certain vehicle, or a certain outfit before you can start, which luckily, don’t require a lot of effort to afford, as there are plenty of methods to earn the required coins for them. On topic with the missions, the music that goes with them, ICONIC. I love a good soundtrack in a video game. I've mentioned how DMC, and Need for Speed Unbound had very good soundtracks, but the music from this game stands out with each level. Driving through the first world, or collecting Dr. Nick’s monkeys, each track feels fresh from the last. Every level on this replay felt great… all but one. Set to Kill, how the hell did six-year-old me beat THIS, and not Alien “Auto”topsy Part III!? With all of the obstacles that I’d smash through, getting the police on me once, maybe twice an attempt (their AI was going wild on me by the way), this level kicked my ass at TWENTY-TWO years old. Maybe I’ve gotten worse at video games over the years… What matters the most, is that I finally did it. Sixteen years later, the best game of my childhood had finally been completed, but more importantly, I did it on the first attempt. I questioned myself at Set to Kill, but on Alien “Auto”topsy Part III, I just realized that as a child, I just had to get good. It wasn’t just a nostalgia trip that was holding me up on this game, this game was just as good as I let myself remember it to be. Of course it’s not a perfect game, but it’s still pretty damn good. Solid 8/10 from me on The Simpsons: Hit and Run.