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Fortunately, Vivendi Universal's upcoming multiplatform third-person action game, The Simpsons: Hit and Run, is poised to reverse the years of mediocre games in a big way. In fact, since many recent games based on the show haven't turned out all that well, it almost seemed like the best Simpsons game was, and always would be Konami's classic 1991 arcade game. During the course of that time, video game developers have tried to capture the series' appeal in game form, with mixed results. While we may never see the return of Hit & Run, at least you can enjoy a version of it in Dreams, complete with Bart skateboarding sections, a saxophone-playing Lisa, and a gun-slinging Maggie-all of which can explore the town of Springfield.Over the past 14 years, The Simpsons has grown to become one of the most popular animated TV shows of all time. ( Editor’s Note: Licensing agreements notwithstanding, particularly now that Disney owns Fox and its properties.) After all, the original game sold somewhere in the neighborhood of 3 million copies. Sane Trilogy, Spyro: Reignited Trilogy, and Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled are any indication, bringing back Hit & Run could be lucrative for those involved. Towards the end of 2019, the game’s producer Vlad Ceraldi talked about wanting to bring it back in some capacity but noted that there were no solid plans to do so at the time.
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With remakes and remasters running rampant in the video game world, the idea of seeing The Simpsons: Hit & Run again isn’t outside the realm of possibility. It’s unclear if its creator plans to keep fleshing things out, but nonetheless, this looks and is presented just like the game you remember. Though the recreation still needs some work with its open-world aspects (like more variety in buildings and other features to make the world feel more alive), the foundation of an impressive game is there. Hit & Run features an open world similar to that of 2001’s Grand Theft Auto III, but done so in more of a satirical way, in typical Simpsons fashion. Each of its characters is identical to those in the original, with Homer, Marge, Bart, Maggie, and Lisa in playable form.
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