Ranking Every The Simpsons Game From Worst to Best

With a 40th anniversary of their first appearance that’s going to be here sooner than you think (because time just stopped making sense after the world stopped), it’s safe to say The Simpsons is a cultural institution. Regardless of how you may feel about the more recent seasons, with the show currently in its 35th season, we’re talking about one of the most celebrated and influential pop culture entities of all time. That media empire extends to almost 30 video games at time of writing, going back to the peak years of the NES, and coming all the way to the present day.

By ranking every Simpsons game, we’re doing more than just assuming Hit and Run is going to be at the top of the heap. We’re looking at the history of modern gaming itself, with The Simpsons showing up in every console generation since the third one. There’s side-scrolling beat-em-ups, Grand Theft Auto clones, side-scrolling platformers, wrestling and skateboarding variants, and more. Some are quite good, others are cromulent at best, and there’s even those that are like stepping on rakes over and over again.

While the number one entry might be a foregone conclusion for some, let’s see if we can surprise you with our look at every Simpsons game ranked from worst to best.

 

28. The Simpsons Wrestling

Game	Developer	Release Date	Platform(s)
The Simpsons Wrestling	Big Ape Productions	March 23, 2001	PS1

The only good thing you can say about this dizzying piece of original PlayStation flatulence is that it would also do very well on any ranking of the worst wrestling games ever made.

Consistency in its uniform terribleness is the only compliment we can pay for a title that’s more of an extremely poor fighter than an extremely poor wrestling game, with some of the worst controls, graphics, and hit detection in the history of the PS1 console. Control any of one of 20 characters. Seriously. Pick whoever the hell you want. It’s the same rotten experience from top to bottom, but at least you get to beat Flanders with a rake here. Small mercies.

 

27. The Simpsons Skateboarding

Game	Developer	Release Date	Platform(s)
The Simpsons Skateboarding	The Code Monkeys	November 12, 2002	PS2

If you’re familiar with British developers The Code Monkeys (creators of the “venerable” Shrek: Treasure Hunt), then you already know what to expect from The Simpsons Skateboarding, an utterly shameless attempt at cashing in on the success of Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater.

This isn’t the first time Fox Interactive tried to jam The Simpsons characters into an established, published box. In fact, it worked out quite well sometimes, as we’ll eventually learn on this list, but that’s not the case here. A skateboarding game isn’t a bad notion, but The Simpsons Skateboarding sees this potential destroyed by shallow gameplay, chunky vomit graphics, and counterintuitive controls that are about as graceful as Cletus spending some time in Saltburn. One of the worst skateboarding games ever developed.

 

26. The Simpsons: Itchy & Scratchy Land

Game	Developer	Release Date	Platform(s)
The Simpsons: Itchy & Scratchy Land	G5 Entertainment AB	December 1, 2008	Java

It’s tempting to leave mobile games off these rankings entirely, but The Simpsons games are worth noting because there aren’t very many of them, and they further highlight the sheer volume of garbage this franchise has been linked to for decades.

Set during the sixth season’s fourth episode “Itchy & Scratchy Land”, this mobile game has you guiding Homer and sometimes others through the park, overrun by robots, with the objectives clear enough. That doesn’t mean they’re fun in any sense though. The Simpsons: Itchy & Scratchy Land is sunk by extremely repetitive gameplay that isn’t much fun to begin with.

 

25. The Itchy & Scratchy Game

Game	Developer	Release Date	Platform(s)
The Itchy & Scratchy Game	Bits Studios	March 1995	SNES, Game Gear

No surprise that the iconic, ultra-violent Tom & Jerry parodies Itchy & Scratchy would have a couple of games under their belt at this point. While there’s some potential in a concept with these two maniacs trying to kill each other, and while that potential is at least acknowledged in The Itchy & Scratchy Game, the end result is a thoroughly underwhelming time.

The game looks pretty nice on the SNES, but the gameplay itself comes down to playing as Itchy in a bid to murder Scratchy, and that gets old real quick. The Itchy & Scratchy Game is pointless after about five minutes of gameplay, and it’s not even a tenth as violent as the source material.

 

24. Virtual Bart

Game	Developer	Release Date	Platform(s)
Virtual Bart	Sculptured Software	September 26, 1994	Genesis, SNES

We’ve already told you how dreadful Virtual Bart is in our ranking of the worst SNES games ever, so its low placement here should be no surprise. The Genesis version does fare better but not that much better, with the graphics looking pretty mediocre no matter how you play.

That only leaves a series of joyless minigames in which Bart plays as things like a dinosaur, a pig, a warrior of the nuclear wasteland, a baby, or as himself trying to ruin photo day or survive the waterslides at Mount Splashmore. All of them look terrible, but at least once again stay the course by playing terrible, as well, whether that’s in this reality or another — one in which Flanders was a Satanist or something.

 

23. The Simpsons: Minutes to Meltdown

Game	Developer	Release Date	Platform(s)
Minutes to Meltdown	EA Mobile	July 1, 2007	Mobile

Released the same month as The Simpsons Movie, the mobile game Minutes to Meltdown is actually a decent bit of fun for what it is. Playing as Homer, you’ll be responsible for stopping a nuclear plant meltdown caused by your many, many deficiencies as a nuclear safety inspector. It’s visually charming, even some 15+ years after its release, and it’s simple enough to be enjoyable without overstaying its welcome.

Repetition isn’t as much of an issue here, but Minutes to Meltdown arguably goes too far in the opposite direction. This is a frustratingly brief experience you’ll finish completely in about thirty minutes, barely longer than an episode of the show.

 

22. The Simpsons: Bartman Meets Radioactive Man

Game	Developer	Release Date	Platform(s)
Bartman Meets Radioactive Man	Imagineering, Teeny Weeny Games	December 1992	NES, Game Gear

Younger fans of the show may find The Simpsons: Bartman Meets Radioactive Man to be completely baffling. Neither of these characters have shown up much in Simpsons media in the past 25 years, so this game gets a layer of confusing relative obscurity to go along with its depressing gameplay.

Bad controls and crappy graphics await you on either platform here, with Bartman Meets Radioactive Man failing to do anything interesting or fun with the premise of Bart’s superhero alter ego meeting the star of his favorite comic book. This is a bad platformer in every sense of that word.

 

21. The Simpsons: Bart vs. The Juggernauts

Game	Developer	Release Date	Platform(s)
The Simpsons: Bart vs. The Juggernauts	Imagineering	September 1992	Game Boy

The Simpsons: Bart vs. The Juggernauts is a series of minigames in which Bart squares off with a group of Simpsons characters in competitive events ranging from wrestling to basketball. This has been very clearly based on the original 90s run of the competition TV show American Gladiators. It doesn’t really matter if you don’t know that, because the minigames are still frustrating and bland with or without historical context.

Go down a Wikipedia rabbit hole about American Gladiators, or actually try and fight any of them in real life, because that’s going to be way more fun than Bart vs. The Juggernauts. The sporadic flashes of fun you get with this game just isn’t worth it.

 

20. The Simpsons: Bart vs. The Space Mutants

Game	Developer	Release Date	Platform(s)
Bart vs. The Space Mutants	Imagineering, Arc	September 1992	Various

We’ve already warned you about The Simpsons: Bart vs The Space Mutants for the NES, where we called it one of the worst NES games of all time. The game was also ported to numerous platforms, the Game Gear, and the Genesis. While the Genesis version looks a bit better than its contemporaries, all of these versions have the same basic complaints: this is too tough a challenge even for McBain.

Bart vs. The Space Mutants has some admirers, but we still believe this is a platformer with dismal controls, clunky jumping mechanics, and some of the most baffling and inscrutable gameplay you’ve ever encountered. The Space Mutants can have Earth, as far as we’re concerned.

 

19. Bart Simpson’s Escape from Camp Deadly

Game	Developer	Release Date	Platform(s)
Bart Simpson’s Escape from Camp Deadly	Imagineering	November 1, 1991	Game Boy

While we’re keenly aware of the limitations of the Game Boy, that doesn’t excuse how mind numbingly dull this game is. Once again controlling Bart, who is still very much the focal point of The Simpsons at this point in time, players must escape from a brutal summer camp in the vein of Season 4’s legendary opener Kamp Krusty.

However, while that episode is fun, this is a very by-the-numbers platformer with controls that are frustrating but manageable. The gameplay itself is tedious and repetitive, with virtually nothing to really connect this game to its source material in a way that benefits them both.

 

18. The Simpsons: Bart & the Beanstalk

Game	Developer	Release Date	Platform(s)
Bart & the Beanstalk	Software Creations	February 1994	Game Boy

The Simpsons: Bart & The Beanstalk for Game Boy tries to marry the characters to the beloved fairytale in a way that’s close to interesting. The game looks better than most of the Game Boy releases based around the show. Then you start to play the game, and while it’s not irredeemable, it still isn’t great.

The entire game feels like a relentless ice stage with poor jumping and movement, so expect lots and lots of cheap deaths. The levels themselves are interesting for a mid-90s GB release but are often hampered by a confusing layout that certainly doesn’t encourage exploration, or eating your beans.

 

17.  The Simpsons: Road Rage (GBA)

Game	Developer	Release Date	Platform(s)
Road Rage (GBA)	Altron	June 27, 2003	Game Boy Advance

Since the Game Boy Advance version of Crazy Taxi ripoff The Simpsons: Road Rage is dramatically different from the version released to several other consoles, it gets its own chance to shine as one of the best Simpsons games ever made.

And does it shine? Well, kind of. The part where Road Rage is a clear copycat of Crazy Taxi is impossible to ignore, but ultimately, it’s hard to fault the game for that when it actually tries to do a good job of bringing together The Simpsons with the objectives and basics of Crazy Taxi. What we can fault the game for are its limitations on the Game Boy Advance. Scaling issues within The Simpsons: Road Rage and very weird controls can make for a miserable experience.

Some might find the GBA Simpsons: Road Rage to be far more trouble than it’s worth, even as it can be pretty fun at times, and it’s hard to argue with that.

 

16. The Simpsons: Bart’s House of Weirdness

Game	Developer	Release Date	Platform(s)
Bart’s House of Weirdness	Distinctive Software	January 1, 1992	MS-DOS

The Simpsons: Bart’s House of Weirdness is almost a fun game, one in which players control Bart as he explores Springfield and gets into a variety of situations.. We say almost because strap yourself in for what might be the hardest Simpsons game ever made. The control scheme is problematic at best on PC, which is one of the main reasons why this game is fiendishly difficult and sometimes frustrating.

There’s a lot going on here, culminating in Bart saving Krusty from Sideshow Bob at an amusement park, and it all adds up to the game feeling more like Bart’s House of Busyness instead. A little intuitiveness on the game’s part would be nice, too, as it still isn’t easy to play with the best of emulation.

 

15. The Simpsons Bowling

Game	Developer	Release Date	Platform(s)
The Simpsons Bowling	Konami	October 16, 2000	Arcade

After suffering through some decidedly not great Simpsons games, The Simpsons Bowling is a mild relief. While by no means an arcade classic, this logical combination of bowling with this particular universe looks fine (if not a little unremarkable for an arcade title released in the year 2000), has some endearingly silly gags and visual bits, and even offers different endings depending upon who you play as.

The mechanics of the game are fine, as well — it’s definitely bowling. This isn’t a must-play, but if you’re a Simpsons diehard who has to play every game ever released, you’re likely to leave The Simpsons Bowling relatively satisfied.

 

14. The Simpsons: Bart vs. The World

Game	Developer	Release Date	Platform(s)
Bart vs. The World	Imagineering, Arc Developments	December 1991	Amiga, Atari ST, Game Gear, NES, Master System

It’s not a perfect platformer by any means, but The Simpsons: Bart vs. The World is a marked improvement over Bart vs. The Space Mutants in almost every way, with so many of the little guy’s games feeling like Bart vs Being In A Good Video Game.

Better level designs and a more straightforward platforming experience make the game a lot easier to like, even as the levels are still sometimes a bit too difficult with controls that are still sometimes a bit too stiff, and the minigames are by and large intensely dull. These are minor complaints in the grand scheme of things, and while Bart vs. The World is certainly flawed, it’s a decent platform game, at least as far as the NES version is concerned.

 

13. The Simpsons: Bart’s Nightmare

Game	Developer	Release Date	Platform(s)
The Simpsons: Bart’s Nightmare	Sculptured Software	October 12, 1992	SNES, Sega Genesis

The Simpsons: Bart’s Nightmare took advantage of being a 16-bit release with a game that looks and sounds fantastic for its 1992 heyday, with players controlling Bart through a series of nightmares that take the form of several minigames. This all sounds pretty familiar at this point, but Bart’s Nightmare gets the formula right more often than not.

Collecting homework pages along the dangerous streets of Springfield allows Bart to do everything from stomp the city as a kaiju, to flying as Bartman, to destroying enemies in your bloodstream with Dig Dug style gameplay, and more. The controls suffer at times, but the minigames are entertaining enough that this is easy to ignore.

 

12. The Simpsons: Cartoon Studio

Game	Developer	Release Date	Platform(s)
The Simpsons: Cartoon Studio	Big Top Productions	July 1996	PC, Mac

Once again, we have The Simpsons riding a bandwagon, with a genre that had become increasingly prevalent as PCs became more popular. Only this time, the end result is quite good. The Simpsons: Cartoon Studio gave players the ability to create their own Simpsons shorts using a collection of clips, sound effects, backgrounds, and everything else needed to make their own little movies.

It genuinely seems as though Big Top Productions made an effort to give you a game that’s easy to use and fun to create with. The Simpsons: Cartoon Studio is a good example of why creative kids had a blast with titles like these, and while it may not have the most thrilling gameplay by modern standards, the ability to make better scenes than whatever is going on in Season 35 makes it one of the more interesting Simpsons games to ever release.

 

11. The Simpsons Game (DS)

Game	Developer	Release Date	Platform(s)
The Simpsons Game (DS)	Amaze Entertainment	October 30, 2007	DS

The Simpsons Game was released to every platform under the sun in 2007, with the Nintendo DS edition being quite different from the other versions. A game that had the courage to say “What if a Simpsons platformer was ambitious and fun,” the DS release is in step with the mainline console title, which was greeted almost universally with “Hey, this is actually pretty good!”

Players control the entire Simpsons family at different points in the game, each with their own abilities and missions. Despite the limitations of the DS, it’s pretty clear that actual care was put into the production of this quote-heavy side-scroller.  It looks fantastic for the handheld system, and the game itself works well with the Nintendo DS itself, controlling well and keeping up your enjoyment even as the missions themselves can get a little bland at times.

There may not be a ton of replay value to The Simpsons Game either, but the depth of the depiction of Springfield for the DS is genuinely impressive. You also get a ton of good one-liners and jokes. If you loved The Simpsons Game on the Wii, the PS3, or the PlayStation 2, you should embiggen your backlog and play the different-but-still-perfectly-cromulent DS edition.

 

10. The Simpsons Arcade (Mobile)

Game	Developer	Release Date	Platform(s)
The Simpsons Arcade (Mobile)	IronMonkey Studios	December 21, 2009	iOS

With a different story, additional characters, and updated graphics, The Simpsons Arcade is not a port or even a remake of the 1991 arcade beat-em-up classic. But for almost everyone who played this on their devices back in 2009, The Simpsons Arcade brilliantly recreated what made that 1991 game so special., with Homer brawling his way across several beautifully designed stages. The only serious problem with this game, which for many controlled extremely well for a mobile release, is that there just isn’t enough of it.

For obvious reasons, there’s no multiplayer option for The Simpsons Arcade, and the game itself is pretty short. Again, we understand why given the platform this was developed for, but it’s bizarre that this reimagining never went any further. You can’t help but wish there was more, or that you could easily play this game in the 2020s.

 

9. The Simpsons: Itchy & Scratchy in Miniature Golf Madness

Game	Developer	Release Date	Platform(s)
Itchy & Scratchy in Miniature Golf Madness	Beam Software	November 1994	Game Boy

Jiminy Jillickers, is The Simpsons: Itchy & Scratchy in Miniature Golf Madness a good game? Actually, yes. This odd little hybrid of action platforming and miniature golf not only uses Itchy and his perennial tormenter Scratchy in a way that’s fun and engaging, but doesn’t forget to incorporate the miniature golf part, as well. It’s naturally a bit limited, since we’re talking about the Game Boy in 1994 here, but the entertainment value of Miniature Golf Madness shines through even 30+ years since its release.

Itchy & Scratchy in Miniature Golf Madness breaks down as a golf game interrupted by attempts by Scratchy to murder you in the most gruesome fashion Nintendo and the Game Boy will allow. You can get a little frustrated for sure, but the game controls well, and at no point does this dynamic of playing minigolf and surviving Scratchy’s brutality veer into terminally unfair territory. It’s a perfect example of how to make a memorable Game Boy title.

 

8. The Simpsons: Tapped Out

Game	Developer	Release Date	Platform(s)
The Simpsons: Tapped Out	EA Mobile	February 29, 2012	iOS, Android

Written by Simpsons writers (though hopefully not the ones that wrote that Lady Gaga episode), and with a visual charm that impressively brought Springfield to vivid life, The Simpsons: Tapped Out benefitted from extremely simple, addictive sandbox gameplay. Who doesn’t want to build and maintain their own version of Springfield in the great state of wherever the hell The Simpsons is set?

Tapped Out is one of the best examples of a game on this ranking that truly seems to understand what makes the show so special (yes, even in the modern era). It’s fun to play and actually has some solid strategy behind its resource management demands, as well as loads of little nods to iconic moments in the show. It would perhaps rank a little higher, were it not for the trashy way EA sold the game, contributing one of the worst examples of a “Freemium” game you’ve ever seen. It’s a stain so notable on an otherwise lovely Simpsons game, South Park even did an episode about it. The Simpsons: Tapped Out is nevertheless a blast to play.

 

7. Krusty’s Fun House

Game	Developer	Release Date	Platform(s)
Krusty's Fun House	Audiogenic	1992	PC, Game Boy, Game Gear, Genesis, Master System, NES, SNES

While Krusty’s Fun House shares a very dubious connection to The Simpsons, as the game was originally developed as Rat-Trap for the Amiga in 1991, there’s no denying that this is a highly enjoyable puzzle game. Regardless of the specific version you pick up, the experience is largely the same. Players control Krusty as he navigates his fun house, exterminating rats using a variety of tricks and tools. A lot of stuff tries to get in your way, and you’ll have to deal with that while getting the rats out of the fun house once and for all.

Krusty’s Fun House may not feel like a true Simpsons game for the most part, but it’s fun to see Krusty get his own title, and the overall result is far more enjoyable than many of the games we’ve covered here. Krusty’s Fun House lives up to its name with likable graphics and simple gameplay that gets challenging in all the right ways.

 

6. The Simpsons: Virtual Springfield

Game	Developer	Release Date	Platform(s)
The Simpsons: Virtual Springfield	Digital Evolution	September 1997	PC, Mac

A point-and-click first person adventure game is a good concept to wrap around Springfield, and it’s pleasing to see 25+ years later that The Simpsons: Virtual Springfield gets far more correct than not. Featuring the lone Simpsons video game voice performance from Phil Hartman, who you might remember from such movies and TV shows as Saturday Night Live, NewsRadio, and Small Soldiers, the game will almost immediately win you over.

Most impressive perhaps, is the fact that Virtual Springfield is actually quite intuitive. You don’t have to be a big fan of this genre to have fun, interacting with objects and characters to collect special cards. Obviously, the game is not without the kind of limitations you might expect from a PC game that was released in 1997, but that doesn’t hold Virtual Springfield back too much. Even the minigames are cute, and much in the spirit of this show at its very best.

 

 

5. The Simpsons: Night of the Living Treehouse of Horror

Game	Developer	Release Date	Platform(s)
Night of the Living Treehouse of Horror	Software Creations	March 19, 2001	Game Boy Color

Your mileage will obviously vary, but The Simpsons: Night of the Living Treehouse of Horror is a pretty brilliant platformer for the Game Boy Color, especially among so many of them released early in the Simpsons’ long, long life. The character-filled visuals visuals help, which borrow nicely from various “Treehouse of Horror” episodes from the show over the years. You also get to play as all five members of the family, which is nice, although the gameplay itself can get tiring in a hurry.

Night of the Living Treehouse of Horror is a pretty straightforward platformer, but it controls well, features some decidedly clever takes on some of the best “Treehouse of Horror” episodes, and leaves you wishing there was a bit more. It’s not going to make our best Game Boy games list, but it does belong to that fairly long list of GB and GBC titles that were just fun to play on the go.

That’s as good as it gets for a Game Boy or Game Boy Color title, and it puts Night of the Living Treehouse of Horror in pretty good company.

 

4. The Simpsons: Road Rage

Game	Developer	Release Date	Platform(s)
The Simpsons: Road Rage	Radical Entertainment[	November 19, 2001	PS2, Xbox, GameCube

Is The Simpsons: Road Rage an inferior Crazy Taxi clone? Yes. Is it still a ton of fun to play, especially if you’re a fan of The Simpsons? Where’s that guy who always says “Yesssss?” like Frank Nelson on The Jack Benny Program and elsewhere? Because while this is a shameless ripoff, it honestly doesn’t matter when we’re focusing on the best of the best Simpsons games.

While it’s easy to wish this game had a little more depth and perhaps more forgiving controls, there’s no question that Road Rage can keep you genuinely enthralled for a few hours. It’s a fun game to revisit, and there’s a good difficulty curve here, as Homer and other characters must get passengers from point A to point B in a decidedly chaotic depiction of Springfield. The audio snippets and graphics create what was the one of the most immersive versions of the town ever brought to a console release. Better games would come along, but Road Rage proved you didn’t need to be original to be a standout.

Compared to many Simpsons games, just being fun to pick and play will carry you a long way. The Simpsons: Road Rage is still a favorite for many fans, but we will definitely never be seeing a remaster.

 

3. The Simpsons Game

Game	Developer	Release Date	Platform(s)
The Simpsons Game	EA Redwood Shores	October 30, 2007	PS2, PS3, PSP, Wii, Xbox 360

It only took 17 years to create a Simpsons console game that actually felt as though you were playing through an episode of the show. The Simpsons Game remains to date the most ambitious game ever made with Matt Groening’s beloved creation. With a completely original, full-length storyline, and lots of things to do across sixteen levels (presented as episodes), The Simpsons Game lives up to the enormous promise it offered upon release in 2007.

Controlling each member of the family at different points, The Simpsons Game is worth playing through just for the sheer volume of jokes packed into what amounts to an extremely clever storyline of the Simpson family being forced to participate in another dreadful video game. Beyond a frustrating camera, the game is as good as 3D platformers get in this era. Each character is fun and distinctive, and the variety of gameplay styles utilized across your tasks amounts to a game that was clearly made with a lot of time and energy to create a Simpsons that didn’t need to piggyback onto another genre or trend.

While this isn’t quite the best of all time, The Simpsons makes for an excellent video game on its own merits without the juggernaut IP to carry it. This is also the most recent new Simpsons game we’ve had on console, and it looks like it may very well be the last.

 

2. The Simpsons Arcade

Game	Developer	Release Date	Platform(s)
The Simpsons Arcade	Konami	March 4, 1991	Arcade, PC, PS3, Xbox 360

Konami was releasing some serious bangers in the arcade in the late 80s/early 90s, and The Simpsons is considered to be one of their best. A side-scrolling beat-em-up in the purest sense of the genre, the game for many for a long time was far and away the best Simpsons title ever released. Although the game takes numerous liberties with the show (which was still in its infancy at this point anyway), it’s still just a great, easy-to-play brawler made by the same company that turned out hits like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, X-Men, and Vendetta.

There’s not much more to The Simpsons than that. By today’s standards, the game isn’t the deepest experience, and you may find the fighting gets a little repetitive at times, but none of that really matters. The Simpsons for arcade is the kind of entertainment that endures, and that extends to the bright, visually striking graphics and sound. This is a definitive example of the great games that were still coming to arcades at the dawn of the 90s, and still maintain a huge fun factor today.

However, actually playing The Simpsons today unfortunately can be a little challenging. The PS3/Xbox 360 release was delisted years ago, as was 2009’s The Simpsons Arcade on mobile, inspired by this release. If you want to play The Simpsons legally, you’ll have to get a pricey home arcade cabinet edition from Arcade1Up. A 2020s remake would be nice.

 

1. The Simpsons: Hit & Run

Game	Developer	Release Date	Platform(s)
The Simpsons: Hit and Run	Radical Entertainment	September 16, 2003	GameCube, PS2, Xbox, PC

It shouldn’t have worked out as well as it did. The fact that The Simpsons: Hit & Run was a shameless ripoff of Grand Theft Auto was apparent from the moment we laid eyes on this game. Yet, against all odds, Radical Entertainment seemed to have a knack for turning out good-or-better Simpsons games between 2001 and 2003. Hit & Run features an impressive, ludicrous storyline involving an alien invasion being carried out by Halloween Special favorites Kang and Kodos. It’s up to Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, and Maggie to stop them, but that doesn’t mean we can’t carry out a few missions and commit a few felonies along the way.

The Simpsons: Hit & Run succeeds nicely as a functional parody of the style GTA III and Vice City made ridiculously popular in the early 2000s. In other words, the game’s self-awareness gives it a measure of uniqueness that doesn’t forget to emphasize the sheer pleasure of driving around Springfield like a lunatic. This is one of the best recreations of the town ever made for a video game, and it’s still easy to this day to lose hours just driving around and drawing the ire of the local police.

With dozens of missions, side-quests, easter eggs, and secrets, the overall execution of The Simpsons: Hit & Run is really something remarkable after building off the things that Road Rage got right. Simpsons fans had to wait over a decade for a truly great game on home consoles, and the wait was completely worth it.

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