Once again America's favorite cartoon family has hit the console world, and this new game, The Simpsons: Hit and Run, is kicking up as much dirt as its predecessors.

With large, intricate 3D worlds, highly detailed vehicles and lifelike character models (well, life-like if we were all yellow-skinned with four fingers, that is), the graphics of Hit and Run make use of the PS2's abilities without taking a hit on the frame-rate whatsoever. The first thing to shock me about the graphics in Hit and Run was the quality of the worlds (the different parts of Springfield). The first time I got up on top of the Lard Boy above the donut shop and looked out at the level and realized there wasn't any mysterious cutoff haze or horrid pop-in problems, I was sold on the graphics.

The sound and music are on par with the graphics. The voices are done by the cast and have enough variety to keep them from becoming repetitive to the point of suicide - though there were a couple of occasions when I almost got tired of Homer singing 'I am evil Homer...' almost.

The music for each level is tailored to the character you are playing as. A good example of this is, while running (or driving as the case may be) through the Springfield Docks as Lisa, you are treated to some mellow saxophone tunes (almost as if Bleeding Gums Murphy himself was still with us today and playing over your shoulder).

The Simpsons: Hit and Run features a great storyline plucked straight from the heads of the series' writers and made both 3D and interactive. For some unknown reason, surveillance vans and cameras have started appearing all over Springfield, USA. Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to find out who it is that is trying to spy on the lovable Springfieldians.

Along the way, you will be able to unlock almost 50 different vehicles (including the soap box winner 'The Honor Roller', and the classic Plow King), by either earning them in missions or races or by buying them from Gil (the perpetually down on his luck salesman). Along with these vehicles, you can also stop any car you see and get in it.

There are a total of 7 levels where you get to play as Homer, Bart, Lisa and Marge, as well as that great Kwik-E-Mart manager Apu Nahasapeem... Nahasap... Nahasapeemapetilon (whew, try typing that three times fast). In order to complete the missions, you will need to destroy other cars, race against others, collect items and much more. The missions require you to effectively drive your vehicle without destroying it (and even if you do - sometimes it is still possible to drive it) as well as run around on foot.

In each level, there are several side missions you can try your hand at if you aren't the type of person who is content with just beating the game. There are several Collector Cards in each level that will allow you to reminisce over fond episodes from the series, as well as gags that will make you laugh when you activate them.

You can also buy different costumes for each character. I loved having Homer romp around in his blue and pink flower print muumuu or Bart in his Masked Ballerina suit, not to mention Lisa in her State of Florida Costume.

There is even an unlockable multiplayer aspect to Hit and Run, though I found it to be the least appealing aspect of the game. If you gather all of the Collector Cards for a level, then a Bonus Game is opened. These games consist of races where you choose one of the five playable characters and race around a small track. The problem I had with this feature was that it just didn't seem to fit. The bird's eye view of the track makes the racers and the track itself seem really small and it seemed out of place from the immersive 3D worlds that make up the rest of the game. I can see something more in the line of a demolition derby with you against (up to) three of your friends tearing up Springfield in everything from Mr. Plow to Otto's School Bus.

But overall, I must commend Radical Entertainment for their fine eye for detail and obvious desire to make sure the Simpsons' world stays true to what we have seen in the series. You all get a resounding Good Jorb!

The Simpsons: Hit and Run starts off with a deceptively easy first level (even though a newspaper at the loading screen states 'Study: 90 percent of games start with easy tutorial level'. Once you get into the third level, the races get tougher, time grows shorter and the collectible objects get harder to find. Overall though, The Simpsons isn't extremely difficult. If you go through and simply complete the missions, you will beat the game in only a few hours, but if you are a completest bastard like some, [i]cough[/i]StarScream[i]cough[/i], have accused me of being and want to unlock all of the vehicles, multiplayer races and even the lost Itchy and Scratchy cartoon, you will have your hands full.

The Simpsons: Hit and Run has simple but effective control systems (yes plural - they are slightly different depending on whether you are in a vehicle or not). While driving around the town, the control scheme is basically the same as any other driver out there (steer with the right analog while acceleration and brake are controlled by the X and circle respectively).

If on foot, then the scheme mimics the basic platformers; you walk with the right stick, control the camera with your left, jump and attack are X and square, and you can run (okay, sprint) with the circle. To enter or leave a vehicle (and thus change the control scheme), your press the triangle button.

Let's face it, if you are any kind of true Simpsons fan, you have either already gotten the game, or you are on your way to the nearest store and this review is just sitting there not being read anymore. For those of you still out there and still not quite sure, I will tell you now Hit and Run is the best of both worlds. It is the perfect blend of mission based driving and platformer that I have seen on the market to date. If you are a fan of either genre then this is a good game to get.