First Take a look at Futurama Hit and Run, a Complete Conversion Simpsons Mod That Feels Like a Misplaced Sequel

Twenty-two years have handed since The Simpsons: Hit and Run hit retailer cabinets, and it’s about time {that a} group of super-fans acquired their fingers on a mission that captures the identical sort of untamed, Simpsons-esque enjoyable in a flying saucer-filled future. Slurm Workforce, a gaggle of 9 die-hard followers, started sketching out their concept in 2019 and just lately launched a demo for Futurama: Hit and Run, a complete conversion mod that flips the unique sport’s Springfield streets on their heads to convey them to life within the chaotic world of New New York.

The mod’s core gameplay is much like what made the 2003 sport so common: a mixture of open-world exploration and story-driven chores. You get into six of the best bespoke autos you’ve ever seen – broken supply ships, elegant racers – and drive to the quarter-scale metropolis that appears precisely just like the one from this system. The 4 main goals immerse you in Fry’s world; one has you chasing down a runaway robotic by a tangle of pneumatic tubes, whereas one other has you scurrying round for lacking Slurm cans within the undercity. Each builds on the earlier one, revealing extra of the map each time, thus each drive unveils new corners filled with all types of unusual issues like glowing billboards and rickety previous skywalks.

Past the core storyline, there are sufficient of extras to maintain you going again for extra. Anybody with eager eyes will discover a bonus mission ready to be found, in addition to three road races by which you will need to outmaneuver Zapp Brannigan’s ego virtually as a lot as his ship. A small wager race provides one other factor of pleasure to the combination, permitting you to guess on cargo hauls on tight corners and close to misses. And should you’re the kind who likes to gather all the things, there are 25 wasps dispersed round rooftops and again heaps simply ready to be bashed. And if that wasn’t sufficient, there are 9 tiny facet gags ready for you, corresponding to clicking a button to get a comment from a passing Bender, one in all which stays nicely hid till you’ve dug into each nook and nook.

The Slurm Workforce labored onerous to make New York really feel prefer it belonged in a real Futurama episode. Each constructing, from the Planet Categorical headquarters to the dingy previous MomCorp manufacturing unit, is a contemporary new 3D mannequin that they handcrafted. There isn’t a sloppy re-use of current belongings right here; they’re the precise stuff, full with quirky buildings and flashing neon indicators typical of this system. The sewers are alive with scary creatures that emerge as you drive slowly, whereas up above, suicidal aliens are simply ready to be pushed into. And the perfect half? It’s all powered by the unique sport’s engine, so that you get that very same previous low-poly allure that appears like a acutely aware throwback to the PS2 days when the sort of enjoyable was the usual.

Sound pulls you deep into the thirty first century; it’s a wild journey. We’ve a customized soundtrack that begins with just a few key Futurama theme snippets and is paired with a bunch of synth horn tracks that actually get going whenever you’re careening by the town in a high-speed chase… but it surely mellows out loads whenever you’re simply cruising round searching for some alley graffiti to admire. The autos are much more plausible with the normal growl of the engines mixed with the futuristic ‘whooshing’ sound of the anti-grav boosters. We’ve voices bringing the characters to life, and whereas the demo presently is dependent upon stand-ins, easy AI approximations of Fry’s typical deadpan supply and Leela’s no-nonsense angle do the job till the skilled actors arrive to wash issues up. Even with stand-ins, they carry the banter to life and assist the cutscenes seize the present’s specific dry wit.

Getting behind the wheel of this mod is straightforward, even should you haven’t performed the unique in a very long time. The Donut Workforce’s mod launcher makes set up easy, stacking all the things on prime of a reliable copy of Simpsons: Hit and Run in your PC. When you’re all set, Fry’s 4 costume choices turn out to be useful – you may swap from his purple jacket to a hazard go well with if it is advisable to handle any chemical spills, and the dealing with is ideal for relaxed cruising or precision drifting. The missions improve in issue with out turning into too annoying; you’ll get just a few possibilities to study the basics of tube leaping, however later ones could have you chaining boosts collectively whereas dodging crumbling bridges.