The Simpsons: Hit & Run Returns With Free Futurama Spin-Off

The Simpsons: Hit & Run is still one of the more beloved games of its generation, bringing the formula of the previous year's Road Rage forward and turning it from a pretty simple racing game to a full blown action adventure.

At the time it was created, developer Radical Entertainment struck a deal with publisher Vivendi Universal Games that waived additional fees for licensing and voice talent in sequels. After the publisher then refused to honour this, we now haven't received a follow-up and the series is in limbo (with new rights owners in Disney and Activision for the show and game respectively), much to the dismay of basically everyone who played it.

That doesn't mean that the game is entirely out in the cold, however, thanks to a dedicated community of modders who continue to refresh the experience for those who download a copy (however they manage to do so).

As first reported by GamesRadar, modding group Slurm Team have just dropped a trailer for a total conversion mod for Hit & Run that turns it into a Futurama fan's dream game.

The trailer shows plenty of Fry-focused gameplay, with him navigating a genuinely impressive recreation of New York City that includes the rarely visited sewer system that hosts society's outcasts (Leela's parents), as well as rooftops, detailed streets and all of the locations you'd expect to feature.

The mod has been built from the ground up, with custom 3D models designed from scratch, with the developer publishing a list of features that you can expect if you download and play:

• 4x story missions
• 1x bonus mission
• 1x wager race
• 3x street races
• 4x costumes
• 6x vehicles
• 9x gags
• 1x secret gag
• 25x wasps
• Custom music
• Custom map (~¼ of NNY)

No word yet on what that custom gag relates to, but I'm determined to find it this week. The release of the trailer drew a ton of attention, including from the original designer of the base game, Joe McGinn, who had the following to say on their efforts, "As the lead designer of the original game, I can only say... this looks awesome! I want to play it."

The mod is available to download from ModBakery for those who have the base game, with this 0.1 version only serving as what they describe as a demo. From that, it's a pretty safe inference that there is more to come, so invest some time now and join along for what should be a very fun ride.