The video game The Simpsons: Hit & Run, released in 2003, is remembered as one of the best adaptations of the famous television series created by Matt Groening. With an approach that captures the tone and style of the early seasons, the game has become a reference among fans and is frequently mentioned in discussions about desired sequels and remakes. The nostalgic connection that players feel with this title has resurfaced thanks to the work of the Slurm Team, which is developing a mod that transforms Hit & Run into a game set in the universe of Futurama. […]
The video game The Simpsons: Hit & Run, released in 2003, is remembered as one of the best adaptations of the famous television series created by Matt Groening. With an approach that captures the tone and style of the early seasons, the game has become a reference among fans and is frequently mentioned in discussions about desired sequels and remakes. The nostalgic connection that players feel with this title has resurfaced thanks to the work of the Slurm Team, which is developing a mod that transforms Hit & Run into a game set in the Futurama universe.
Of all the friends I’ve had, you are… the only one
The mod, named Futurama Hit & Run, will allow players to take control of Fry and explore a new map that reflects the iconic New New York. According to the developers, this modification includes four main missions, one additional mission, several races, six vehicles, four costumes, and collectibles that will enrich the experience. However, it is important to note that the mod’s map is approximately a quarter of the size of the Futurama universe, and the creators describe it more as a demo than a final product.
The design of the mod has required a great deal of dedication, including the creation of 3D models from scratch. Joe McGinn, the lead designer of the original game, has praised the team’s effort, expressing his excitement to play it: This looks amazing! To experience this mod, players will need to own an original copy of The Simpsons: Hit & Run and follow the instructions to download the mod from the Modbakery page.
With a strong affection for the series and the video game as a backdrop, fans are eager for this new adventure that promises to bring them even closer to the peculiar world of Futurama. Nostalgia remains a key component in the interest for these types of projects, and clearly, the community continues to wish for justice to be done to The Simpsons: Hit & Run with new releases.
For a series to be on the air for more than 25 years and accumulate over 150 episodes, it must have something special. It can’t just be that it had three or four good seasons: it must have something even today that makes its fans keep coming back and even casual viewers remain interested in it. It must have magic. Character. A special interest. Because nothing survives that long without knowing how to renew itself and maintain a minimum level of quality. And certainly, that is the case with Futurama. Premiered in 1999 on the Fox network, this sitcom follows Philip J. Fry, […]
For a series to be on air for more than 25 years and accumulate over 150 episodes, it must have something special. It can’t just be that it had three or four good seasons: it must have something even today that makes its fans keep coming back and even casual viewers remain interested in it. It must have magic. Character. A special interest. Because nothing survives that long without knowing how to renew itself and maintain a minimum level of quality. And certainly, that is the case with Futurama.
Premiering in 1999 on the Fox network, this sitcom follows Philip J. Fry, a good-for-nothing from the 20th century, who is cryogenically frozen on New Year’s Eve of 1999 to wake up on December 31, 2999. After an exemplary first episode that would not remotely prepare us for what was to come, he would end up working at Planet Express, an interstellar package delivery company along with Bender, an alcoholic robot, and Leela, a mutant with one eye.
The series originated in the minds of Matt Groening and David X. Cohen. The former, creator of The Simpsons, needs no introduction. Cohen, for his part, was a writer for Beavis and Butt-Head and The Simpsons, being the co-creator of the series along with Groening. A detail that many fans tend to overlook.
With four absolutely stellar seasons, the series came to an end with a bittersweet tone: it seemed there was still much to tell, and fans believed so. After a series of films of uneven quality, the series was rescued with three more seasons on Comedy Central in 2008 after a five-year hiatus, two of which were split into two parts. Although Futurama still had appeal, it was no longer the same: from the fifth to the seventh season, or from the fifth to the ninth season depending on whom you ask, the series no longer had the same charm. Suffering from The Simpsons Syndrome. It continues and continues, but it doesn’t seem to really be able to reach the level of its original seasons.
Unless something changed in 2023. After another break, this time of ten years, the series returned with Hulu. And as in the case of The Simpsons with its last three or four seasons, something had changed. It still doesn’t live up to its original seasons, but it feels fresh again and much more focused. With a sharper humor, less focused on topics with an expiration date in our society in a poor copy of South Park, and concentrating on character development. Something that the newly released thirteenth season, or tenth depending on how you look at it, is no exception.
Knowing how to adapt to the present
Focusing more on character development, what happened in previous seasons and creating a more evident continuity, like in the early seasons, do not abandon self-contained episodes or those with a specific theme, but they are better integrated. Giving them a greater sense of cohesion.
With more weight on secondary characters that normally haven’t had it, like Doctor Zoidberg, and focusing on what has been the epicenter of the Futurama narrative for almost two decades, the romance between Leela and Fry, the season may suffer from having all its episodes released at once. Futurama, like The Simpsons, benefits from watching episodes multiple times and savoring them, rather than watching episodes in rapid succession without meaning. That said, the possibility of rewatching the episodes a second or third time is always there, something that seems to particularly benefit this new season.
Because there must be something about water when it is blessed. Something that Futurama is no exception to. That’s why this thirteenth season wants to show that the series created by Groening and Cohen is still in as good shape as ever, even if it doesn’t reach the heights of its original seasons. A level that, surely, is impossible to reach again.
