Personally, I prefer Hit Locations to only come into play if a player specifically aims for something, otherwise they just slow down combat (in my experience) and lead to armless-legless PCs (not something most of my players are that keen on experiencing).
However, when I do use HL, I much prefer HERO's 3d6 Location roll. I think the linear nature of a simple d20 providing basically the same % chance to hit the head as there is to hit the chest (or nearly) is way off. Also the HERO method allows for Aim High, or Aim Low for when you are either doing something like a fist fight (and you just aren't ever going to hit the leg) or have a relative height advantage/disadvantage. And since the fantasy bestiary came out, there are all sorts of HL for weirdly shaped monsters.
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