When the Family Guy first
debuted several years ago it became one of my favorite shows with its wild sense
of humor and outlandish situations that befall Quahogs favorite family. I was
really disappointed when it was canceled several years ago, but still enjoyed
the reruns that were put on Cartoon Network. Last year something happened that
had never happened before, Family Guy came back with a second chance of life,
and I was really happy. Due to its popularity it was only a matter of time
before a game would be released that contains everything that makes the show so
popular.
The game lets players take
control of three of the more popular characters: Peter, Stewie, and Brian. Each
of the three characters plays completely different from one another, and as you
go through the game you will find out that all of the stories are interwoven
together to complete one nice story. Peter’s missions are more action based
objectives, in other words he is the brawler of the group that uses brute force
to get the job done. If you look at the screen when he is playing he will have a
snack meter and when it is full you can do various super moves to help get your
goals accomplished quicker.
Stewie’s missions are the
most fun that you will have in this game. His game play is defined as more
platforming and shooting. Below his health bar you will find that it has a
counter for the ray gun components that you collect. The more that you collect
the better upgrades you can get for your gun. Stewie can also use his mind
control device to get people to do his bidding for him or do things that his
small body can’t do such as open a door. Last but not least there are the
missions that Brian takes on which proves to be the biggest disappointment in
the game. His missions are all based around stealth and the problem with this is
that with all of the improvements in this genre, the developers went with very
old gameplay mechanics that prove to be a snore fest for gamers.
There is one more gameplay
element in the Family Guy, and it is mini games that are non sequiturs that
appears just like on the TV show. What happens is that someone will make some
obscure comment and then you are presented with a completely new screen. You
must then perform certain tasks as pressing buttons at a certain time or even
shooting some targets. The problem with this is unlike the show; these non
sequiturs moments are really obscure and have nothing to do with what is going
on. It just feels that the developers just tacked these on at the last moment
hopping that players will draw the connection since something similar happens
during various episodes.
The graphics for this game
are decent, but don’t really try to go above and beyond the call of duty. It is
nice that the developers were able to closely mimic the look and feel of the
television show using the cell shaded graphics. The level of detail on the main
characters is also really nice. The animation is not as high quality as the
show, but that is to be understood in a game like this. The main problem that I
have with this game is the camera is not that fluid and sometimes proves to be a
hindrance to you, such as hard to spot enemies or even trouble locking on to
specific places.
One thing that the game
has going for it is that it has the writers of the television show providing the
game’s entire dialog which really helps out. The story for this game is as
outlandish as any of the episodes that you might have seen. The voice actors
from the show provide the voices for the game so it makes it seem more like an
episode of the show. The music and sound effects also fit in nicely.
Family Guy is rated Mature
for mature humor, partial nudity, and violence.
|
Review Scoring Details for Family Guy |
Gameplay: 5.2
The gameplay is pretty much bland, boring, and to be frank they are
frustrating.
Graphics: 7.9
The graphics for the Family Guy give players the same look and feel
that is on the show. The problem is that the camera is not that good and causes
problems such as hard to detect enemies.
Sound: 8.5
Thankfully the game uses the same voice actors that are in the
television show so it makes it really easy to listen to. The music for this game
also compliments how it is on the show.
Difficulty: Easy
If you continue to play this game you will find out that all of the
missions are really easy and do not present that much of a challenge.
Concept: 5.0
This game really doesn’t add anything new to any genre. In fact it
takes a giant step backwards.
Overall: 5.3
It is sad that Family Guy isn’t a better game. It feels rushed and not
fine tuned to make it really shine.
