I have to start off this review by
mentioning that I enjoy Family Guy the television show. I watched the show when
it first aired on Fox years ago and now enjoy the reruns that air on Cartoon
Network and other cable channels. I even have the first two DVD collections in
my DVD library but they get seldom viewing just because of the number of reruns.
When I first read that a Family Guy game was going to be released I immediately
set my expectation low. Here is a great television franchise just waiting to be
tarnished by a mediocre game in the name of a quick buck from unknowing gamers.
My expectations were fulfilled with an average at best game that will probably
only please raving fanatics of the show.
The game offers a variety of
gameplay depending on three characters; Stewie, Peter and Brian. The levels that
you control Stewie vary between platform gameplay, such as Mario or Sonic, to
racing gameplay. The levels where you play as Peter have you fighting various
bystanders similar to a punch-and-kick brawler. The Brian levels have you
sneaking around various locations playing stealth missions. Sure this variety
sounds great in print but the game falls flat on its face when it comes to
actually playing the game.
The platform elements with Stewie
will have you jumping around a multitude of platforms and ledges picking up gear
parts to upgrade Stewie’s gun. He has the typical double jump feature and a
balloon that allows him to float in the air for several seconds. But controlling
Stewie is an issue because I noticed that I was consistently falling off
platforms due to the sensitivity of the controls. Sometimes I would perform a
double jump without a problem, but other times I would miss the double jump and
end up back at the bottom of a level. The racing stages with Stewie had a
similar problem because Stewie had a tendency to float around the stage instead
of turning and moving with precise accuracy. There were a few instances where
Stewie got turned around and starting racing back to the beginning of the level
all because the controls made me miss a turn.
Controlling Peter wasn’t much of an
improvement due to the repetitive nature of his levels. It was straight punch
and kick combat with a few special moves unlocked as you progressed in the game.
The game tried to keep you on your toes by making certain enemies that Peter had
to fight invincible to a particular attack. For example, one male character in
the game was immune to punch attacks. The point is to make you use strategy
before attacking but when you’re surrounded by a variety of characters you will
forget about strategy and just start throwing punches and kicks. Hopefully
you’ll hit the right character with the correct attack before you’re overrun by
enemies. Just repeat and recycle this pattern for all of Peter’s levels.
To me playing as Brian was easily
the most frustrating due to the stealth missions. The missions start off easy
enough with you just running from one side of the screen to the other without
being seen. But then you starting running into levels similar to the maze with
multiple characters scattered all over. If they catch a good look at you then
the level is over. But what you don’t get is a sense of vision for the enemy
characters. You really have no idea how far and wide they can see until it’s too
late. During certain areas I was able to run right in front of the enemy without
being seen only to be spotted by another character away from me. The game
includes an option to duck, hide under desks and use disguises but those never
seem to work that well. I found myself having to play the stealth levels
repeatedly in the hopes of finally making it through a particular stage.
The game does offer some mini games
to off set the madness of the regular stages. The mini games will usually give
you a short power-up for the level you’re currently on. However the game is
lacking when it comes to setting you up for the mini game. Usually you find the
mini game by just walking around and hitting a random spot on the stage. Then
the mini game will load, without any detailed instructions, and you’re off on
your own. The mini games are very short and typically only last just a few
seconds.
Even though the gameplay is lacking
the comedy in the game is top-notch. This has to be one of the funniest games
I’ve ever played. If you’re a Family Guy fan then you will laugh out loud at
some of the jokes in the game. All of characters in the game are voiced by the
actors from the television show. The game even takes the raunchiness of the
television show to its limits within the game. For example one stage has you
running around in a shower inside a jail (I will let your imagination fill in
the blanks). Another stage had baby Quagmires’ popping out in a delivery room
after you jumped on a certain body part. Side jokes are scattered all over the
levels in the typical Family Guy humor as well.
The graphics in the game do a great
job of looking almost like the cartoon show. The cutscenes look almost identical
with out a few differences in some of the facial features of the characters. The
graphics for the rest of the game are presented in the game Family Guy style
you’ve seen on the television show. Brian looks probably as close as possible
to the cartoon while Stewie and Peter appear blockier than their cartoon
counterparts. Unfortunately the game does have tendency to show some serious
motion blurring during certain parts of the game. If the action gets intense
just be prepared for some eye strain because the blurring.
It comes as no big surprise that
Family Guy the game comes up short in the gaming department. The recent trend of
good-to-great games based on movies and television shows doesn’t come to blossom
with this game. The mediocre gameplay and controls is what really should have
put this game back in the oven for some more cooking. But the great humor in the
game will definitely have you laughing at almost everything in the game. Too bad
humor isn’t the medicine for bad gameplay.
Review Scoring Details for Family Guy |
Gameplay: 3.5
Terrible controls and repetitive gameplay is not the key to success in making
gamers happy.
Graphics: 6.5
If it wasn’t for the motion blurring and a few quirky visuals the game would
like almost identical to the cartoon.
Sound: 7.0
The music, sound effects and voice acting in the game were top notch. The music
in the game was very impressive with a variety of tracks for each level ranging
from rock music to orchestrated songs.
Difficulty: Medium
The hardest part of the game is getting used to the controls and making it
through parts of the game.
Concept: 4.5
Even though I enjoy Family Guy did we really need a Family Guy game? Even then
you’re only playing as three characters from the show instead of the entire
cast. The game’s plot is broken up into three stories for each character. You
probably will forget about the story after a few minutes playing as each
character.
Overall: 5.4
If you really enjoy Family Guy than you will probably find some redeeming value
with the game. The humor in the game is very funny and could almost pass for a
lost episode of the show. However the rest of the game just falls apart due to
the gameplay.