A Game That Keeps It All In the Family
Friday, January 19, 2007; Page WE51
Fans of the "Family Guy" TV show are in for an interactive treat. Like the show itself, this video game is hilarious when it works and a bit off when it fails. But fans of the show will find more than enough entertainment to justify the price. This is one of the funniest games I've played.
Granted, not many games are funny, because making them both funny and fun to play is a challenge. High Voltage Games, which failed miserably to make a fun or funny Leisure Suit Larry: Magna Cum Laude game a few years back, has done a much better job this time around. That's probably because the creative team from the TV show, including writers Seth MacFarlane and Steve Callaghan and voice actors for even minor characters such as Joe (Patrick Warburton), Death (Adam Carolla), Bertram (Wallace Shawn) and Mayor Adam West (Adam West) came on board.
  "Family Guy's" Stewie. (2K Games/ign.com) |
Gameplay is divided into three main stories with players controlling Stewie, Brian and Peter through different gameplay styles. Stewie takes on his half-brother, Bertram, in an action adventure. Peter's story, which begins with a satellite hitting him in the head, involves the invasion of Mr. Belvedere and his cronies, which offers old-fashioned brawling action. The weakest link is Brian's stealth gameplay, which quickly becomes repetitive as he searches for evidence that he didn't get Carter Pewterschmidt's (Lois's father) prized dog, Seabreeze, pregnant.
One thing this game does well is make fun of the video-game culture. Throughout these antics, gameplay pays homage to everything from such classics as Space Invaders and Asteroids to more modern hits, including WarioWare. These built-in mini-games offer laughs and fun gameplay.
-- John Gaudiosi
Family Guy Mature; PlayStation 2, Xbox, PSP ($30)2K Games/High Voltage Software
