Seth McFarlane, you can do better. For the fans of FOX’s Family Guy, Activision — the storied publisher behind Call of Duty, Doom and Wolfenstein, as well as tons of licensed games — created Family Guy: Back to the Multiverse. The action-adventure game stars Stewie and Brian Griffin and continues the storyline of the “Road to the Multiverse” episode in which Bertram, Stewie’s half-brother, is the villain. I am a fan of Family Guy. And it’s important that I say that so you to understand the full meaning of this game review.
Referring to the gameplay as “interactive” is being Warren Buffet-level generous. Family Guy: Back to the Multiverse is basically a series of fetch quests where you run back and forth past badly lip-synced NPCs spouting off lame Family Guy phrases.
The game also has a manual camera, which is a big pet peeve of mine. With as far as we’ve come in game development, it really seems lazy at this point to have a camera that only has manual options. Unfortunately, that isn’t the first sign of laziness where this game is concerned. The very beginning runs the exact opening clip from the Family Guy TV show, and if the expectation was that gamers would pay for a new experience in the Family Guy universe, it should’ve offered a new experience from the very beginning rather than copying and pasting old content. From the intro to the recycled phrases, the entire thing’s just uninspired an unoriginal.
Ironically, that same opening scene has the best graphics you’ll see in the game. The visuals in Family Guy: Back to the Multiverse are mediocre at best. Sometimes there’s a sacrifice to make a story interactive, though it’s hard to justify that argument when we live in a world where Skyrim exists.
The only commendation I can give to the game is that the original cast actually did the voice acting, and they did a rather good job. They will have to split that kudos amongst them, though. When it comes to this one, save your money. If you really want a Family Guy experience, get the DVD set. This game isn’t fun, it’s not very funny, and it’s just plain boring. Actually, I think Peter Griffin puts it best.
Score: 2
Platform reviewed: Xbox 360
– Amber Taylor