|
The Family Guy
Family Guy - This new game from
Take-Twos 2K Games will introduce the Griffins to gamers everywhere. In
the game, being developed as a third person action/adventure, players
will take on the role of multiple characters such as Stewie, Brian the
Dog, and Peter, the hapless patriarch, as they interact with many of the
citizens of Quahog.
The Family Guy is the latest arcade game from Take2 Interactive that
features the wonderfully dysfunctional Griffen family in their most
exciting adventure to date. well, in the world of games anyway. Dubbed
"too hot" for television, the game features many locales and characters
from the animated series that the follows three storylines.
One story pits Stewie against brother and arch-nemesis Bertram, another
allows players to control Peter in an attempt to stop his boss Mr.
Belevdere from taking over the world and finally Brian, the Griffen's
pet dog that is probably the most entertaining story of them all where
our loveable canine must escape prison in order to prove his innocence
in a puppy parental case gone bad.
The PSP version of the Family Guy features your traditional arcade style
of gameplay where the player must jump, run and fight their way through
the Family Guy universe in order to solve clues, puzzles and missions in
some extremely comedic moments. Fortunately for those new to the world
of arcade gaming or the PSP is a tutorial level that teaches the player
how to move through the gaming world with Stewie, the baby of the Grifen
family.
In this level, Stewie must collect 20 pieces of his ray gun in order to
not only "kill" his mother (which he tries in almost every episode) but
also challenge and defeat the local neighbourhood brain, Bertram. This
level as does the majority of the game involve a variety of jumping in
order to get to unreachable places that does become a little
frustrating. This becomes prevalent on the second level where Stewie
must jump all the way up on a giant microscope and one wrong move and
you need to start all over again. Fortunately Stewie has four balloons
that he uses to glide which all members of the Griffen family have some
special ability.
With that said, the game is extremely reminiscent of the Simpsons arcade
game that was released almost 20 years ago and needless to say, this was
quite an entertaining game. The Family Guy also fits this genre and in
the world of first person shooters and racing games, it's nice to see a
game go back to an almost forgotten genre of arcade madness.
Unfortunately the repetitiveness and frustration of the levels does
become annoying and what should have been a fun romp through the town of
Quahog, sometimes make you want to throw the PSP out a window. It's a
mixed bag that what should have been an awesome game is only a mediocre
game.
Graphically, the Family Guy is a visual treat on the PSP that looks
almost identical to the television show with locales and characters
virtually identical. The developers have done a great job at recreating
the town of Quahog. Although as the TV series, the game looks 2D, it
uses 3D characters and 3D objects to give the effect of a three
dimensional space. The colour palette of the Family Guy is quite vivid
and bright and match that with a variety of special effects and it's
easy to be drawn into the world of the Family Guy.
The title features all the voices of their cartoon counterparts thanks
to the actors who have lent their talents to this title. Musically, the
Family Guy features a rather repetitive and dull soundtrack that does
nothing to enhance the gaming environment. However, it's the voices what
really makes this game with Stewie, Peter and Brian. There are of
course, your stock standard arcade
sound effects.
In conclusion, the Family Guy is unfortunately a hit and miss game that
fans of the series will probably enjoy for a little amount of time,
unfortunately the repetitiveness nature of the gameplay will hamper your
enjoy. |
