Black Jesus, God the horny frat boy, and the ever obvious covetous Jew. If any of those offended you then please stop reading and move along because that sums up the sick politically incorrect condescending juvenile twisted world which Seth MacFarlane has created – and I absolutely love it!
Family Guy has been offending anyone who is open to offense for the past ten years and finally a decent outing has made its way to our beloved consoles.
MacFarlane has trusted Heavy Iron Studios with bringing his beloved franchise to life, the first crack at the franchise by the studio. As a huge fan of the series I have to tell you that this is fan nirvana.
Every single detail in the game can be linked back to an episodes of the series; in fact the entire game starts out as a normal episode – intro sequence accompanied by the song and dance and all.
You get to play as either Stewie or Brian or both simultaneously in an oh-so-decade-ago split screen. The episode starts with Bertram (Stewie’s evil half-brother) who has crossed over from a different universe having amassed a huge army hell-bent on destroying the world. The player as Stewie or Brian must rush off after him to prevent this destruction.
Family Guy Back to Multiverse
Family Guy Back To the Multiverse spans over 10 levels, some of which fans will immediately identify such as Santa’s Sweatshop or The Book Depository ( where you will proceed to assassinate Mayor McCheese). Some of the levels are rather vast and they really make you feel like you are entering a different world and not just a new map. That being said, sometimes they do feel slightly too big and some of the objectives do carry on for just a little too long.
The in-game graphics whilst not too bad are nowhere near mind blowing, and the 3D family guy characters do look rather awkward. However, as soon as they open their mouths everything somehow just comes together. Seth Macfarlane has lent his voice talents to all of his characters, and with the pure brilliance of his writing team they have managed to capture the true magic of the Family Guy universe.
The actual third person gaming experience is quite entertaining when the game is played over short periods of time, however if you plan to sit down and finish the game in one sitting you soon realise that the gameplay is very simplistic and rather linear. The same goals, collectibles and objectives appear in each level. Whilst they are all labelled differently and are different items, its the same concept that is basically rinsed and repeated – the script is what steps in and relieves you from the tedious repetitive tasks. The game keeps you entertained with its quick jokes and below the belt jabs.
The control system is rather basic and very easy to pick up. The same type of enemies keep charging you down, you shoot them, face another pantheon of foot soldiers, and then you’re met by the final boss. This same pattern continuously repeats itself. This is a real shame because if a little more effort was put into the game’s level design and a bit of focus was placed on the gameplay mechanics this truly could have been a classic for fans of the show.
Family Guy Back to Multiverse
The multiplayer experience has been left in the past. Co-op has been limited to you trudging through the campaign mode via a vertical split screen on one console. This same archaic theme has been carried over into the different deathmatch modes, which then allow for four players to share one screen. Having to struggle around a map on a screen that has now been split into 4 is completely inexcusable in an age where large-scale online gaming is available on even the small screens of our mobile phones.
If only a little more effort, money, and skill was thrown at Family Guy: Back to the Multiverse, its true epic potential could’ve been reached – but due to limited vision, a franchise that has grossed well over a billion dollars has once again been put turned into a shameless cash-in.
If you are a true fan of Family Guy you will find value in this title; however, if you are someone who is simply looking for a fun third person shooter, look elsewhere. The humour can only be described as epic. As for the rest; well, it should go sit in the festering desolate corner of shame and humiliation with Meg.
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