First and foremost, I'm a big fan of Futurama. Even after reading Gamespot's own review, and seeing screens of the game, I felt compelled to buy the title because of my love for the show. After seeing the game cheap in my local gaming store, I pounced on a copy and quickly came home to play it. Or at least, attempt to. Watching the intro and hearing that familiar theme tune, I realised I had been transported to the Futurama Universe. Essentially, the games look and sound is very reminiscent of the television show - so much so I pinched myself that these were in game cutscenes. And that's when play took over. Futurama is a point and click game wrapped in an adventure game wrapped in a slow paced action game wrapped in Futurama. All the elements of the show are here, voices taken directly from the stars, locations and environments modelled correctly and characters drawn as close to the animated show. All the above are the best elements of the game, that it closely models the television show on which it is based. Unfortunately, everything else brings this down. Developer UDS isn't new to making games, but this is their first foray with a licensed product. Having to work within the confines of the show, they employed J Stewart Burns, an award winning writer from the show to pen the script. And it's a great script as well, which has all the regular hilarity from the show, with lines like "And you died! Hahahaha!" spoken by the lovable Bender, an alcoholic kleptomaniacal Robot Bending Unit, who is the show's main comedy relief. Original voice acting helps bring the world of Futurama to the console well - with Bender, Fry, Leela, Zoidberg and the Professor all sounding like their animated series counterparts. However, the core gameplay remains remarkably the same for whoever you play as, and apart from some short vehicle gameplay pieces, it's all very samey. Most of your gaming time will find you running around sparsly decorated and boring environments, finding objects, or even just trying to get to the end of the level before you die. There are objectives, however, the gameplay is so remarkably easy and linear that you will easily come across and complete your missions without so much as a yawn. The linearity of the levels holds your hand through the games very poor AI and design. As well as the very trivial gameplay, the camera system is flawed beyond all use. Many of the environments (such as an early Sewer level) are tight and confined. Without your direct control, the Camera swings freely, sometimes just when you least expect or want it too - making the game more frustrating than it should. It's a sad indication of a game's gameplay when you find yourself fighting the camera angles more often than the poor enemy. The rigid design of the camera system will see you get stuck more than a few times, and there is no transparency when the angle is close to a wall, which makes it nigh on impossible to find your way out - making you an easy target for an enemy you cannot see. The targeting system for the game is also flawed, as you have no melee combat moves, you are forced to use whatever wapon you have equipped. You usually have only one per level, and the majority of the time it is a ranged weapon, such as a laser gun. However, targeting enemies is made harder by the fact that destructible environments (such as wooden doors, crates, etc) can be targeted and destroyed in the same manner. Targeting an enemy that is bearing down on you is made hard by the fact the game is not aware of what is happening on screen, and while you can manually change targets, this does not always make your present situation better. Thankfully, you can dodge and jump around enemies, but this just encourages you to run and avoid confrontation. Controls are easily placed on the gamepad to allow even the youngest of users to become adept within minutes - it even allows you to use the directional pad for movement. If only the camera system wasn't so bad, this would have been possibly the easiest game to control in a very long time. You are given very clear instructions on how to best utilise your characters, and the manual is also designed for ease of use - showing at a glance how to use your characters in any chosen situation. For all it's bad points though - Futurama does a remarkable job of creating the gameworld of the show on which it is based. From the script, to the design of the characters and environments - and right down to the voice acting, Futurama very much brings the show to life. If only the gameplay had been up to the standards of it's presentation of all things Futurama, this could have been a great game. As it is, however, this is a poor excuse for laughably outdated and repetitive gameplay that at every turn, frustrates you. For fans only - this is a decent rental. All others, stay away.
Futurama is a poorly put together game that only offers moments of nostalgia to avid fans of the show. The Gameplay featured in Futurama the game is atrocious. Your control over your character’s running ability is decent... Read Full Review
If there was a prize for the funniest game ever, Futurama would win it. The game script is written by a writer for Futurama, all the voice cast are there, and some neat little jokes are put in that fans of the show will ... Read Full Review
