Family Guy: Back to the Multiverse still has not received many reviews from critics, and the reviews that have been published have been, let's say, less than enthusiastic, in fact, it's been outright panned by some sites, some even saying it's the worst game of the year. So, I did like the game, it has plenty of flaws, one major, but I had fun. The story mode involves Stewie and Brian going through various universes chasing Bertram, you'll see an Amish universe, a universe with only cripples and one level inspired by the Alien franchise only with chickens. The levels are fairly varied in terms of setting, the gameplay however is not very varied, you shoot and shoot and shoot some more with the occasional platform jumping. The weapons are pretty cool, but some are easily better than others, prepare to use Brian's shotgun for the regular enemies and Stewie's satchel charge for most of the boss enemies. There's a boss battle with Ernie the chicken, but it's not as epic as it should be, it's not sufficiently over-the-top. But many of the boss fights are fun, the whole feel of the game is, as others have mentioned and used to criticise, very old-school, or ancient as some would say. I loved these kinds of games when I was younger, it feels very retro, and I don't see it as a bad thing. This is not a hardcore Family Guy fan defending the game overlooking flaws on purpose and such, I think Family Guy has taken a nosedive in quality the last couple of years, while still being watchable, the game is not THAT funny, I laughed a couple of times, most of the dialogue and lines are taken straight from the series, not redone, just taken as they were, so Stewie will sound slightly different when they use lines from the first and second season, also, some of the lines are repeated WAY too often.
The game is also way too easy, because when you die, you almost all the time respawn not far from where you died. Only the final boss battle can be a little tricky, the first part of it, until you locate the useful items and the best rooftops to throw satchel charges at the lasers. I didn't clock it, but the game must be less than 4 hours long, there are challenge modes, split screen multiplayer, again, old-school, and extra costumes and characters to unlock, so I might go back to unlock everything, but it can be tricky to find every item in the levels. The game looks fine, it reminds me of "The Simpsons Game" that was released by EA a couple of years back, this doesn't have the same production values with new animated cutscenes in the style of the series, or as much original voice acting and variety, but I liked this one too, I got a kick of some of the references from when Family Guy was brilliant and the brief length kept me from getting too bored, but I must admit that I ran past a LOT of enemies in the last proper level in the game, the chickens are so small and so many I couldn't be bothered to shoot them all. Well, again, I had fun with this game, I was always curious to see what the next univers would look like, just be sure to adjust the sensitivity of the aiming, because the original setting is way too slow. But the biggest flaw is the length, so if you like Family Guy, look for a place to rent it, or wait for a price drop, I got it pretty cheap, so I don't know, maybe that's why I was able to enjoy the game a little easier than some other people.
Other Helpful Reviews for Family Guy: Back to the Multiverse
After finding out that this game was being released it was a must buy for me, as I have always been a fan of the Family Guy series. The promo trailer looked hilarious, the graphics looked crisp, and the writers and voice... Read Full Review
By TheLamaKnows | Review Date: Dec 13, 2012 | X360
Both gamers and fans of Family Guy will feel like they've been taken advantage of. The game itself is the lowest form of 1990's-level adventure game play. On par with a 3D Mario game, and simply embarrassing in 2012. G... Read Full Review
