Family Guy Video Game!

The Good
Let me just start off saying I am a huge freakin' Family Guy fan, I have been watching it since day one and have all five season sets, including the Stewie Griffin movie and the latest Blue Harvest DVD, so I'm not going to down this game just because it's Family Guy, but before I get to that lets get the good.

First is the humor of the show is here, every little subtle reference from the shows can be found, the evil monkey, the funniest quotes such as Stewie's "Ugh, It's looks like an Iraqi trailer park" and all the characters are here as well, including Death, so a big fan of the show will instantly recognize certain characters that some may not remember.

Secondly the voice acting is phenomenal, thankfully they have all the authentic voices, so actually hearing the original voices makes you fell right at home when playing, makes you feel like it's an actual episode of Family Guy.

Thirdly the mini-games are great, Stewie's Sexy Party!!!, the fire truck gazelle hunt, the Marco Polo game with Helen Keller (the easiest, but the funniest by far) even the Sit Down game for Peter, something a loyal watching will instantly pick up on and laugh their ass off. There is even a Space Invaders reference when you fight Bertram with Stewie.

The Bad
Well, here is the bad, I hate to say that about something with Family Guy on it, cause to me I don't think they have ever had a bad episode, but when it comes to the game...it's a different story.

One is the graphics, now granted they are nice, but the cell-shading doesn't give it it's natural feel. Now I understand the cell-shading during the gameplay, but for the cinemas, it would have been nice to see actual animation from the show, hell, when the Simpsons game that just recently came at least it had actual animation.

Secondly, the ideas for the game is not original, it's like taking three episodes of Family Guy and repackaging them into one "original" idea (kinda like what Adult Swim did with the Stewie movie, just the opposite). Now granted they are funny, Stewie's stage with his ray-gun kinda gives it a feel of Destroy All Humans, Brian's stage reminds of you Metal Gear Solid with all the stealth and avoiding enemies, just a shame you can actually hurt anybody and Peter's reminding me of the old Simpon's arcade game from eons ago.

Thirdly and lastly, the gameplay. For some odd reason, I just couldn't get into it, granted they wasn't much they could do except make it into a platform game, but for some odd reason it feels uninspired, solving puzzles with Stewie can be very annoying and avoiding everything with Brian just doesn't seem right.

I do have to admit I like Peter's stage, but the problem is with the others since you have to do a lot of work in order to get some joy out of the game, problem is when you see Family Guy you automatically think of fun, so having to jump all around, collecting pieces and solving puzzles just to get to it will frustrate you. To me I'd rather have the entire game be the mini-games alone with all the popular and some obscure references from episodes past. It's like going to a strip club, but before you can get a lapdance you have to search the bar and find clues to the girls name before you can get it.

The Bottom Line
All in all, to me this game is a disappointment, I loved the idea and the willing spirit to try, but the execution was done in by the uninspired style and the cell-shading. Sadly, I got more enjoyment from playing a Family Guy DVD trivia game that I found for a few bucks at a yard sale. But, for each his (or her) own, some of you out there may disagree, so to those who haven't tried it, rent it first. If you are big freakin' Family Guy fanatic, at least give it a whirl, who know's you may like it and may be able to tolerate it.

Hopefully, 2K can make an el cheapo version before the PS2 is retired and just make a Family Guy game with authentic footage from past shows and just make it into a series of mini-games for cheap, that would actually be more worth it than this.

The Good
Family Guy is flat-out hilarious. All the voice actors are in-game, and the gameplay is very easy to learn. Stewie's Shoot em' up style of gameplay is the some of the best arcade action on the PSP. Peter's levels come second best, his is a mindless beat em' up. The mini games during levels are pretty funny and entertaining.

The Bad
Brian's stealth levels are absolute crud. You can't tell if there is a character in front of you from a long distance, and the disguises are the only thing that makes it not so frustrating. Family Guy is also very frustrating in some parts of the game.

The Bottom Line
Don't listen to what other critics say. This game is decently worth at least twenty bucks, and it's humor keeps you coming back for more. This game has lots of potential, and shows off a lot of it. I would suggest this game to fans of the TV Show.