When Back to the Multiverse was first announced, we weren’t quite sure why the world needed a new Family Guy game. After playing it, we’re no closer to figuring that out.
Even when playing to the show’s strengths, Multiverse doesn’t work. The series’ best characters (talking dog Brian and talking baby Stewie) are the campaign’s stars, but their repartee is drowned out by awful humor spouted by enemies and NPCs. Using the popular “Road to the Multiverse” episode as a basic theme doesn’t pan out either. While said episode turned Brian into a human and Peter Griffin into a pie-loving Disney character, this game trots out nonsensical ideas like “Here’s a world ruled by frat guys” and “Santa’s evil now.”
The combat’s passable, but it’s crammed into an unappealing package: when levels aren’t shoehorning in annoying platforming segments, they present drab hallways with waves of one-note foes. Boss battles alternate between being cakewalks and wars of attrition in which giant health reserves trump actual challenge. The game doesn’t change in co-op play, and outside of rare instances where a particular weapon is necessary, there’s little reason to switch characters.
The most puzzling aspect, though, are Multiverse’s online-focused multiplayer modes…which you can play locally but not over Xbox Live. And the concept of four-player deathmatches and two-on-two Capture the Flag bouts is made even worse by gargantuan stages meant for bigger groups. Moreover, there’s no option to add bots to pad out under-attended matches.
When Multiverse is at its best, you’ll enjoy its clever quips and competent shooting. Unfortunately, these highlights are all too rare.
Every multiplayer character has a specific power. On the whole, they’re a bit unbalanced, and some trot out tired gags.PUBLISHER: Activision • DEVELOPER: Heavy Iron Studios • ESRB: Mature • MULTIPLAYER: 2 in local co-op, 4 in local versus • ACHIEVEMENTS: Mostly simple • Cost: $60 • RELEASE DATE: November 20, 2012
+ Occasionally funny and fun to play.
– Combat often becomes as brainless as the mostly crude script.
– Because multiplayer is local-only (with no bots), it’s super-limited.
? Would this game have been better with cut-away minigames?
