Family Guy review

Two thirds of this game will make you effing cry

GamesRadar+ Verdict

Pros

  • +

    Stewie's quest to destroy Bertram

  • +

    Funny cameos from ancillary characters

  • +

    Some blue jokes that wouldn't fly on TV

Cons

  • -

    Peter's pointless

  • -

    mindless brawling

  • -

    Brian's dull stealth missions

  • -

    Lots of recycled comedic material

Why you can trust GamesRadar+ Our experts review games, movies and tech over countless hours, so you can choose the best for you. Find out more about our reviews policy.

One of the things that make Family Guy so riotously funny is how the salty jokes come fast and furious over the span of each half-hour episode. Stretch those same laughs over 8 hours or so of generally humdrum gaming, and the whole affair gets diluted to the point where fans will find themselves reaching for the DVDs instead of the game controller.

Oafish dumbass dad Peter takes a hard one to the noggin and becomes convinced that the citizens of Quahog are disguised henchmen of TV's Mr. Belvedere. Meanwhile, Brian is again accused of impregnating Carter Pewterschmidt's racing dog, and Stewie faces off against his arch-nemesis and half-brother (don't ask) Bertram.

As a result of these disparate setups, Family Guy is really three games in one. Peter kicks and punches through everything in sight, Brian sneaks past screen after screen of cops, and Stewie lasers and mind-controls his way to victory.

Unfortunately, only the last of these is enjoyable, and the non-sequitur mini-games barely qualify as such. Peter might be fun to watch as he cycles through hooker, soul brother, and default costumes, but he isn't much fun to play. The attack animations, like a characteristically idiotic attempt at jump-kicking, are satisfyingly goofy, but this sort of mindless combat just doesn't cut the mustard anymore.

More info

GenreAction
DescriptionDespite some great material, the Griffin family stumbles badly in its first video game outing, with only one of its three distinct gameplay threads managing to crawl out of its own tedious swamp.
Platform"PS2","Xbox","PSP"
US censor rating"Mature","Mature","Mature"
UK censor rating"","",""
Release date1 January 1970 (US), 1 January 1970 (UK)
Less