Lucky there's a Family Guy?

This fall, fans of Family Guy will finally be able to explore the cel-shaded town of Quahog, Rhode Island, for themselves. Playing as idiot paterfamilias Peter Griffin, alcoholic family dog Brian and diabolical toddler Stewie, you'll brawl, sneak and shoot your way through a bizarre plot involving world domination, mind control and 1980s TV housekeeper Mr. Belvedere.

Created with the involvement of the show's writers, the Family Guy game will weave together three separate plotlines that appear to be equal parts recycled story elements and new material. Brian's storyline, for example, involves sneaking out of prison after allegedly impregnating a prize greyhound, while Stewie's has him controlling minds and blasting foes in a battle for supremacy with his half-brother Bertram. Meanwhile, Peter gets hit on the head and becomes convinced that Mr. Belvedere is plotting world domination, thus fulfilling the show's '80s-reference requirement and giving him an excuse to go brawling.

Promising to emulate the show to the point of letting you play through the non-sequitur jokes that pop up randomly in each episode, the Family Guy game seems hard-pressed to not let the fans down. Judging from the first screens, we can say that it at least does a great job of capturing the series' look; to see for yourself, give the Images tab a click. As for how it plays, well, we're hoping to find something out next month at E3.

Mikel Reparaz
After graduating from college in 2000 with a BA in journalism, I worked for five years as a copy editor, page designer and videogame-review columnist at a couple of mid-sized newspapers you've never heard of. My column eventually got me a freelancing gig with GMR magazine, which folded a few months later. I was hired on full-time by GamesRadar in late 2005, and have since been paid actual money to write silly articles about lovable blobs.