Family Guy: Back to the Multiverse by Heavy Iron Studios and Activision is the continuation of episodes "Road to the Multiverse", and "The Big Bang Theory." The third-person video game features the voice cast of the show and was released on Nov. 20 for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC.
Back to the Multiverse's plot sees the return of Stewie's evil half-brother Bertram, who was killed in the show while attempting to erase the existence of Stewie. The video game's version of Bertram comes from a universe in which Stewie never killed him. He builds an army of villains from the cartoon series including Ernie the Giant Chicken and Long John Peter.
So should gamers join The Griffin Family and Quahogs finest citizens through the bizarre alternate realities of the Multiverse? Well so far the reviews are either mixed or negative with most of the reviewers calling the game too short. Here is our review round-up for the new game.
IGN says, "I think that's the best way to come into Family Guy: Back to the Multiverse: don't expect much. Brian and Stewie are funny and there are plenty of gags, but the gameplay is nothing crazy and the levels aren't super-intriguing. This is an episode of the show merged with an average third-person shooter. There's a lot to enjoy, but none of it will knock your socks off." IGN gives the game a 6-out-of-10 score.
GamesRadar says about the game's graphics, "While not animated by hand, the cel-shaded graphics produce a reasonable enough facsimile of the look of the show with a few dropped polygons here and there, making some characters look a little bland since there wasn't really much in their design to begin with." GamesRadar gives the game 2-out-of-5 stars for a "Troubled" rating. GamesRadar said in its closing remarks that "None of the key features really hold up compared to other shooters, save for the appearance of Seth McFarlane and his crew of writers and actors. Even then, this would have made for a weakly written episode of the show. Conversely, if you really love this show, you'll find the host of references and in-jokes found in the levels hilarious and almost gratifying."
Destructoid says, "Family Guy: Back to the Multiverse is crude, archaic, sloppy, and unfunny, but I don't want the show to be blamed for any of it -- not because I wish to defend Family Guy, but because by blaming the show, we let this game get away with being the invidious dross it is." The reviewer gives the game a 2-out-of-10 score for a "Bad" rating.
On review aggregating website Metacritic, the Xbox 360 version of the game currently has a score of 30-out-of-100 based on six reviews. The PlayStation 3 and PC version are awaiting more reviews.
Did you buy Family Guy: Back to the Multiverse? Tell us what you think of the game? Was the game too short? Do you love the game and think these reviewers were way off? Comment in the section below...