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EGM Review: Family Guy: Back to the Multiverse

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January 2, 2013

Not always lucky there’s a Family Guy

It’s never easy to capture the essence of a licensed product in a videogame. Sure, games like Batman: Arkham City show it can be done, but for every gem, you get South Park: Tenorman’s Revenge, X-Men: Destiny, a half-dozen Simpsons titles (excluding Hit and Run), and the worst of them all, Aquaman: Battle for Atlantis (just beating out the equally awful Superman 64). So, when it came time for Family Guy to take another crack at a video game, six years after their first failure on the last console generation, it was hard not to think “Here we go again.”

Inspired by the Season 8 episode “Road to the Multiverse,” Family Guy: Back to the Multiverse centers around the machinations of an alternate universe incarnation of Bertram, Stewie’s evil half-brother who was destroyed in the main Family Guy universe episode “The Big Bang Theory.” This version of Bertram has built his own multiverse remote control and vowed revenge on Stewie for killing him in any universe. Knowing that their own vast multiverse experience makes them the only ones capable of putting a stop to the plan, the show’s beloved odd couple, Stewie and Brian, embark on a quest across 10 parallel dimensions to stop Bertram from putting together an unstoppable army that will squash the Griffin family once and for all.

As a fan of the show, I admit the premise sounded promising. When you consider that the plot was written by the Fuzzy Door writing staff and that everyone from the cartoon reprised their voice for the game, the story side of Back to the Multiverse didn’t worry me one bit. And it did, indeed, deliver in most instances, as there were many moments during the game’s cutscenes where I found myself laughing out loud as Brian and Stewie found themselves in a Pirate World, an Amish World, a world ruled by handicapped people, and much more.

Unfortunately, when it came to being a fleshed-out game, I found Back to the Multiverse lacking. The third-person shooter gameplay quickly became tedious as wave after wave of cookie-cutter enemies swarmed me in each level, yet still provided almost no challenge. Surprisingly, the handful of platforming obstacles in several levels—along with one very special level with Peter—provided some enjoyable variety to the grind of shooting everything in sight, but these brief departures from the blasting bonanza were too few and far between to save the game from becoming repetitive, dull, and simple.

The game is also extremely short and linear, and in order to try to cram in a couple extra hours of playtime, each level is littered with pointless item collection side quests that reward players with nothing but concept art and multiplayer skins. Somewhere between collecting my 10th wanted poster in the Amish world and my 7th handicap placard in the “Handicapable” level, I was already done with the hoarding.

And speaking of the multiplayer, what were developers Heavy Iron thinking by not making the co-op or versus modes online capable? The multiplayer suite here is impressive, with challenges, Deathmatch and CTF, a horde mode, and campaign co-op. Though far from revolutionary, Multiverse definitely has the potential to stand up to many other titles out there, but since all the modes are restricted to local play, they quickly lose their luster. The multiplayer levels, especially in Team Deathmatch, seem better designed for larger groups of players with their scope and size. With only up to four people locally, everyone is constantly wandering around, desperate for someone to shoot. I appreciate local play as an option, but it just doesn’t work well as the only option, not in this day and age.

In the end, this game is like many of those other licensed products that have come before it. There’s a very solid core here, with the visuals and the humorous writing capturing the animated heart of the show. If the fat from the single player had been cut out so there was only maybe only five or six more polished and varied levels, I could see this being a great downloadable or budget title in the $20-30 price range. For a full $60 though, Family Guy: Back to the Multiverse is far too flawed to be worth it for all but the most passionate (and delusional) of Family Guy fans, as this falls into place with the rest of the long list of other mediocre adapted media property video games out there.

SUMMARY: A solid comedic core cannot save what becomes tedious gameplay as you move through the 10 different dimensions of the Multiverse. Throw in the mind-boggling lack of online multiplayer for a suite that clearly could have benefited from it, and Family Guy: Back to the Multiverse should only appeal to fanatics of the FOX animated sitcom.

  • THE GOOD: Much of the game captures the humor of the show.
  • THE BAD: No online multiplayer, tedious side quests.
  • THE UGLY: Amish women. What? It’s not like they’re going to read this on the Internet or something.

SCORE: 5.5

Family Guy: Back to the Multiverse is available on Xbox 360, PS3, and PC. Primary version reviewed was for Xbox 360. 

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EGM Review: Call of Duty: Black Ops II

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November 20, 2012

Treyarch’s latest answers the Call again

Like the inevitable changing of the seasons, Call of Duty’s yearly release has become an event to which the gaming community can set their watches. In recent years, many gamers have criticized the cookie-cutter formula—the series has almost felt like a yearly “roster update” in the sports-gaming sense. After my time with Black Ops II, though, I can promise you this is one title that finally deviates from that formula.

Right from the get-go, the plot hits with an innovative one-two punch, as the story splits between two time periods. We get to play as both the original Black Ops protagonist, Alex Mason, in the ’80s as well as his son, David, in the near future of 2025. The key thread that connects them? The villain, Raul Menendez—but this isn’t your standard-issue Call of Duty baddie. The considerable talents of writer David Goyer—co-writer of Batman Begins and The Dark Knight—bring Menendez to life, as he exudes a sinister demeanor and delusions of grandeur that remind you of a cross between the Joker and a classic Bond villain. But Menendez also reveals a human side that elicits empathy at times, making him easily the most interesting, entertaining antagonist the series has ever seen.

After years of creative stagnation, Black Ops II’s campaign is a revelation. Once you get past the first couple of missions, the game introduces branching paths that can change the ending depending on how you react to the situations presented before you. This injects a healthy dose of replayability you usually don’t get from a Call of Duty campaign, making a seven-to-eight-hour experience worth going through multiple times.

The main campaign is joined by the new Strike Force missions, which add some real-time strategy elements to the proceedings. You serve as a handler for a squad who must carry out diverse objectives depending on the mission, issuing orders from above or taking over as any single unit and fight the battle in the trenches yourself.

Whether it’s assassinating targets or protecting computer terminals holding valuable information, the Strike Force objectives are supposed to help determine how you play. Unfortunately, once you dig into these side missions, you’ll realize how incompetent the ally AI is; it often ignores your commands, and soon the RTS view becomes null and void. In the end, it’s better to try to supersoldier it and control one character at a time in order to win the day. Strike Force is a great idea that finally brings some new gameplay elements into the mix, but it’s poorly executed, making some of the missions a bit of a chore depending on the parameters.

Aside from this one glaring flaw, however, the campaign is the best since the first Modern Warfare. The story enthralls from the start, and the gameplay is still definitively Call of Duty—especially with some sweet future tech like the Millimeter Scanner that allows you to see foes through walls.

It wouldn’t be Call of Duty if I didn’t mention the multiplayer, though—and in Black Ops II, this element’s better than ever. The new “Pick 10” system works like a dream in terms of customizing your classes, and the user interface simplifies things so that most anyone can use it to maximize their killing potential in any match. Plus, with new modes like Hardpoint (Call of Duty‘s take on King of the Hill), League Play for official competition, and CODcasting for those would-be pro-gaming broadcasters out there, this is the biggest, best multiplayer suite ever seen in Call of Duty.

But if multiplayer helps define Call of Duty, Zombies mode—which now offers three play options—defines Treyarch as a developer. In fact, this mode’s now been expanded to the point where it could almost be its own standalone game. TranZit offers a deeper experience as you explore a variety of locations, ferried from place to place on a robot-driven bus that has clearly seen better days. Meanwhile, Survival is more of your traditional Zombies experience with self-contained levels taken from sections of TranZit mode. Finally, there’s Grief mode, which puts two teams of humans against each other to see who can survive the zombies the longest.

Let’s face it: Call of Duty is a phenomenon beyond our control at this point; the game will sell millions of copies no matter what a reviwer says. But with branching story paths, the most impressive multiplayer yet, and a Zombies mode that’s to die for, I can say that—for the first time in a long time—I’ll be proud when I answer the call with everyone else when Black Ops II releases.

SUMMARY: The first Black Ops put Treyarch on par with Infinity Ward; with Black Ops II, they surpass them. This is the most impressed I’ve been with Call of Duty since the first Modern Warfare; aside from some problems with the Strike Force missions, this is a shining moment for the franchise.

  • THE GOOD: Best story since the first Modern Warfare.
  • THE BAD: Strike Force missions are a great-but-poorly executed idea.
  • THE UGLY: The stunning renderings of Manuel “Pineapple Face” Noriega.

SCORE: 9.0

Call of Duty: Black Ops II is available on Xbox 360, PS3, PC, and Nintendo Wii U. Primary version reviewed was for Xbox 360.   

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EGM Review: 007 Legends

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Operation Game Slam

He is the world’s most notorious super spy. Men want to be him and women want to be with him. And after 50 years of books, movies, and games being set in his universe, the folks at Activision and Eurocom thought they should get in on his golden anniversary by giving us a game that lets us relive some of his greatest adventures while also setting up his upcoming movie romp, Skyfall.

Starting with Goldfinger and working its way through On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, License to Kill, Die Another Day, and finally Moonraker, the game gives us a brief glimpse at definitive movies of all the men to have played Bond before current actor Daniel Craig. Somewhere along the lines though, someone decided to remove the classic actors from these great movies and insert Craig’s likeness with a pitiful replacement voice in their place as the developers tried to tie together a very loose narrative about Bond’s history.

And unless you are the most diehard of Bond fans you may have trouble understanding just what is going on around you as this plot fails to set any sort of a stage around you. If you’ve never seen Goldfinger, you might miss out on why Auric Goldfinger, originally played by Gert Frobe and whose likeness returns from the grave, but his voice is done by the same shmuck who replaces Daniel Craig’s, wants to irradiate the USA’s supply of gold at Fort Knox. Or just who exactly is Ernst Starvro Blofeld as SPECTRE is never even mentioned throughout the entirety of the On Her Majesty’s Secret Service missions or why Theresa Draco is so damn important to James.

However, there is a perfectly logical reason why it may be easy for you to miss these important plot details. You’ll be too busy writhing in pain as you try to look past the last generation quality visuals to pay any attention to the actual dialogue. Although many of the environments have been re-imagined in order to better suit a modern vibe, the lack of detail in many instances makes the levels feel like lifeless, bland looking shells. When you combine this with some of the worst ragdoll physics I’ve ever seen in a first-person shooter and quite honestly it doesn’t even look like Eurocom tried to do Bond justice.

But even worse than poor visuals and story is that the game play is damn near atrocious. Exceedingly boring and mundane, you might wish you could turn your Walther P99 back on your own head at points. The boss battles have been trivialized into sloppy quicktime events, the stealth aspects are pitifully frustrating as you can’t even drag dead bodies into corners and are far too often discovered for it, and the guns are poorly balanced where it often takes as many as seven bullets to the torso to down enemies who are not wearing any sort of body armor.

And aside from poor visuals, game play, and plot, the game is also ridiculously short. The entire single player campaign is only five to six hours long as there are only so many scenes you can take from each movie and turn into a video game level. And even with the promised free Skyfall missions DLC, I don’t see them adding enough value nearly a month after the game’s release to be worth a $60 purchase. With Activision’s history of spoiling movies though in their games (see The Amazing Spider-Man game from earlier in the summer), it’s surprising they didn’t just include the levels with the disc anyway, or wait to release the disc for another few weeks.

There are a few aspects of the game that weren’t complete wastes of time however. The challenges mode, giving you special objectives and win conditions for most of the single player game’s levels, offered some difficulty and replay value as the levels were too boring on their own for the most part. Also, the versus multiplayer and its corresponding modes, although they were a carbon copy of last year’s Goldeneye 007: Reloaded with just the current game’s character skins, worked well enough. The remixed music of the classic movie themes was also well done, but the complete absence of the classic James Bond theme is unforgivable.

All in all, there is nothing legendary about 007 Legends. In fact, it doesn’t even quantify itself as average. If you are a James Bond fan and are thinking about getting this game, you should just re-watch the corresponding movies instead. You’ll get far more enjoyment from them and they will also take up far more of your time.

SUMMARY: For something that was supposed to celebrate 50 years of the world’s favorite super spy, it sure seemed more like a slap in the face. Poor visuals, bland game play, and a generic multiplayer seem to have become the gaming standard for 007 with Legends just being the latest example.

  • THE GOOD: Bringing together great moments from Bond history on one disc
  • THE BAD: Looking like an N64 game while doing it
  • THE UGLY: The voice actor playing Gert Frobe in the Goldfinger missions

SCORE: 3.0

007 Legends is available on Xbox 360, PS3, and PC. Primary version reviewed was for Xbox 360.   

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Call of Duty: Black Ops 2: Zombie Mode Details Released

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October 2, 2012

We all knew it was coming. No one could stop it from finally happening. We’ve all been preparing for this day.

Details about Call of Duty: Black Ops II‘s Zombie Mode have finally been let loose.

One of the most popular modes in the franchise’s history, the Zombie mode has evolved to the point that in Black Ops II it is almost a full game within a game.

Featuring three modes in total, Zombie mode will feature brand new playable characters, new zombie models and zombie types, new weapons, and the largest zombie world ever.

Part of the reason for this larger, more expansive world for you to play Zombies in is the first new mode called ‘Tranzit’ (yes, spelled with a ‘z’). This is a 1-4 player co-op campaign type of mode. Depending on how you decide to tackle this will change the outcome and what goodies you may find along the way. Going it alone probably will yield some sweet gear that you can wield to mow down the undead masses, but working together with friends is probably safer in the long run.

The reason for the mode being called ‘Tranzit’ is that your primary form of transportation from area to area is a dilapidated bus that is somehow miraculously still working. As you progress through this new post-apocalyptic world, the bus is your way to get where you need to go as well as provide some temporary protection incase things go from bad to worse.

Also featured in ‘Tranzit’ mode are buildables. These are much like the items from Dead Island where you can collect various tools or equipment scattered about the world to forge more powerful weaponry or equipment as you progress.

The next mode is ‘Survival’ Mode and this is more akin to your traditional Zombies experience. Special one-shot maps have been carved out of the ‘Tranzit’ space and you and up to three buddies must survive wave after wave of the undead horde as you attempt to move up the leaderboards.

The final mode is the one that definitely has me the most intrigued and is called ‘Grief’ Mode. This is a versus mode where two teams of humans, ranging from 1-4 players again (meaning 2-8 total for the mode) will compete against each other to survive. The twist is that you cannot directly harm the opposing humans, as you’re all just trying to survive, but you can cause them ‘Grief’ by interacting with the environment around them and their base, making life for them more difficult. The last team standing wins.

Built on the same engine as the regular multiplayer, we were told to expect improved matchmaking, deeper stat-tracking, and custom games to be included with this mode. Part of the customization experience included turning magic items off, setting the starting round, or triggering the ‘headshots only’ challenge.

If you want, you can also check out the announce trailer for Zombies mode below.

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SDCC 2012: EGM Preview: Family Guy: Back to the Multiverse

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July 20, 2012

Lucky there’s a family guy!

Note: Some language used may seem offensive, but it comes directly from the game and TV show and should be taken in context of such. 

When we first learned that we would be getting a full-fledged Family Guy game for consoles, all us fans of the hit animated sitcom jumped for joy. And when we learned it would revolve around the idea of Brian and Stewie bouncing around parallel dimensions once again like the classic Season 8 episode that introduced the Multiverse, we were ready to crack open a Pawtucket Patriot Ale and start playing.

Obviously, we’re still a couple months away from release though, so you can imagine how we’ve been chomping at the bit to see more of this game, especially after our brief view of the Amish level at E3 only whetted our appetites. So, when given the chance to hop on the Family Guy bus at San Diego ComicCon to see another new dimension, how could we refuse?

The level we saw, the third of the game’s ten dimensions the game will ship with, is a world where cripples are in charge. Every parking spot is handicapped, all sidewalks have ramps, and everyone rides the short bus (which also happens to spawn enemies from). And of course, Joe Swanson is something of a big deal here.  In fact, the menacing ‘Crippletron’ from the infamous “No Meals on Wheels” episode returns with Joe taking his prime spot once again as the head of this monstrosity comprised of hundreds of wheelchair bound enemies.

In terms of the game play, we saw Brian and Stewie effortlessly switch back and forth in mid-level to rain death and destruction upon those who traded in their crutches (one of them anyway) for AK-47s and others who had outfitted their wheelchairs with rockets to reach true ramming speed while carrying guns or clubs of their own.

Luckily, Brian and Stewie have plenty of tricks of their own up their not paralyzed sleeves. We saw everything from sniper rifles, assault rifles, automatic shotguns, flamethrowers, and laser blasters, all of which could be upgraded by earning cash from causing destruction in the environment and laying waste to your enemies. We also saw a variety of special items on the game’s item wheel, including golden eggs that hatch into fighting chickens and Stewie’s patented diaper grenade, to help Brian and Stewie move their way through these new and unusual worlds while also paying their own little tribute to some of the TV series’ best episodes.

One of the nicest things we saw with the demo though was how in just a short month the game’s look and feel seems to be a lot cleaner and crisper than the demo we saw at E3. And when you combine that look which falls directly in line with that of the show, some solid third-person shooter action, and some absolutely hysterical writing, as the game is being written by the folks at Fuzzy Door and everything is approved by Seth MacFarlane himself, its very easy to see how fans of Family Guy should start getting excited about this game. The only question now is what other dimensions besides the Amish and Handicapable worlds will Brian and Stewie travel to? We’ll just have to wait until September to find out.

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SDCC 2012: Hands-On: Transformers: Fall of Cybertron

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More Than Meets the Eye

Some franchises are what Comic-Con was made for. That perfect pop culture blending of action figures, video games, comic books, cartoons, and movies ensuring that they resonate with fans of all kinds on at least some, if not all, of those mediums. Transformers is one of those franchises and they kicked off SDCC 2012 with a bang.

On the heels of their major announcement that they’re actually moving Transformers: Fall of Cybertron’s release date up a week to August 21st, High Moon Studios and Activision invited us for a chance to go hands-on with not only some of the single player campaign, but dive into their revamped multiplayer modes and new Transformer customization feature for the first time. And this new time with the game only makes me wish they moved it up even further because Transformers: Fall of Cybertron looks to hit every major note with fan boys and hardcore gamers everywhere.

I started my evening by jumping into the single player campaign and trying my hand at some missions midway through the game. My first mission threw meright into the pilot’s seat as I went flying for the first time with Combaticon Vortex through Cybertron and mowed down Autobot grunts with machine guns or dropped some devastating bombs on them that wiped out chunks of the battlefield. What was amazing about this mission though was how critical Vortex’s vehicle mode was as the battle took place across platforms of varying altitudes. As I transformed and let out a circuit shattering shockwave, I immediately had to leap and seamlessly transform back to vehicle mode and start climbing to take down grunts with rocket launchers before switching back to robot mode and moving further into the base. It was crisp, clean, and felt damn good.

I then skipped ahead a little further and if Vortex felt good, playing as Megatron felt down right badass. With his massive tank cannon I turned countless Autobots to slag as their puny pistols bounced off my frame. And then with his new hover mode’s stomp ability, I was able to literally crush them beneath my heel as I continued on my path to counteract the Autobots master plan.

After getting only a taste of the campaign, I hurried off to Team Deathmatch. But before I even had a chance to explore one of the ten maps the game is shipping with, I played around with the Transformers customization mode where I mixed and matched different body parts on one of the four returning classes to make a Transformer truly unique to my style. And announced at SDCC was the Insecticon and Dinobot customization DLC pack that would add features to this mode. While it may sound like a costume pack, which I admit isn’t something I typically get excited for, to make my own personal multiplayer avatar look like one of these iconic Transformers definitely piqued my interest.

So, once I made a red and blue Autobot Infiltrator with a Short Fuse EMP Grenade and some massive shoulders, I rolled into combat and wreaked havoc (I was match MVP with 15 kills to 7 deaths with 6 assists, but my team lost 33 kills to 30 before time ran out) in what is still a tremendously tight mode.

Admittedly angry over my team’s loss, despite my personal domination, I tried out the Conquest mode next. Set up as your standard Capture the Point match, we were required to capture three possible stations and scored points every few seconds for each of the three we had. First to 400 points was declared the victor. Again, a very tight take on a classic versus multiplayer mode, but this time my team was victorious although my K/D was a lot worse. I shared the MVP award this time with EGM News Editor, Eric L. Patterson as I captured the most points, but he dominated on the K/D front.

Finally, we moved over to the revamped Co-op mode, Escalation. Although featured in War for Cybertron, this Transformers take on Horde mode has a new twist in that each player is required to fill one of four positions. Only one person can be a healer, one can be a gunner, one can be a shield, and one can deploy ammo. This forces a lot more teamwork and communication than in the previous version of the mode and deters anyone from being a lone wolf. Eric and I found this out the hard way as we couldn’t even get past 10 waves before succumbing to the Decepticon onslaught. Traps of all kinds littered the battlefield that we could activate for a price, and each unit had a special power to help turn the tide of battle, but even on Easy Mode, if you don’t work as a team, you’re just booking yourself one way tickets to the scrap heap.

When all was said and done, I don’t think I could have been more impressed with Transformers: Fall of Cybertron as a whole. I can’t wait to see the full campaign and how everything ties together and I really can’t wait to spend a night just making a dozen different personal Transformers for multiplayer. I think that any and all Transformers fans out there, no matter what medium may have drew them into the franchise, will find something to love about this game and am really looking forward to getting my hands on the full thing next month.

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EGM Review: The Amazing Spider-Man

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July 9, 2012

Spider blood…spider blood…radioactive spider blood

The Amazing Spider-Man marks Beenox’s third Spider-Man game in as many years, after 2010’s Shattered Dimensions and 2011’s Edge of Time. But unlike the Quebec-based developer’s previous representations of everyone’s friendly neighborhood wall-crawler, this title marks a return to classic form for Spidey, as Beenox finally takes a shot at inserting Marvel’s webhead into an open-world New York City.

Taking place immediately after the events of the alternate-universe movie from which the game draws its inspiration, Amazing Spider-Man sees Spidey once again saving the city from a cataclysmic threat—and he’ll need to forge unusual alliances in order to overcome the hurdles thrown his way. And that’s all I’ll divulge; while the game spoils elements of the movie, I won’t ruin anything when it comes to the plot. Just trust me when I say that whether you’re for or against this Spider-Man relaunch, the Amazing Spider-Man spins an intriguing tale that features lots of entertaining callbacks from the wall-crawler’s history that’ll have old-school fans cheering—yet it still stays true to the new universe that the folks at Sony Pictures created for the film.

The most marked difference in Beenox’s open world comes from the camera angle; it pulls in tight on Spidey as he swings through a beautifully rendered digital Manhattan. This up-close, personal feel really imparts the proper sensation of swinging at high speeds through the concrete canyons. Unfortunately, when Spidey moves into indoor areas—such as when he infiltrates labs or goes deep into the sewers—the zoomed-in camera becomes a hindrance, as it makes wall-crawling and combat much more difficult.

And speaking of combat, that element sees an overhaul as well, as it takes a page from Batman: Arkham City and offers Spidey a new counter system. But instead of wavy lines appearing above enemy heads à la Arkham City, they appear above Spidey’s noggin as an indication that his Spider-Sense is tingling—and using the wall-crawler’s inherent super-agility to pull off impressive combos definitely feels rewarding. But the zoomed-in camera makes it difficult to see where all the enemies are at a given time—and to know just when you’re in or out of trouble. As a result, using Spider-Sense really becomes necessary, as many enemies like to lurk just off-camera.

Another new addition to Spidey’s arsenal is the Web Rush maneuver. Old-school fans will immediately see similarities to the Web Zip move from older Spider-Man games, but the Web Rush is interesting because you can pull it off just about anywhere, anytime—the game’s engine calculates, in real time, how Spidey would naturally get from Point A to Point B. Sure, the animation makes it look like he’s floating instead of actually using his superagility, but indoors, Web Rush is critical—and outdoors, it makes gathering the game’s 700 collectibles much easier.

Yes, I said 700 collectibles! That, unfortunately, is another downside here. Literally every corner in Manhattan is littered with digital comic-book pages, and if you’re a completist like myself, you’ll go insane trying to collect them all. I appreciate that these pages unlock some digital versions of key Spider-Man comics from which the game draws its inspiration, like the first appearance of Iguana (Spectacular Spider-Man #32) or the first appearance of Rhino (Amazing Spider-Man #41), but the bevy of collectibles, along with a plentiful amount of side missions similar those seen in older Spidey games, comes across as clutter that almost gets in the way of the story the game tries to tell.

Still, this is certainly a well-polished Spider-Man experience, and it’s rare that a movie game actually doesn’t suck. The story is intriguing, web-swinging is enjoyable, and you honestly can’t fault Beenox too much for cramming in so much content—after all, we’re usually complaining when it’s the other way around. I will warn you again, though, that you’ll probably enjoy the story a bit more if you actually see the movie first, which means you’ll have to wait at least another week before playing the game. It’ll be worth the wait, though—all Spider-Man fans will enjoy this novel, twisted take on one of comics’ most iconic heroes.

SUMMARY: The best Spider-Man adventure in years isn’t quite what it should’ve been. Developer Beenox actually crams too much into the package, cluttering what could’ve been a landmark tale for Marvel’s wall-crawler. 

  • THE GOOD: Best web-swinging mechanics in years.
  • THE BAD: Way too many collectibles and side missions clutter up the main experience.
  • THE UGLY: Rhino, Iguana, and Vermin cross that line in a three-way tie.

SCORE: 8.0

The Amazing Spider-Man is available on PS3, Xbox 360, Wii, 3DS, DS, PC, and iOS. Primary version reviewed was for Xbox 360. 

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Transformers: Fall of Cybertron Pre-Order Exclusives Announced

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June 2, 2012

As has become the standard for major releases nowadays, Activision has announced a pair of exclusive retail offers today in regards to the August 28th release of Transformers: Fall of Cybertron.

Fans who pre-order the game at Amazon will get a unique code for the G2 Bruticus skin that you can use during his single-player campaign mission and that should instantly be recognizable by his iconic hodgepodge color scheme.

Fans who pre-order the game at GameStop will get the bigger bundle though as they get the full G1 Retro Pack that features G1 weapon designs for Megatron to be used in the single player campaign and full G1 Optimus Prime skins that can be used in both the single player and multiplayer modes so you can transform and rollout in classic retro style.

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EGM Review: Battleship

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Battleship Sunk

Battleship might very well be the poster child for what we’ve come to expect from your standard movie game. A very solid core is in place that could be found enjoyable by a large group of gamers, but because of a short dev-cycle, the game lacks the polish worthy of a $60 price tag and feels like it belongs more on a system from a generation or two ago with the lack of features it boasts.

One of the most glaring flaws for the game was the overall lack of plot development. You are thrown into the middle of an alien invasion right from the get go with no set-up whatsoever. You then spend only 5-7 hours, depending on your chosen difficulty level, working through some of the most generic corridor game play you’ll find only to receive a bare-bones resolution at the end with some of the worst cut scenes you’ll see on modern consoles. Also, no one from the movie is featured (I want to hear Liam Neeson yell ‘You Sunk My Battleship!’) and the little voice acting that is used is complete and utter garbage making the game play feel even more cheap and cobbled together.

The flaws don’t stop there though. The environments you find yourself in are as generic as they come. I understand most of the movie, and therefore the game, takes place in and around the Hawaiian Islands, but these environments and level layouts were so uninspired that you end up re-visiting three levels again and performing nearly the same mission, but with more bad guys and doing it at night. Add in a lack of weapon choice, there being only three types of enemies on the ground, and repetitive mission objectives, and ‘lackluster’ doesn’t even start to scratch the surface for how disappointing much of the world you find yourself in is.

The game does have a single saving grace though and that is its combination RTS and FPS mechanics. Half the game takes place on the ground in your standard FPS world where you play as Cole Mathis, a bomb disposal expert who is charged with rallying the troops to fend back the alien invasion. The other half though is where you take to a satellite image that plays out like the old-school grid-based Milton Bradley board game. From here you can position your ships (up to five depending on the level, just like the board game) and must outmaneuver the alien fleet, laying waste to their various ships and protecting the coastlines along the way. By protecting the coasts, Cole can call in cannon and missile strikes from his nearby fleet to help him on the ground while he moves about sabotaging alien structures so the fleet can move more freely. By working together, and occasionally taking remote control of a respective ship’s guns to blow enemy vessels out of the water (easily the most fun aspect of the game), you should be able to overcome the alien fleet and win the day.

The RTS aspect of the game was thoroughly entertaining and I really wish there was more of it, but it also pointed out to me the game’s most severe fatal flaw: there is no multiplayer. Now, you don’t always need multiplayer for a game to be fun, but considering this is a game based off a movie really based off a board game, there should have been some sort of 2-player online versus mode with the RTS elements of the game. Even if it was just a simple version of the original grid-based game where you were guessing enemy locations and taking turns calling out grid-squares. It needed something like that and the fact there was nothing was disheartening and ultimately the final nail in the coffin for this title.

In the end, although Battleship may be one of the most successful marriages of RTS and FPS elements that I’ve seen, it lacks the depth and polish of a title worthy of a $60 price tag and so I recommend you wait until this hits bargain bin prices or rent a copy if you’re really that curious about it.

SUMMARY: The core of Battleship is fun and entertaining, and it makes you think that if Double Helix had a full-dev cycle, they could have put together a very memorable experience. As is though, Battleship feels half-finished and rushed out the door without any of the polish we’ve come to expect from a game with a $60 price tag.

  • THE GOOD: Excellent blending of RTS and FPS game styles
  • THE BAD: No multiplayer or plot development
  • THE UGLY: Another movie game that suffers from not having a full dev-cycle

SCORE: 4.0

Battleship is available on Xbox 360, PS3, Wii, and 3DS. Primary version reviewed was on Xbox 360.   

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Family Guy: Back to the Multiverse Officially Announced

Filed under: EGM (Electronic Gaming Monthly), Written — 1 Comment

After being revealed by retailers last week that a Family Guy: Back to the Multiverse game was scheduled for release sometime in the fourth quarter of 2012, Activision and 20th Century Fox have confirmed that they are working together to bring this game to Xbox 360s and PS3s everywhere sometime in the fall.

“Fans of Family Guy will love that we’ve taken some of the series’ most iconic and memorable moments and built them into an impressive and uncensored video game,” said David Oxford, Executive Vice President, Activision.  “Anyone who watches the show will appreciate how much we have adhered to its rich and twisted universe and characters.”

With the sub-title being Back to the Multiverse, the game is sure to revolve around the dimension hopping device that Stewie invented in the “Road to the Multiverse” episode (Season 8, Episode 1) of Family Guy. With it, Stewie and Brian travel to a Disney-spoofed world, a world where Christianity never existed and so neither did The Dark Ages, and finally a world ruled by dogs. What kind of game play this title could entail, if you can play as the entire Griffin family, and whether or not the game will revisit any of these worlds or come up with complete new ones is yet to be seen.

This also interestingly enough marks the second Family Guy video game in 2012 with the recently opened up Family Guy Online MMO from Roadhouse Interactive. All this comes after the lucrative 20th Century Fox franchise has mostly stayed away from gaming for much of its series run aside for a poorly received last-generation title circa 2006.

What do you folks think? Are you excited about a new console Family Guy game? What worlds should the game visit and what game play should it entail? How about Activision serving as publisher? Let us know your thoughts with comments below! 

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