Anyone remember the South Park games? Like the somewhat average first-person shooter that was modeled by the same development house that did Turok: Dinosaur Hunter? No? How about the party game Chef's Luv Shack, which felt like anything but a party? No, no recollection there either? OK, how about the inept and total failure that was South Park Rally? No, doesn't ring a bell? Exactly. A lot of development teams have unfortunately dealt with big-time animation licenses and come up empty in the creative department, hoping that the game would sell based on license alone. Fortunately, though, development teams are getting slightly better, and one of the products that looks to have some promise is Family Guy.

Introduced by Seth McFarlane and his fellow lunatics a few years ago, Family Guy debuted on Fox and was cancelled after just a few episodes, but began to gather popularity from DVD sales and reruns on Cartoon Network. This prompted Fox to do an about-face and bring the series back with all-new episodes, and now, in the wake of its newfound popularity, 2K Games and High Voltage Software are bringing the Griffin clan to gaming land.

The game's storyline looks to be done three-fold, but seems to be rather truthful to the series. Dim-witted Peter Griffin (believe me, calling him dim-witted is being NICE) finds out that Mr. Belvedere, from TV's yesteryear, wants to take over the world. Meanwhile, Stewie has a date with destiny as he finds himself facing his mortal enemy Bertram, and Brian is incarcerated in a puppy pound and must find a way out. All this unfolds with the same style of zing of the TV show, according to an early look at details from the game.

There's no word on what kind of talent from the show is involved with the game, such as the screenwriters, the voice actors, or even McFarlane himself, but if 2K Games is a smart company, they'll employ these services to add to the authencity of the game. Early screenshots indicate that it will have an animated style similar to the show, complete with "mind" effects from Stewie that may finally give him the world-crushing powers he's always wanted, ever since that episode where he found himself given a monstrous brain from radioactive ooze.

The gameplay itself will be a blend of gameplay styles, including puzzle-solving, action-based combat (will Peter Griffin kick ass?), and stealth sequences, all tied in with the "natural" flow of the show's comedic style. This means plenty of jabs at pop culture and other topics that are a little off the wall, and you can bet that numerous other characters will be brought in to help the trio, including close members of the Griffin family, Peter's buddies (including Quagmire- GIGGITY GIGGITY GOO!), and maybe even Adam West, the Mayor of Quahog. Here's to hoping he brings his mighty Adam West powers...whatever the hell they are. "Fear Adam West!"

It's still too early to tell the fate of Family Guy, as we haven't caught a glimpse of the game otuside of its early details. So it's not quite safe to call this a grand hit as of yet. We'll be sure to get a closer look at the game upon its release later this year. That's plenty of time for Stewie to get his world domination plans in order. "NOW IS THE WINTER OF MY DISCONTENT!"