Family Feud: 2012 Edition Review

Let's see if "Not Worth It" is one the board.

By Nicholas Bale (Nov 24, 2011)

3.5

Terrible

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Pros:

Answer selection removes the need for perfect phrasing and spelling.

Cons:

No ability to create a family of your own; no real extra content; better as an XBLA title; no lip syncing; no hosts from the actual show.

I remember watching Family Feud, many years ago. The themed show, which pit families against each other, trying to choose answers in a list for cash, is still on the air today, but it has been a while since I've watched. Family Feud: 2012 edition will not having me watch it anytime soon.

It's not hard to describe this title: it's Family Feud, with your Xbox avatars. Done. There's no complexity to the title, no hidden gems. There is a 'Challenge' mode, in which you (and up to three others) face off against a computer-controlled family in a themed Family Feud set, and a Multiplayer mode where you're up against your friends.

There's no real challenge to the game, no nuanced gameplay. You're given a question (such as, "Name something that people rarely wash"), and have to name a number of things that belong on that list. You don't need to actually type out your whole answer: the game will populate four different options for you to pick, based on what you type in. So, type in 'eggs' and you might get 'eggs and bacon', 'eggs benedict', and so forth to choose from. This actually helps a lot, since you don't need to guess as to what phrase the game wants you to choose.

Incidentally, playing against the computer isn't fun, because it just randomly succeeds or fails, depending on the difficulty you choose. Even if the final answer on the board is something no one could ever guess, there's a chance the computer's family will simply pull it out of thin air, prompting one hell of a 'What was that!?' response from whoever might be watching you play.

What's disappointing is the inability to actually create a family to play with, so to speak. You'll find you, a single lone avatar, against a family of five, and it seems...weird. Being able to actually create a team of people would've been nice, especially since having even a full team of friends mean you only have four people on your side.

And that's all. Some poor graphics (not even an attempt at lip-synching), no actual hosts from the show, and just overall an apparent lack of effort, there's no real reason to buy Family Feud 2012. There are some videos from the show to unlock, but really, you might as well just watch them online. It might fit an Xbox Live title a little better, but even fans of the show might as well just, well, watch the show.