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Does EA do The Godfather justice? When EA announced that they would license The Godfather, enthusiasts of the film were angry. They couldn’t believe that the evil corporation was willing to sacrifice the film to get in on the popular Grand Theft Auto market. Though the game isn’t perfect and its Grand Theft Auto origins are clear, The Godfather is an enjoyable game in its own right. It compliments the film very well, while adding to the source material in a way that fans might have thought impossible.
In The Godfather, you play as a new character not introduced in the films. Although the character is a creation of EA, he fits into the story well. You make this character with a creation system similar to those found in a typical sports title. When the game begins, the character’s father is murdered. A few years later, your mother asks the one and only Don to take care of you. He concedes, as the favor was asked on his daughter’s wedding day and it would be disrespectful to decline. Luca Brasi, as a loyal Sicilian, obeys the Don’s orders and agrees to take care you.
As I mentioned above, the game does a great job of integrating the material from the film with new stuff. You begin by being a henchman for the Corleone family. You’ll have to bully merchants into paying protection money, usually by causing damage to their person or business. Once you do so, you’ll be able to collect weekly payments. While the side missions do increase the game’s length and allow you to unlock clips from the movies, the variety just isn’t all that much and it eventually becomes a bit routine.
Thankfully, there are more interesting things to do in the game such as take part in the horse head scene, drive Don to the hospital after his run in with guns, or participate in Sonny’s toll booth ambush. As you complete missions, you’ll receive respect points. You’re able to use these points to improve your health, speed, street smarts, shooting and fighting statistics. The game also rewards you with better weapons.
Aside from missions, you can run around in the city and cause general mayhem. Much like Grand Theft Auto, you’re able to run over citizens, shoot people at whim, borrow cars and of course, escape the police. Again like GTA, as you commit these crimes your heat level increases and the cops will be more aggressive to take you down. That said, you can’t expect to have the same level of mayhem because the game has a more realistic damage system, so you won’t be able to take several shotgun shots before falling. The game does adapt the formula to The Godfather world since you’re able to bribe police officers to leave you alone if you don’t feel like running away.
The shooting in the game is well done. The game features the typical lock-on and free-aim shooting modes. You’ll find guns ranging from shotguns to revolvers, but you’ll also find other melee weapons like lead pipes. With respect points, you can upgrade the weapons and each weapon can be upgraded two times. Melee combat is also enjoyable. You lock on to a person and then you can unleash on them with slams, punches, and tosses. The AI in the game is a bit uneven, sometimes performing very well and struggling at other times.
The game’s visuals are pretty authentic. The main characters look very realistic, with great care taken to make sure that they look the part. The other citizens look decent, although the character models tend to repeat a bit too often. New York City is faithfully recreated in the game. If you wanted to experience what 1940s New York City would be like, this is your perfect chance. You’ll be able to find scenes from the movie in the game. Some parts of New Jersey are also in the same. The game also boasts a number of interior locations that you can enter without any loading. Unfortunately, many of these interiors use the same template and end up feeling repetitive.
The game’s audio is great, as well. The background music comes directly from the film, creating a feeling that you’re really in 1940s New York. You’ll also hear The Godfather theme, although you may not like it quite as much by the end. The voice acting is stellar since the original actors provided their voices for the game. The only exception is Al Pacino who chose to not voice Michael. The voice acting for the general citizens of the city isn’t quite as great, but good enough nonetheless.
The Godfather, at its core, is a very satisfying game, especially for fans of the movie trilogy. The game does a lot of fan service by allowing you to collect film reels and unlock clips from the movie. The game isn’t perfect though. The missions are great, tying in the story great, but the side missions just aren’t that exciting. There are only so many robberies and warehouses you can enter before things get a bit boring. Also, the game’s AI is a bit uneven, doing great at some times and poorly at others. That said, this is a pretty distinctive experience that fans of The Godfather will definitely enjoy. It isn’t quite an offer you can’t refuse, but it’s close.
-- Adam Nunez & -- Jose Liz, PGNx Media
---- Mar 24, 2006
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