More Articles on The Godfather
The GodfatherThe Godfather: Success or Failure BeckonsThe Godfather - Hands OnCurrent-Gen Godfather Release Date RevealedThe Godfather Pushed BackLatest Previews
Tom Clancy's EndWar - Ears OnMidnight Club: LA - MultiplayerFar Cry 2 - MultiplayerGears of War 2 - Hands OnNeed For Speed UndercoverUser Reviews
There are currently 0 User Reviews for The GodfatherWrite your own review for this game today and you will receive 100 Gamer Points.
Click here to register
The Godfather - Hands On Preview
Jon Wilcox
02/03/2006
TVG makes you an offer you can't refuse; our hands on preview of EA's latest adaptation...
An iconic film that's regularly in the top ten of movie lists, it's perhaps no surprise that many raised an eyebrow's worth of cynicism and disbelief when Electronic Arts announced that it was to develop a game based on Francis Ford Coppola's The Godfather back in December 2004. To make matters worse Coppola publicly aired his views of the game after playing an early build in April 2005, stating that, "They [EA] use the characters everyone knows, and then for the next hour they shoot and kill each other. I had absolutely nothing to do with the game, and I disapprove."
Originally scheduled for an Autumn 2005 release, the current-generation versions were delayed until the end of this month before the game arrives on Xbox 360 and PSP later in the year. Taking place in a ten-year period between 1945 and 1955, The Godfather sees players take the role of a small-time crook who find himself wound up in the events surrounding the Corleone family. This being an EA game, the desire to recreate the game to its fullest has been one of the key factors. The bulk of the major cast members make their return to the game both in terms of their voices and likenesses including James Caan, Robert Duvall, and Marlon Brando (although Don Vito's voice was provided by a Brando impersonator), with only Al Pacino forgoing the chance to return as Michael Corleone. In addition, EA has also secured the movie's score for the game for added authentication.
Beginning the game with what is quickly becoming a trademark of any EA title, character customisation, players construct their crook and would-be Don from a vast variety of attributes. Everything from the width of the nose to the colour of the eyes, hairstyle, hair colour, and facial hair can be tweaked and changed; and that's just the face. Body shape and size can also be changed, so if players want their made man in waiting to be carry a few extra stone then it's their choice. Moving on to the attire of the character, which at the start of the game extended to a shirt, a pair of trousers, and braces, players are able to purchase additional clothing during the course of the game including hats, glasses, jackets, and shoe, which somehow resulted in TVG's wannabe gang member bare a strange resemblance to Indiana Jones (we're not kidding). Certain physical characteristics can also be changed during the course of the game including weight and hairstyles, though more 'genetic' ones such as eye colour remain locked for obvious reasons.
If indications are correct in the lead up to the game, EA would certainly like parallels between The Godfather and Rockstar's GTA franchise to be drawn, and it's not very difficult to begin to identify a number of similarities between the two. The structure of The Godfather is very obviously a nod to the escapades of CJ Johnson and Mr Vercetti; a free-form city peppered with story missions and a range of side-missions, EA's adaptation is on paper following a similar path.
Splitting New York into several of its districts including Brooklyn, New Jersey, and Hell's Kitchen, the city in The Godfather is a sprawl of tenements, shops, freeways, and some of its key landmarks of the time including the Empire State Building and the Flatiron Building. Highways, famous tunnels, and famous bridges help to link the various sections together, and the map of the city is an essential requirement to navigating your way around thanks to an overall samey look to the environment. That's not to say that the design of the city is bland, since areas do have an element that defines them, however it's very easy to get lost in the districts.
But of course districts aren't the only way that New York is split in the game, since the Corleone's aren't the only gang in the city. Five families make up the underworld scene in The Godfather, and encounters with all of them will be inevitable if players are to achieve the ultimate goal in the game: become Don of all New York City. It's inevitable that living alongside other gangs raises tensions, and as such The Godfather features Gang Wars that make or break a family. Each family has its own Vendetta bar, which tells a player the 'relationship' between the Corleones and one of their rivals. Launch an attack on another gang's turf and a gang war is declared, and players can expect reprisals against their own. Rival gangs target members of the Corleones together with their businesses, and the only way to stop the war by either bombing two of the other gang's businesses, or by bribing a local FBI agent to reduce the vendetta level.
Whilst the Story Missions play a significant role in the game (ending in the same year as the movie in 1955), it isn't the only objective to achieve in the game. EA has also added several layers of side-missions that aim to immerse players deeper into the world of the 1940s/50s mob family with a number of 'Hits' to perform on certain characters and extort businesses for protection money being just two examples. Building up a strong income for the family (who take a significant cut of your earnings) is important, but being a gangster title, The Godfather also places a strong emphasis on respect. Building up the Respect meter occurs by completing missions to killing rival gang members, or even doing something illegal; once filled the meter allows players to improve their character's skills and attributes such as the ability to shoot, health levels, running stamina, fighting, and Street Smarts (which reduces the amount of Vendetta and Heat levels earned from committing crime.)
Extortion is one of the earliest crimes taught in the game, where players have to 'convince' a business owner that they need the protection of the Corleones. Somewhat bolshy to begin with, the shop owners change their minds and accept the kind offer once the correct amount of pressure has been placed upon them. A gauge appears on screen when the attempted extortion begins, with a green bar indicating the level of pressure required to successfully win them over, and a red bar indicating when they've had too much and begin to fight back. Taking the persuasion too far can also result in the death of a shop owner, so players can't be too heavy handed, because that's an additional weekly income lost.
As well as obtaining a weekly income, extorting a business can often result in players unlocking the chance to gain more money by buying out a racket such as an illegal casino or brothel that's been using the shop as a front. Building up a strong income in the game is important not only because it allows players to further customise their character, but it also means that often-expensive things such as bribing police officers of obtaining weaponry can be achieved. Did we mention bribery? Corruption in the NYPD force in the game means that players can bribe their way out of certain situations with a wad of cash. Adhering to 1940s stereotypes these Irish accented policemen are more than willing to turn a blind eye to some felonies for a small pile of dollars. They won't let every crime to pass them by however, nor will the payoff last forever (indicated by an ever depleting gauge) but at least it should stop them from hunting you down for every misdemeanour.
Executing hits on various unfavourables that dwell in New York is another aspect that can be more than lucrative if accomplished correctly. Following the identification of your target, players are given a preferable method of execution. Whilst it's not mandatory to kill the target as desired (say by using a gun instead of a baseball bat), the monetary and respect awards will be far less.
Combat in general is a tad different from what we're used too, specifically hand to hand fighting. Targeting with one button, players use the right thumbstick to swing a punch; an attempt to get a more realistic movement into the fighting process. Not content with giving an opponent a knuckle sandwich, players can also use the environment around them to bash their heads against bins and boxes, or just slam them against walls - hey, who ever said that gang life was pleasant? Players will also get an opportunity to use contemporary weapons including a six-shooter, and the infamous gun-in-a-briefcase, the Tommy Gun.
Being a so-called 'sandbox' title, and with the gameworld too large to really get by on foot, players can also drive in a range of vehicles obtained both legally and illegally (although they're all on four wheels - don't expect motorbikes, planes or choppers in The Godfather.) Where the transport does standout from its peers is when they explode; stand within a certain radius and the blast will literally throw the character to the ground with a real sense of intensity.
There are a few concerns that have to be raised about The Godfather, not least that it appears to be quite a short game. Despite the inclusion of several side-mission types, the Story Mode itself looks to be quite thin on the ground. Having only played the game for a several hours we were already well over 55% of the way through the narrative without really trying too hard, surely a worry for gamers looking to The Godfather as one of their big titles of the Spring. If the preview is anything to go by, the longevity of the game will barely last halfway through the season. In addition, targeting enemies doesn't seem to be quite as tight as it should be, and there were more than a few occasions where our character floundered around for a short time before finally finding the correct target. With your life depending on it, it's important that EA manage to clean up these problems before the game goes gold for duplication.
Away from the console versions, on the PC The Godfather has the option to turn on a "Film Effect" mode, which applies a flickering effect to the screen similar to old movies. Hopefully this is still to be adjusted before release because it did was make the monitor look as if it was about to explode; it's also worth noting that the option isn't really one to go for if you're epileptic either. The control system for the PC also seems to be quite loose during the preview build, with players having to pull back on the mouse to execute strong punches. Whilst the system seems to work quite well on a thumbstick, the effect so far seems to be lost in translation with a mouse.
