When the
game, The Godfather, on the 360 platform first launches, your jaw will drop.
Marlon Brando, as the younger Don Corleone, looks like Marlon Brando as the
young Don Corleone.
Sure, with a
few notable exceptions, this is the same game that launched earlier in the year
on current-generation consoles (See
GameZone’s Xbox review),
but on the 360, the game boasts improved graphics, additional levels, some
gameplay tweaks, and Xbox Live leaderboards and Achievement listings. You can
unlock cinematic moments from the films, key film trailers that not only bring
the movie back to life but will remind you just how amazing the game’s graphics
are.
About the
only character that does not smartly resemble his movie counterpart is Tom Hagan
(Robert Duvall). Must be something about his looks that were tough to emulate.
As for the other principles, you will be very impressed with the way they all
look. (Al Pacino’s Michael has been reworked entirely simply because an
agreement could not be reached to put his likeness and voice into this game. If
you are married to the film and want this to be entirely the movie experience
that may be a drawback.)
For those
wishing to know what this game is about, it’s relatively easy – think Grand
Theft Auto but inside the movie world of The Godfather. The game essentially
takes place in New York between 1945 and 1955. The initial scene takes place
earlier with an “acquaintance” of Don Corleone paying his respects to the Don,
reminding someone that they need to remember to be grateful to the Don, and then
getting blown away by machine guns in an alley. His young son sees the
aftermath, and is not only heartbroken, but rather angry. The Don shows up and
comforts the boy, telling him that his is not the time for revenge, but that the
time will come.
Fast forward
to the wedding of Connie Corleone. Luca Brasi is outside the house while inside,
the mother of that once boy is pleading with the Don to look after her son. He
has taken up with those street thugs and is heading for trouble. The Don agrees
and sends Brasi to find the kid.
It is at that point that
Brasi (bearing the likeness of the movie actor Lenny Montana) takes the kid
(played by the gamer) under his wing … well, Ok, it is a short wing span. Luca
is killed by Virgil “The Turk” Sollozzo and you strike back violently, then have
a driving mission to cross town – with the clock ticking – to a safe house.
From that
point on, the game takes up a mission-driven pacing with the opportunity to
freelance a little outside the missions.
The
character creation for this game is not overly deep. But you will be able to
customize your character later with new clothes and the like. One of the new
elements will allow you, after you level up and attain the rank of Enforcer, to
have an underling trail you about – muscle that can help out.
But while
the creation scene is good (not great), what is great is the way the game makes
your character a part of the main plot moments in the film (based on Mario
Puzo’s book, of course). Rather than be sitting watching the scenes unfold, the
game exquisitely makes you feel that you are a part of these scenes.
The first
few levels are basically a tutorial that instructs you on how to fight, how to
level your character and how to navigate this open world.
The combat
system has its bright moments and dim ones. You can melee rather well, but
grabbing an opponent and slamming him into a wall or other free-standing object
will take practice (the game provides it). Still, the animations are very well
done and before long you will be grabbing, throwing some body and head punches
and then tossing your opponent into an environmental object. EA has thrown some
new executable moves into the game’s combat system, to make melee a little more
realistic, challenging and entertaining. The targeting system for weapons also
requires some work. You can target specific areas of a body with respective
damage. Shoot an enemy in the arm and you will cause pain, but not death; aim
lower, like the knees, and they will drop to the ground in agony like a bag of
concrete. The headshot has the result one would suspect – lots of blood and
bodies.
Because the
game is predicated on violence, you can expect to lose health, but the game does
have some powerups and drops that you can find as you move through the levels.
Taking over businesses is a big part of this game, so be prepared to exert the
muscle you gather as you level. Some businesses are merely fronts for other
operations, and once you control the front, you gain passage to the backside
business as well. You can agree, coerce, threaten, cajole, or brutalize those
folks into working for you; with the upshot being that your reputation and power
grows.
There are
about six new missions, drawn from key points in the movies, in this game.
The AI is
smart, but not to the point where you will be pounding your head against the
handiest environmental object in your gaming space, or yanking out hair, but you
may find yourself repeating some areas to either improve your score, rating or
time, or because you failed the primary objective.
The sound is
pure bliss as well, with few exceptions (see the Al Pacino reference earlier).
Special effects are wonderful on the 360 platform and the game will not fail to
impress.
While the
game is, generally, an upgrade from current-gen console releases, that does not
make it any less fun. If you own it on current systems, you may not want to
invest in the next-gen game. However, if you do own a 360 and don’t have any
other iteration of this title, then this is definitely a solid and entertaining
gaming experience.
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Gameplay:
8.7
New moves mean a
bit more of a learning curve, but for the results, it is worth the time. The
driving elements are not as deep as perhaps they could have been, but that is
obviously not the focus of the game. The openness of the world offers a nice
variety from merely running missions and following the main story arc.
Graphics:
9.1
Special effects,
like explosions, and the face mapping of the actors who have given their consent
to appear in this version bring the movies to life. This is very much like being
part of the movie itself, only you won’t view it as an actor on a set, but
rather someone immersed in the world and story.
Sound:
9.0
Excellent.
Difficulty: Medium/Hard
The learning
curve may stymie you initially, and there are also elements that can be gained
by repeating levels to get a better result. The Achievements are scattered about
and will take time to collect.
Concept:
8.4
This is a next-gen
version, but it does play off the general game released earlier this year on
current-gen consoles. Still, EA has added elements to this to create a somewhat
different experience.
Overall:
8.8
If you haven’t
played this game in any other platform release, this is definitely one you
should look at. Yes, it has similarities to the GTA model, but the theme
provided by The Godfather movies and the way the game integrates you into the
famous scenes is startling. This is a venerated movie franchise brought to
wonderful life.
