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The Godfather: The Game (Xbox) review

"Such moments keep things engaging long after you’ve finished the game’s plotted moments. There’s just something fun about walking into a bakery and telling a merchant that you have his best interests at heart. They aren’t generally inclined to believe you, which is when you have to talk some sense into them. Often, you do this with your fists. Maybe there’re some fragile items sitting on a nearby shelf. You can target them and smash them."

Assume for a minute that The Godfather: The Game turned out perfectly, that it didn’t suffer from the numerous issues that plague normal games and that somehow, it’s the greatest piece of interactive entertainment the world has ever seen. My theory is that even if this happened, people would be disappointed. That’s the sort of license The Godfather is. Perfection isn’t enough. With that in mind, one might wonder why Electronic Arts even tried. Was it the money? Of course it was. The thing is, the world is a better place for their effort. It’s got a few issues, but the end result is a game that’s actually well worth your time!

First, there’s the obvious question: how well does The Godfather translate into a game? The answer is that it does so rather clumsily. The film boasted moments of intense dialogue and some mighty fine acting from a few of Hollywood’s finest. Electronic Arts chose (perhaps wisely) not to splice those bits between chunks of gameplay, but instead to let high-polygon characters guide you through the plot. Their movements are jerky at times and amazingly lifelike at others. Of more concern are the gaps in narrative. Even if you complete each of the plot-revealing objectives in rapid succession (a 10-hour feat) like I did, you’ll find rather large pieces missing. If you really want to understand the characters, watch the movie.

With that said, The Godfather: The Game still presents a compelling plot. You’ll watch major sequences from the movie unfold, always from the sidelines but seldom to the point of frustration. As an example that will mean nothing to those few people who haven’t seen the film, think back to the events that transpired at the tollbooth. In the game, you pull up just too late to interfere, but you play a role in the revenge. It’s like that the whole way through, with you watching from a window or serving as one of several who take part in a massacre.

Since you aren’t filling a pre-existing character’s shoes, you have a lot of control over what shoes you do fill. That helps you to feel more involved with the plot. Character creation is accomplished by way of an in-depth system that lets you choose things as precise as the angle of your nose, its length and width, the height of your eyebrows and more. An intuitive interface makes each modification a snap.

Once a character is created, you’ll skim through several plot-based missions that introduce you to physical combat. That’s good, because what you’ll find here is surprisingly cool. Instead of mapping your attacks to the face buttons, which may seem like the obvious approach, the developers turned to the right analogue stick. You lock onto a character with the “L” button, then press forward on the stick to throw a quick punch. If you prefer, you can pull back and then thrust forward for a more powerful blow, or you can pause partway through to feint. The “R” button allows you to grab someone instead, and you can drag them around the nearby area if you are so inclined. This system allows for more dynamic fights. You can bend people over ledges and make them fear for their lives, or maybe throw them into confined and uncomfortable quarters. Sometimes the plot and mission objectives even demand it. This level of integration feels natural, like the sort of thing we should have seen done in plenty of games before.

Gun combat is a bit less satisfying, though. First, you should know that running into any room with your muzzle blazing is a great way to invite a fatal shotgun blast to the face. It also guarantees that you’ll run out of ammunition at the worst conceivable moment. Instead, you generally have to creep along walls and duck behind crates for cover while making frequent stops to reload. Then you can peer around and fire shots at the thugs on the opposing side, who are using the same tactics. The problem comes when they rush you. If you’re stuck to a wall, you might see someone coming and quickly press the button to jump away. However, as you turn the camera so you can see them, aim and fire a shot, they’re already unloading a burst of lead that does great damage to your life meter. The auto-aim feature is also lackluster if you’re aiming at a group. Often, it target some fool hiding behind a crate while the guy that’s right out in the open mows you down with his automatic weapon. Not cool.

The game’s driving sequences are even more frustrating. As was the case in the Grand Theft Auto franchise, you’ll have plenty of opportunities to drive cars that belong to other people. Hijacking one is as easy as falling off a log, but driving anywhere in an acceptable amount of time proves more difficult. The streets of New York are choked with traffic and brain-dead pedestrians.

I’m thankful for the realism on one hand, but it seems like everyone moves at a snail’s pace. Even if you drive rather reasonably, people will be shouting out for someone to call the cops, or diving out of your way (or into it) in exaggerated fashion. You can drive right over them without any real effect, but brushing against barrels and other vehicles gets quite tiresome. Sometimes, in the case of a high-speed chase, stupid drivers turn into your way just when it will do the most possible damage. And when your car bursts into flames, you know it’s time to bail before the ensuing explosion. Trust me when I say that bumping into a few slowpoke cabs while trying to flee from opposing mob hitmen, then having to abandon your vehicle and shelter in order to hijack a new car is one of the most frustrating things you’ll ever encounter as you play the game. There’s also too much driving just on general principle. Even if it weren’t as frustrating as it is to avoid collisions, the constant journeys around town would get old fast.

Fortunately, I’ve just described the bulk of things that the game does wrong. Just about everything else is perfect. And though I’ve made much of the plot-based missions, they only make up a fifth of the actual game. The rest of it is comprised of standard mob activity like extracting money in exchange for “protection,” demanding money from those who conduct rackets in your turf (and elsewhere), robbing banks and delivery trucks, assassinating fools who get in your way, and just behaving as a menace to society in general. You can get away with it, too, because most of the police offers are susceptible to bribery. As long as you don’t pick on the wrong person, the law enforcement officers will keep your payment in mind and look the other way when you get particularly nasty.

Such moments keep things engaging long after you’ve finished the game’s plotted moments. There’s just something fun about walking into a bakery and telling a merchant that you have his best interests at heart. They aren’t generally inclined to believe you, which is when you have to talk some sense into them. Often, you do this with your fists. Maybe there’re some fragile items sitting on a nearby shelf. You can target them and smash them. Or maybe you prefer to grab your intended victim by the scruff of the neck and shake him a bit until he sees the way things are going to be. The physical combat system I mentioned makes such moments seamless. It’s not as non-linear as the chaos you can cause in Grand Theft Auto, since each shop you can raid is pretty much set in stone, but it’s a nice touch.

Certainly, there are other places where the game could improve. Walking through nearly identical streets and hearing the same lines from passersby that you’ve been hearing for the last ten hours can definitely get tedious. Still, it’s easy enough to ignore petty concerns like those. They don’t change the fact that The Godfather: The Game is a worthwhile addition to almost anyone’s library. If Electronic Arts can polish things up even more for the sequel, I’d say they’ll have a new legacy to be proud of. As things stand, this title is no slouch and will probably entertain you for a good long while. Finally, a movie-based game you can’t refuse.

Rating: 8/10

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Staff review by Jason Venter (April 01, 2006)

Jason Venter has been playing games for nearly 30 years, since discovering the Apple IIe version of Mario Bros. in his elementary school days. Now he also writes about them, here at HonestGamers and also at other sites that agree to pay him for his words.

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