god father for the 360

[Sharpshooter]

You’ve heard the story, either in my previous review of the PSP version, or in one of the previous reviews we’ve done. Players get to place themselves in the fiction, watching their character become an integral piece of the Godfather. The movie and the game don’t match up exactly, but many of the scenes and lines are used in interesting ways to integrate your nameless character into the rest of the story. Much of the original actors return, including Robert Duvall as Tom Hagen and James Caan as Sonny Corleone, not to mention the late Marlon Brando, who recorded lines new dialog for the game before his passing. The most important character to the story, Michael Corleone, is not voiced by its original actor. In fact, Al Pacino’s character even looks different than in the film.



All of this, of course, isn’t new. What is new are the three or four new story missions that have been added to flesh out the plot a little. The most notable inclusion happens towards the beginning of the game after you hear of Tom Hagen’s kidnapping. In the original version, Tom Hagen “talks his way out” of the situation and returns unharmed. Here, in the 360 version, the player follows Clemenza to rescue Hagen instead. Adding a mission such as this helps to involve the player deeper into the fiction and fleshes out the experience more than before. Favors, which are essentially side-missions that you can perform for the Corleone family, also add a little variety and flavor that was lacking before.



EA has gone to great lengths to push the additional content found in the 360 version, and for good reason. The additional content in the 360 version would be akin to an expansion pack in a PC game. Aside from the added story missions and Favors mentioned before, this version sports five more hit contracts, four new vehicles, six new melee weapons, and 25 new execution styles for players to discover and perform. Most of this content simply adds more of the same that we’ve seen before, but fulfilling the “All Executions” is a blast. Just as before, executions are graphic and chilling, making it one of the games greatest draws.

Besides the new hits and weapons, there have been completely new additions to the gameplay model itself, ensuring that the play experience isn’t the same as before. Enter the hirable soldiers, a mechanic that feels so right that it would be impossible to play the Godfather without it. When you become a part of the family you can pay a fellow footsoldier to follow you on your raids and extortions to watch your back. When you are hassling a shop keeper, your hired gun will be watching the door for the eminent threat of rival mobsters crashing on you. The best is using your hitman in drive-bys. Pulling up to a warehouse or hub and having your bodyguard shooting a tommy-gun from the back seat is an awesome way to start a raid.



As cool as all this sounds, there are tons of flaws to the actual mechanics involved. The AI that handles your ally is as flawed as the enemies, meaning it will waste tons of time shooting at a wall instead of positioning for a better shot, leave its back turned to an open door where an enemy may pop up, and stand right next to high-explosives instead of shooting them from afar. There are tons of horror stories I could tell about my idiot Capo partners that have let me die, but the best is during a warehouse raid late in the game. After reloading my Street Sweeper and taking a solid shotgun blast to the chest (thanks for the cover buddy) I noticed another guy up the stairs behind a whole mess of high-explosive boxes. I noticed too late, however, because before I could turn and run away from an almost guaranteed AI-caused explosion, my buddy blasted the closest box to the enemy, causing the entire corridor, including myself, blow sky high. The hired guns aren’t always as bad a liability as this, but paying an AI five-grand doesn’t guarantee your safety as it should.

Aiming and controls remain vastly unchanged, at least from what I can tell. Whether it be running from car to car with the Assassin Pistol picking off thugs one at a time as you approach a complex or running and gunning with a Street Sweeper as you enter the complex’s buildings, the controls are closer to Killswitch than Grand Theft Auto. One thing that I noticed while playing was that the computer was deathly accurate at blind shooting with machine guns and shotguns, while you can’t do the same. I would have been nice to see a blind-shot of some sort added to the wall-cover mechanics. Blind spots are still a problem that hasn’t been fully addressed. While rare, there were times in warehouses where I couldn’t lock on to someone standing in plain sight. The situation was frustrating, but switching to free-aim is a semi-reliable option when the lock-on feature fails.




Starting with the opening scene’s of the game and the character creation, the enhanced graphics make their mark on what was originally an average looking game. The very first thing that you may notice is the game’s variable weather, which is pretty much a standard fare for other games. Facial animations have been enhanced a little, particularly in the main characters. From Tom Hagen’s stoic stance and expression to Sonny’s loose and free mannerisms, the game does just about everything imaginable to remain faithful to the source material. These are during cut-scenes of course, and the in-game animations aren’t as neat or faithful, relying on the overused “tough-guy” stances for Sonny or the shoulder wiggles for Hagen. As an overall visual package, slowdown during heated gun-fights or chases hurts what would otherwise be an impressive looking game.



The greatest appeal for this title during my time with it was the sense of purpose and accomplishment I felt while completing the game’s many different side missions. Conquering New York systematically requires a player to juggle straight shootouts with tactful negotiations. San Andreas, which sports a larger play area and more side-missions, never struck the same chord with me. And for that matter, neither did the recently released Saint’s Row. For players that are hankering for some mob action, even if they had played it before during its previous release, they could do worse than to take the Godfather for a ride. Just remember that negotiations with cash are usually not as effective as negotiations with a boom-stick.

Features:

The World of The Godfather: Experience a decade of the mafia in New York City from 1945-55.
Classic Film Moments: Take on film-based and original missions as you interact with classic characters and experience unforgettable moments from the film.
Respect and Consequences: Loyalty and fear are two of your greatest weapons and the ones that will earn you the most respect, and therefore power. Your choices affect how the action plays out, so make sure you use your power wisely in order to rise to the top.
Control New York: Your bid to take control of the Corleone Family and make New York City your own will be challenged by the other four families from the fiction: Tattaglia, Cuneo, Barzini, and Stracci.
Wield the Power of the BlackHand: The power of intimidation is in your hands. Use the BlackHand Control combat system to punch, kick, grab, and even choke someone with a stranglehold.
Pressure Point Targeting: A dead man can't talk. Pressure point targeting lets you get a less-than-lethal lock on your opponent so they're still around to give you valuable information.
Authentic to the Fiction: Mark Winegardner, author of the novel The Godfather Returns, provides story editing and consultation

4.2 great

[Rocol]

Excellent review mate, and the game looks to be an excellent one .. I really must start looking around the Second Hand Stores for a 360, as some awesome games are being released

[tnx]

Rocol.....Second hand 360's.......mmmmmmmmm...

To help backup all those exspensive 360 games you will buy you will find a lot of conflicting info about which drive is best,which flash to use,etc etc etc...

The time is near for me to purchase my 360 and i am plumping for a brand new one allready modded....But probebly paying top money for the privelidge..

I dont wish to go off topic here so i'll be brief...

Once i have my 360 and the power to backup the games i will let you in on the secret that is 360....

[Rocol]

Nice one .. cheers mate

[Sharpshooter]

thanx

[Saurgrist]

Nice one sharpshooter. I have this game for PS2, and I have to say it is a very good game, well worth the $40 or equivalent price.