One major difference that with The Godfather is that (obviously), it isn’t being released in conjunction with a movie release. This has given the developers some more time to work with it and hopefully, all the delays that ensued would be worth it. From the build that we played, it was obvious that this game is no slap-dash effort. The character models are particularly impressive, with each of the main characters resembling their real-life counter parts fantastically. To top them off, each had an excellent array of animations that really brought them to life. Still, there seemed to be some room for improvement. The draw distances weren’t particularly impressive and there were minor frame-rate issues. Hopefully these will be resolved before the game’s general release. The voicing was excellent and the music and sound effects were all appropriate from what we heard.
Character interaction will be very important
So what kind of a game is this? The Godfather is what could be described as a cross between free-roaming stalwart Grand Theft Auto and the highly-underrated gangster classic Mafia(only if you consider the PC version). Honestly, it felt good playing this kind of game under the guise of a proper gangster setting than some urbanised theme. The game plays out a little bit like the first movie starts. You’ll play as the character known as Michael Corleone but not. The developers have tried to twist it so that it is as if YOU are playing your way up in the family, not Michael Corleone. The EA game face has even infiltrated The Godfather, with you being able to create a character to your liking. It’s not quite as deep as Tiger Woods but that doesn’t mean it isn’t any good.
During our play session, we got our introduction into the family. Your mother goes up to Don Corleone one day and asks him for his help. In reply, he sends out his number one enforcer, Luca Barsi, to find you and “take care” of you. Basically, you're his errand boy. There was a basic introduction into the way you interact with other and how to fight. Interestingly, the developers have opted to use the right analog stick for attacking rather than face buttons. By holding the L1 button, the player would lock-on to the enemy. By tapping forward on the right analog stick, you could perform a series of quick jabs or by pulling back then pushing forward, you could execute a more powerful attack. It is a simple system but walls, windows and other low-lying objects are convenient for adding more damage. These can be utilized by holding the R1 button to grab the enemy and using the left and right analog sticks to move them where you want them.
Make your own gangster
We didn’t get much time to take the weapons for a spin but the system seems to be built somewhat off the latest third person James Bond games. Before you shudder, we can say that it works reasonably well thus far. You can lock on and use the reticule to take out the enemy by shooting vital parts such as the knees, shoulders or head or you have the option the free aim. The lock-on aim felt a bit too stiff at the time but it was precise and hopefully there will be some sort of option to regulate this. In terms of movement, you can use the walls as cover and you can crouch but we didn’t get to see whether there were any rolls or diving maneuvers. The weapons in the game can be expected to be typical from the 1930’s, meaning you’ll have the essentials that cover everything from Tommy guns to dynamite.
We got to play through a few of the game’s missions and while it may initially have seemed like GTA try hard, again it fell back onto the objectives that you had Mafia and what you’d expect from The Godfather. Bascially, your actions will be governed by what needs to be done for the family. We only got to see a small proportion but the majority of our missions showed us the procedure for getting our income. That is, by providing insurance for the storeowners in our neighbourhood. Well, we needed to convince the owners and the Corleone family only knows one way. Convincing storeowners was both interesting and challenging as some would be really stubborn. After a few well timed "meetings" with a wall, they tended to be much more negotiable.
We really only scratched the surface of the game. One mission had us take care of a few punks that beat up a daughter of the family and another, in an obvious key point in the story, we were needed to take out the killer of Luca Barsi. The game also involves a lot of driving, with one mission requiring us to get away from a police chase. The vehicles were from the 1930’s but they controlled very well. The controls were fluid and it was really a surprise to see how well they played. Unfortunately, there weren’t many different types of vehicles and they all handled to same bar for their top speed.
Explosive action is guaranteed
Apart from the story there promises to be plenty for the player to do in the game world. The city wasn’t as big as San Andreas but it managed to put the city from Mafia into perspective. That, and it is much more photo realistic than any of the GTA cities. A big part of the game is earning money from protection, earning money from any of the underground businesses or “rackets” that you can take over and of course, earning respect. With each of your acts you earn (or lose) respect. As your respect level increases, you will be able to upgrade numerous skills. As with most of these kinds of games, there will be stats galore to explore. And unlike in GTA, you actually will be able do some things that you weren’t able to do in any of those games, particularly involving lewd acts. For that matter, The Godfather looked very impressive in terms of the attention put into the cinematic details. This results in a game that has a large amount of intense, graphic violence.
Chances are, we only got to scratch the surface of the game. There is an absolute mountain of potential but there were a lot of questions left unanswered. How long will the game be? Will the promised branching/moral choices make the final game? Can the game ride on the back of this license and in turn, do it justice? We can ask many more, but the answer won’t become apparent until we actually play the final game. However, judging purely by what we’ve seen, this is an offer that we are unlikely to refuse.
Loading...
