The Godfather
Added September 30th, 2006 by Kisan Parikh
Introduction:
Last March, EA released The Godfather for the original Xbox. The title was one of the best movie games to date, with its open GTA-styled gameplay. Now the game has been released for the Xbox 360. This version has a few gameplay enhancements and a graphics upgrade, but is it enough to warrant another purchase?
Gameplay:
In terms of gameplay, The Godfather is almost identical to its Xbox counterpart. The game is, of course, set in New York in 1945. The five neighborhoods of New York are controlled by the Corleone, Tattaglia, Stracci, Cuneo, and Barzini families. Your character is taken in by Don Corleone after his father is killed by a rival family.
The first thing you do in the game is use MobFace to determine your character’s appearance. You are able to adjust hair color, hair style, facial hair, eyebrows, and much more. Once you have created your character, you begin your ascent to the top of the Corleone Family. As an Outsider, you must extort business, take over rackets, and complete missions to gain respect and advance your rank. The final goal of the game is to become the Don of New York City.
Your character has a variety of moves he can use to accomplish his mission. The Godfather The Game utilizes BlackHand Control. Targeting is used to lock onto characters in order to talk, hit, or shoot them. The targeting mechanism is fairly easy to use, but switching targets during firefights can become a nuisance. Additionally you have a variety of hand to hand combat moves including grab, jab, power attack, and more. You utilize a weapon by equipping it, locking on, and using right trigger to fire. You have a few more attacks and executions this time around, but this aspect of The Godfather is essentially the same.
So what is new in the 360 version? First of all, you have the ability to hire a crew. After reaching the rank of enforcer, you are able to hire a crew , but it will cost you a considerable amount of money. As you increase rank, you can hire better crew members. Having a crew is essential to taking over rival family strongholds and businesses. You can also use them for drive bys. Having a crew will make victory much more likely.
The next new feature is the favor system. In the 360 version, Corleone members and business owners will ask favors of you. Completing a favor for a Corleone family member will earn you respect and possibly grant you additional awards, and helping out a business owner will allow you to earn a piece of their profit.
Those are the two biggest additions to the gameplay. The rest is basically the same. Sure, there are more executions and a few more missions, but there isn’t much more than what was included in the Xbox version.
This isn’t to say that The Godfather for the Xbox 360 isn’t a fun game. Just like the Xbox version, this game does a great job of intertwining the movie and the game. Your character has a minor hand in many of the big events from the movie. For instance, you are there when Luca Brasi is killed, when the Godfather is shot, and when Michael Corleone hides his father in the hospital. You have a helping hand in these missions, but the game does not conflict with the movie in any way. The storyline is especially strong at the beginning of the game, but it slowly fades as your story and the movie go in different directions.
The only problem is that the new additions give Xbox owners who have played the game no real reason to do it again. You are playing the same story, except for four extra missions, with only minor differences in how you play.
Graphics:
Visually, The Godfather The Game for the Xbox 360 shows marked improvement from the Xbox game. Explosions are thrilling, weather is more apparent, and the game shows a higher level of detail. All of the major characters are easily recognizable, and they are shown with much more clarity and detail this time. In addition, you will have a larger variety of animations when it comes to fighting and execution moves. Unfortunately, the game suffers from some of the same problems of the Xbox version. You will repeatedly see the same types of buildings, people, and cars as you stroll around New York City, and this can make the title feel very repetitive. Overall, the Xbox 360 title has enhanced visuals, but it is only average when compared to other next-gen games.
Audio:
The audio aspect of The Godfather has seen almost no change, but it still does the job well. The musical accompaniment of the game is the Godfather theme and a few varieties of it. This works perfectly in all cases, but after you get several hours in, you may want to use your own tracks. Additionally, the strong voice acting makes its return featuring James Caan and Robert Duvall. Major characters are easily recognizable vocally, except for the absence of Michael Corleone (Al Pacino). Minor characters throughout the game can be spoken to, and there seems to be a bit more variety in their responses. Overall, the game simply works well in terms of audio, and it is probably one of the strongest aspects.
Controls:
Controls are identical in this enhanced version of The Godfather, except for the fact that you can control your crew. By using the left and right buttons you can tell your crew members to fire out of your vehicle in the direction you want. As I have already mentioned, the games control scheme is based on a lock-on targeting system. You simply use the left trigger to select a target. From there you have several options, depending on what you want to do. The Y button will engage in conversation, extort, or interrogate the other character. If you decide to use the right stick while targeting, you will engage your target in hand to hand combat. Using the right allows you to grab your target, which then opens up the drag, swing, slam, and throw controls. Using guns is very simple as you just target, adjust your shot with the right stick, and fire with the right trigger. Your key to success is not really your aim, but rather, how you use obstacles as cover. Driving a car is nothing too different from what you are used to in The Godfather. Right trigger or A can be used to go, Left trigger or X will brake, and B is the handbrake. Generally, the controls work well in The Godfather, except for issues with choosing the desired target in gunfights.
Replay:
The amount of replay value you get out of The Godfather on 360 depends on if you have played the Xbox version. If you have, then you will quickly tire, even though the game features four new missions. However, if you have not, the game can take well over 30 hours to complete, depending on how you decide to play. The lengthy title features 1000 achievement points, if achievements are your cup of tea.
Summary:
The Godfather on the Xbox 360 isn’t a bad title; it’s just too similar to the Xbox version. There are a few new features and tweaks in the game, but nothing that has you wanting to play the game all over again. The graphics are definitely improved, but you have seen better on the Xbox 360. For those who have waited for The Godfather on 360, go ahead and pick it up, because it’s a fun game to play through. However, anyone who played the Xbox version, whether you liked it or not, should steer clear of this one.
Last March, EA released The Godfather for the original Xbox. The title was one of the best movie games to date, with its open GTA-styled gameplay. Now the game has been released for the Xbox 360. This version has a few gameplay enhancements and a graphics upgrade, but is it enough to warrant another purchase?
Gameplay:
In terms of gameplay, The Godfather is almost identical to its Xbox counterpart. The game is, of course, set in New York in 1945. The five neighborhoods of New York are controlled by the Corleone, Tattaglia, Stracci, Cuneo, and Barzini families. Your character is taken in by Don Corleone after his father is killed by a rival family.
The first thing you do in the game is use MobFace to determine your character’s appearance. You are able to adjust hair color, hair style, facial hair, eyebrows, and much more. Once you have created your character, you begin your ascent to the top of the Corleone Family. As an Outsider, you must extort business, take over rackets, and complete missions to gain respect and advance your rank. The final goal of the game is to become the Don of New York City.
Your character has a variety of moves he can use to accomplish his mission. The Godfather The Game utilizes BlackHand Control. Targeting is used to lock onto characters in order to talk, hit, or shoot them. The targeting mechanism is fairly easy to use, but switching targets during firefights can become a nuisance. Additionally you have a variety of hand to hand combat moves including grab, jab, power attack, and more. You utilize a weapon by equipping it, locking on, and using right trigger to fire. You have a few more attacks and executions this time around, but this aspect of The Godfather is essentially the same.
So what is new in the 360 version? First of all, you have the ability to hire a crew. After reaching the rank of enforcer, you are able to hire a crew , but it will cost you a considerable amount of money. As you increase rank, you can hire better crew members. Having a crew is essential to taking over rival family strongholds and businesses. You can also use them for drive bys. Having a crew will make victory much more likely.
The next new feature is the favor system. In the 360 version, Corleone members and business owners will ask favors of you. Completing a favor for a Corleone family member will earn you respect and possibly grant you additional awards, and helping out a business owner will allow you to earn a piece of their profit.
Those are the two biggest additions to the gameplay. The rest is basically the same. Sure, there are more executions and a few more missions, but there isn’t much more than what was included in the Xbox version.
This isn’t to say that The Godfather for the Xbox 360 isn’t a fun game. Just like the Xbox version, this game does a great job of intertwining the movie and the game. Your character has a minor hand in many of the big events from the movie. For instance, you are there when Luca Brasi is killed, when the Godfather is shot, and when Michael Corleone hides his father in the hospital. You have a helping hand in these missions, but the game does not conflict with the movie in any way. The storyline is especially strong at the beginning of the game, but it slowly fades as your story and the movie go in different directions.
The only problem is that the new additions give Xbox owners who have played the game no real reason to do it again. You are playing the same story, except for four extra missions, with only minor differences in how you play.
Graphics:
Visually, The Godfather The Game for the Xbox 360 shows marked improvement from the Xbox game. Explosions are thrilling, weather is more apparent, and the game shows a higher level of detail. All of the major characters are easily recognizable, and they are shown with much more clarity and detail this time. In addition, you will have a larger variety of animations when it comes to fighting and execution moves. Unfortunately, the game suffers from some of the same problems of the Xbox version. You will repeatedly see the same types of buildings, people, and cars as you stroll around New York City, and this can make the title feel very repetitive. Overall, the Xbox 360 title has enhanced visuals, but it is only average when compared to other next-gen games.
Audio:
The audio aspect of The Godfather has seen almost no change, but it still does the job well. The musical accompaniment of the game is the Godfather theme and a few varieties of it. This works perfectly in all cases, but after you get several hours in, you may want to use your own tracks. Additionally, the strong voice acting makes its return featuring James Caan and Robert Duvall. Major characters are easily recognizable vocally, except for the absence of Michael Corleone (Al Pacino). Minor characters throughout the game can be spoken to, and there seems to be a bit more variety in their responses. Overall, the game simply works well in terms of audio, and it is probably one of the strongest aspects.
Controls:
Controls are identical in this enhanced version of The Godfather, except for the fact that you can control your crew. By using the left and right buttons you can tell your crew members to fire out of your vehicle in the direction you want. As I have already mentioned, the games control scheme is based on a lock-on targeting system. You simply use the left trigger to select a target. From there you have several options, depending on what you want to do. The Y button will engage in conversation, extort, or interrogate the other character. If you decide to use the right stick while targeting, you will engage your target in hand to hand combat. Using the right allows you to grab your target, which then opens up the drag, swing, slam, and throw controls. Using guns is very simple as you just target, adjust your shot with the right stick, and fire with the right trigger. Your key to success is not really your aim, but rather, how you use obstacles as cover. Driving a car is nothing too different from what you are used to in The Godfather. Right trigger or A can be used to go, Left trigger or X will brake, and B is the handbrake. Generally, the controls work well in The Godfather, except for issues with choosing the desired target in gunfights.
Replay:
The amount of replay value you get out of The Godfather on 360 depends on if you have played the Xbox version. If you have, then you will quickly tire, even though the game features four new missions. However, if you have not, the game can take well over 30 hours to complete, depending on how you decide to play. The lengthy title features 1000 achievement points, if achievements are your cup of tea.
Summary:
The Godfather on the Xbox 360 isn’t a bad title; it’s just too similar to the Xbox version. There are a few new features and tweaks in the game, but nothing that has you wanting to play the game all over again. The graphics are definitely improved, but you have seen better on the Xbox 360. For those who have waited for The Godfather on 360, go ahead and pick it up, because it’s a fun game to play through. However, anyone who played the Xbox version, whether you liked it or not, should steer clear of this one.
