The Godfather Preview

With games based on Jaws, The Warriors and Taxi Driver in the works, it seems that one of the most popular trends in videogames lately has been to resurrect film licenses that are decades old in order to make games out of them. One title that has been announced (and has been gaining infamy for a while now) is the Godfather, based on the immortal film franchise starring Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, Robert Duvall, James Caan, so on and so forth.  Not only has EA managed to score the likenesses and voices of pretty much every principal actor in the films (including the late Marlon Brando, who recorded some of his last ever work for the game, shortly before he died), but they’ve to create a brand new story that elaborates on the events in the film franchise.

The Godfather puts you in the shoes of a Corleone soldier in 1945 in New York. You work for the family, performing jobs like hijacking, hits, extortion and general racketeering, working your way up the ladder and eventually taking over their New York outfit when they move to Las Vegas. You can play the game in several different ways, meaning that you can be a negotiator, talking your way through conflicts and resolving them without bloodshed or you can be a thug and beat the crap out of others in order to get your way. The game will give you plenty of side quests to play through, as well as a huge representation of New York City, complete with all five boroughs and New Jersey. Driving will also be a very important element, as every car in the game can be driven. Even though there is a giant city, there will be no loading times between areas.

Aside from taking out enemies with guns, you’ll be able to take full advantage of the game’s deep hand to hand fighting system. The combat feels realistic with the controller; if you hold down both triggers, your character will reach out both hands and grab the person by the shirt, allowing you to slam them against things in the environment. The punching and ducking system is also done with the analog sticks.

The Godfather is currently scheduled to ship this fall for the PC, PS2, Xbox, and Xbox 360, with the PSP version arriving some time after that. Check it out, or else you sleep with the fishes, see?!

For All E3 2005 Previews