Introduction: With all the recent marketing bluster coming out of Rockstar at the moment, I recently heard some outlets describing a recent demonstration that showed the seamless exterior/interior transitioning. This particular demo highlights an aspect of Grand Theft Auto IV's progression with the ability to enter and exit buildings at will, without pause or loading. This led me to return again to enjoy an older game that has had these smooth transitions for a year or two. That game is Godfather: Blackhand Edition.

Game play: Although not a GTA III beater, it certainly lands a few punches in one or two areas. Its success proves the point that we are still waiting for a GTA style game to deliver the whole package. By focused on what it is good at, Godfather delivers a non too shabby experience.

The game progresses in two ways. Primarily you are led through the main story that delivers a solid mission based experience. You need to complete each of these in turn to work your way into the family and gain enough respect to be involved in their more notorious dealings. These are well paced and nicely varied. Each mission is distinct and offers its own particular challenge. Some task you with driving to a location in a certain time limit, others have you creeping into a rival families compound.

This is complemented by the other aspect of the game; the open and freeform acquisition of businesses around the city. You take over businesses by extortion. Each one added to your roster not only contributes money each month but also gives you access to their back room dealings. The combination of the two game styles is both inspired and well balanced. Depending on your mood you can pick and choose how and when you progress through the game.

The only omission from the game is any sort of collaborative play. A set of co-operative missions would be a most compelling proposal. It would be great to team up with other members of the family, played by your friends. and work together to take over the city. Or even to be setup as competing families with limited resources to make it to the top first.

Control: The controls utilise the Wii-mote and Nun-chuck excellently. This is probably the best execution of the Wii's controls I have come across. It certainly seems that the Blackhand version has had time and attention spent on more than just its own unique name. The game avoids the all too common pitfall of PS2 or PSP games with Wii controls bolted on. You can throw a variety of punches, head buts, shoves and knees towards your target with a simple wave of a Wii-mote or Nun-chuck. Then there are special attacks, that include the somewhat disconcerting strangle hold where you pump both Wii-mote and Nun-chuck until you hear a tell tell neck snap and leave your victim lying limply in the street. Truth be told, this was a step too far for me. Maybe I am just too squeamish. but I felt quite uncomfortable acting out these attacks in my living room. I guess this is a testament for the connection created between the player and the action, but I'm not sure if that is positive or not.

Shooting the variety of weapons also benefits from the Wii's controls. Aiming for that all important head or leg shot has never been simpler. The Wii-mote can direct the auto-aim to different parts of the target's anatomy. This is essential as you often need to wound rather than kill, so you can extract the necessary information.

Graphics: Graphically, the game looks as good as the PS2 version upon which it is based. The draw distance is pretty good, although the densely packed tall buildings avoid needing to see too far. Both the player and non-player characters are well animated and kitted out. There is a real sense of atmosphere to the environment. The film's era is recreated extremely well. Unfortunately it is this success of creating a distinct sense of time and place that leads it the environments all being quite similar. When you consider the quirky areas of Grand Theft Auto, The Godfather's different city zones are quite hard to distinguish from each other.

Sound & Music: The sound is excellent. The game employs sound bites from the films to great effect. From the opening credits where we hear the Godfather's dulcet tones to the various mission instructions, everything works together to present an almost filmic aesthetic. The use of music is sparing but effective, with the appropriate themes fading in during different parts of the action.

Final Comments: Overall, this is one of the best film license games I have come across. There is obviously not a huge amount of new content here since the previous outings on the last generation consoles, but things have been tweaked enough for it to be an interesting proposition for fans of the series. If you loved the films and have not yet played these games, or are looking for something to pass the time until GTA IV, this is well worth a look.

Pro: Great use of a movie franchise, Atmospheric game structure.
Con: Can be overly violent at times.
Final Score: 8.0


Reviewed by: Douglas Andrews