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| By Alfred Hermida Technology Editor, BBC News website In the world of celluloid, The Godfather established itself as the classic gangster movie for a generation of film-lovers. Fast-forward more than 30 years, to the world of bits and bytes, and it is Grand Theft Auto (GTA) that has defined the gangster experience for a generation of gamers. The games giant, Electronic Arts (EA), hopes to change this with its forthcoming game of The Godfather. Due for release on 21 March in the US and 24 March in the UK, the game plunges players into the underworld of Don Vito Corleone and mob violence. The man who has steered the project at EA, executive producer David DeMartini, shies away from describing it as better than GTA. But the talkative game maker is confident it can give the best-selling gangster title a run for its money. "We wanted to make a category leader that would give significant competition to the GTA game and basically would provide a very formidable alternative," he told the BBC News website. "We found a tremendous number of things that they were doing well that we tried to match. And then some very specific opportunities for innovation and enhancements that should establish us as the leader in those areas." Film loyalty The impact of Grand Theft Auto on the games industry cannot be overstated. It redefined the way people played games by overcoming the traditional limitations of predictable plots, restrictive virtual worlds and a lack of control over the eventual outcome. There was a danger we could become over-dependent on the fiction. We wanted to create an intense gaming experience, exclusive of the license David DeMartini, EA In its place, GTA offered vast free-form, open worlds, which gave players the freedom to do pretty much whatever they wanted. The various versions of the game have sold millions across the world and amassed games awards aplenty. But at the same time, it has also come under fire for its realistically brutal plots and violence. Taking on GTA is an ambitious goal, but Mr DeMartini believes the nature of his game will tempt gamers to switch their allegiance to the new contender. He talks enthusiastically about the 130 venues in the world of the Godfather game, about the ability to personalise the lead character to look like you, about a control system that is more than just button mashing. But perhaps the ace in the hand is the Godfather brand itself. According to Mr DeMartini, 75% of the game is based on Francis Ford Coppola's film, a further 15% on the original novel by Mario Puzo and only 10% of additional material. He has seen the film hundreds of times, as have many of those who worked on the game. For six months, the movie was running on a loop at the development studios. The game makers even pored over film scripts to immerse themselves in the world of the mob. Play time The game, though, is not simply an interactive remake of the classic movie. Instead of playing one of the film characters, players take on the role of a lowly mobster who has to w**k his way up the ranks of the Corleone family. "Our intention is to let you experience the Godfather story, to interact with the Don and all the other characters," said Mr DeMartini. This was a deliberate choice to avoid a common mistake found in games inspired by movies that often end up being an interactive rehash of the story and little else. "There was a danger we could become over-dependent on the fiction," explained Mr DeMartini. "We wanted to create an intense gaming experience, exclusive of the license." The challenge facing the game makers was coming up with something that would satisfy both the hardcore Godfather fan and the casual gamer. The game was originally due to be released last year in time for Christmas. The extra four months, said Mr DeMartini, has allowed the developers to do more than make a GTA clone. "We are trying to be epic with this experience," he stressed. Much is riding on the success of The Godfather: The Game. Aside from the millions spent on making the game, EA is hoping to establish it as one of their blockbuster titles and move on to adapt the two sequels. "We went into this venture taking into consideration the establishment of a brand new franchise. Our intention is to make two and three," said Mr DeMartini. Alfred.Hermida-INTERNET@bbc.co.uk Story from BBC NEWS: |
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| Godfather short of legendary film By Phil Elliott BBC Radio Five Live Historically, video games that are adaptations of films can be pretty poor. By trying to shoehorn an essentially visual experience into a completely different interactive experience, the developer can underestimate the potential of a game and the result tends to be dull and linear. Usually the more impressive the film, the more troubling the adaptation, which is why it is refreshing to see Electronic Arts' latest title, The Godfather: The Game, avoid those pitfalls and come up with something rather more original. For those not familiar with Mario Puzo's book, or more likely Francis Ford Coppola's film, The Godfather charts the fortunes of an Italian-American mafia family. But rather than play any of the known characters in the film the gamer takes on the role of one of the underlings. And instead of playing out the events you see on-screen, you are always w**king just out of shot. Without trying to spoil the plot, the significant missions you undertake are those which are not detailed in the film, or at the least are only referenced. Ever wondered who was responsible for the infamous horse head incident? Find out in the game. Elaborate brawls The title itself plays out very much in the style of a Grand Theft Auto game. That is not to say that the majority of the game is about stealing cars, but the mechanics of play are similar. THE GODFATHER: THE GAME Format: PlayStation 2 (reviewed), Xbox, PC Graphics: 8 Sound: 9 Gameplay: 7 Enduring appeal: 8 Overall: 8 After some time spent establishing yourself, you are free to roam about as you please and take part in various activities. Most missions take place on foot, and involve beating up or killing certain members of the community. Thankfully, the game features a nice set of controls that makes fighting all the easier. Whilst targeting and shooting people is very simple, the brawling is more elaborate, with a variety of kicks, punches and other moves possible. It is, of course, rated 18. Graphically the game delivers in part, especially when it comes to interacting with other people. When you do encounter characters from the film they are all instantly recognisable, and for the most part sound great too. Even the late Marlon Brando contributed to the project before his death. Driven to distraction But while the parts of the game that are normally poor are great, the bits you would think would be good, are not so promising. For one thing, the driving model in the game is downright poor, with a steering system that simultaneously makes the cars twitchy and simplistic. In addition, there seems to be a lot of recycling of scenery. Whilst the environments are particularly drab, and appropriately so, most of the buildings you will actually want to visit are all suspiciously similar, as are the characters that inhabit them. Whilst the story is immersive, it is let down by other aspects. If you think how different the regions in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas feel, for example, you will understand what I mean. Overall the game is still good. Crucially there is enough here to make it a worthwhile look. For fans of The Godfather, it will provide an interesting insight, especially with the various unlockable movie clips and so on. Even though, plot-wise at least, it is a fine example of how to convert a film into a game, it is not going to live up to the legendary reputation of its cinematic cousin. Story from BBC NEWS: |