The Godfather: The Don's Edition

When I had contact with the Wii only during the pre-premiere presentations for media representatives, I was convinced that the greatest fun in the first half of the year after the debut of this console would be the FPS entitled Red Steel . Ubisoft's mix of shooting and swinging a Japanese sword turned out to be quite good, although in the mature games category I had to wait almost five months for the satisfaction from the release of "Red Steel". Because only The Godfather (in Poland: The Godfather ) in the Blackhand Edition version provided me with impressions at the appropriate level. Impressions comparable even with the wild fascination of my relatives and friends with boxing in Wii Sports during the past Easter. So it is with undisguised pleasure that I spent a few evenings to share this review with you.

Not much more than a year ago, I first encountered a virtual version of The Godfather , obviously based on the first of three famous films by Francis Ford Coppola and a book by Mario Puzo. I mean The Godfather for PlayStation 2, which got a 69% rating in my review. The first-generation PC and Xbox editions released at the same time were virtually identical, so in all comparisons, I chose the PS2 console and the Xbox 360 platform as my reference point - a slightly improved variant of the Godfather debuted in autumn 2006. The Blackhand Edition had to wait twelve months after the original premiere, so EA developers had a lot of time to adapt their work to the specificity of the Wii. Fortunately, it was not decided to go the lowest resistance line, which could be considered focusing only on making the appropriate use of the pilot-nunchuk tandem in terms of control. To the delight of enthusiasts of waving hands, often treated with pity by supporters of pads and mice, keyboards and other joysticks, the Nintendian console received from Electronics a game much better than the version for other platforms, including even the parallel item entitled The Godfather: The Don's Edition for PlayStation 3.

Before, however, I am tempted to develop the above thought, let me remind you briefly what the Godfather performed by Electronic Arts is generally speaking. At first glance, we are dealing here with a Grand Theft Auto clone, because the key elements of the game include traversing the big city on foot or behind the wheel of a car, carrying out various missions within the scenario, using various weapons, etc. However, while the last full-fledged version of GTA, i.e. de facto San Andreas (quasi-remakes like Liberty City Stories go on a different track), is a mainstream fete with its wars against African-American gangs, car tuning and eating hamburgers to the rhythm of hip hop, The Godfather it feels like an elegant suit with a hoodie and trousers hanging in the crotch.

After all, a serious film and book license obliges to maintain an appropriate atmosphere in which the player learns about the rich history of the Corleone mafia family, competing for power in New York with four rival families (Barzini, Cuneo, Stracci and Tattaglia). The virtual action takes place at the turn of the 1940s and 1950s, and the main character is a young man who wants to avenge his father, murdered in 1936 by the people of Don Emilio Barzini. At the behest of Don Vito Corleone, the protagonist begins a gangster career, and his guide is Luca Brasi himself. Promotion in the mafia hierarchy takes place, for example, by carrying out primary missions (related to the events shown on the silver screen and novel cards) and side missions, and taking control of key objects in the city (e.g. shops, hairdressers, illegal casinos, warehouses and brothels). During the game, the ultimate goal of which is to become the Don of New York, you will of course meet a lot of NPCs, including heroes who are faithful reproductions of the acting performances from Coppola's film. Vito Corleone has a unique appearance and voice of the memorable Marlon Brando - analogous to Tom Hagen (played by Robert Duvall), Sonny "Santino" Corleone (James Caan), Paulie Gatto (John Martino) etc. Unfortunately, the famous Al Pacino did not lend his virtual image to Michael Corleone, which is therefore quite sluggish compared to the other main characters.

The adventure with The Godfather: Blackhand Edition begins with a short, but atmospheric presentation of the title screen to the rhythm of a characteristic trumpet solo and the voice of Don Vito flowing from outside the frame. After entering the main menu, however, there is a slight disappointment - navigation takes place by highlighting individual options with the movements of the d-pad and the analog stick, which in the case of the Wii is not a sufficient solution. It is a pity that the team from Electronic Arts did not attempt to implement a much more comfortable cursor, controlled by the movements of the pilot.

As in all other versions of The Godfather, there is an introduction before the actual gameplay, laying the foundation for the further expansion of the plot, as well as the main character creation mode. By properly presenting a multitude of indicators, we set, for example, the shape of the jaw, eye color, hairstyle, ear length and eyebrow density. Then it's time to visit the tailor, but the initially modest budget does not allow you to go crazy with the subject of clothing. Only later in the game is it possible to buy a wide-brimmed hat, a stylish jacket, expensive sunglasses, etc. At the end, we have to choose a name and the gangster world is open to us.

We start out as a rookie - we have nothing but modest clothing and we must gradually learn the skills needed in a mafia career. First of all, we master an extensive control system, which is a kind of showcase of the game in question. The analog knob is used to walk and drive the car and select weapons (with the C pressed, also acting as a hand brake), the Z button targets specific people and stops a speeding car, while swinging the entire Nunchuk is responsible for the left hand in a fist fight, as well as for reloading guns and pressing a car horn. The camera setting is controlled by the d-pad, the round button A is used, among others for making calls, answering phone calls and opening doors. The last action is also performed by a quick twist of the wrist of the hand holding the remote control. The trigger button B is used, for example, to shoot and grab another character by tailcoats, and the movements of the entire Wii Remote allow you to operate the sight, hit with your right hand, etc. On the other hand, the - and + buttons are assigned to the opacity and activation of manual targeting, respectively, and 1 and 2 enable the menu and preview of the task list.

The above technical breakdown looks a bit complicated and in addition it does not take into account the many gestures slowly mastered during the game. They are the ones that give the player the greatest fun and reveal the potential of the Wii in the field of innovative control. With proper hand movements, we inflict various blows with the left and right hand, we swing the gas tube, shoot the knees of the victims, throw people through the windows, throw empty bottles, and even twist the necks, strangle them with the garrotte, beat the heads of the enemies against the countertops, etc. Fortunately, all actions were left. thoroughly explained in a special guide, available from the menu, and also allows you to practice individual gestures. In my case, it took a lot of time to achieve perfection, although I enjoyed each successful game as much as I never did at a computer or other console.

The Godfather version for Wii attracts attention not only due to its unique control system. As I mentioned above, the developers did not take the easy way and significantly enriched Blackhand Edition in terms of content. In terms of the scenario, the range of missions to be performed has been expanded - in addition to the main and side quests known from other editions of The Godfather, there are bonus orders that deepen the story and, of course, provide additional money and respect points. The latter are useful for advancing to the next levels of experience, which is associated with the formation of a number of protagonist traits as part of two new gangster career paths - a typical brutal trigger and using subtle methods of a "businessman". Investing points in the first development model results in increased strength, improved weapon control, increased agility, etc. On the other hand, the second type of mafia road allows for more effective racketeering, lengthening the life energy bar, more efficiently corrupting policemen and federal agents, etc. In addition, not only a personal bodyguard can support us in the dirty work (the higher our position in the hierarchy, the better gorilla we are able to pay), known from the Xbox 360 platform, but also a four-person strike group, called after charging the appropriate indicator. If the cops join this, eagerly participating now after receiving a bribe in a direct fight on the side of the Corleone family, we should not fear even open wars with rival families. Mafia operations on such a scale have not been seen in any previous installment of The Godfather.

When testing The Godfather in the PlayStation 2 version, I complained a bit about the monotony, because there was little differentiation between cars, building interiors, passers-by, etc. In Blackhand Edition you can ride a few new cars, as well as see the increased variety of NPCs and finally see the distinct differentiation of individual gangster residences families. This last aspect is important because now the modest Brooklyn base of the Tattaglia family is stormed in a completely different way, for example, from the magnificent downtown Barzini residence. Developers from Electronic Arts have introduced some additional locations in virtual New York (e.g. roofs of selected skyscrapers connected by footbridges and Virgil Solozzo's drug wholesalers that need to be blown up) and gently rebuilt the road network, making it more convenient to travel by cars. It is worth noting that there is an option to immediately move between the hiding places you have by calling the driver by phone.

Although I finished the basic version of The Godfather a year ago with a 100% result, thanks to The Godfather: Blackhand Edition I have rediscovered this game. The Wii console received from Electronics undoubtedly the best variant (I took it as complete) of the adventures of a New York gangster from the mid-twentieth century, although it is a pity that the authors did not decide to bring the already outdated visual setting closer to current standards. However, according to what I wrote in the review of the edition for PS2, the game in question should not be discredited for the old-fashioned textures, the lack of transparent windows in cars, shiny door handles that can be opened, etc. The power of the Godfather is primarily the script and every other element created based on the film by Francis Ford Coppola and the book by Mario Puzo (including unlockable rewards in the form of a video sequence with Marlon Brando and co). Wii owners can additionally have a great time thanks to numerous bonuses and a unique control system - intuitive, but requiring some skill. If every owner of this Nintend console should absolutely beware of Rampage: Total Destruction , The Godfather: Blackhand Edition is a must and a very good example of how an attractive conversion should be done. That is why the new Godfather fully deserves a rating higher than the symbolic 69% awarded to the PlayStation 2 version (in 1969 the aforementioned novel Puzo was published).

Radosław "eLKaeR" Grabowski

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