The Godfather: The Don's Edition Review (PS3)

Does the game warrant enough respect?
The Godfather released for last generation consoles a few months ago. It was generally well accepted by reviews praising that it did a good job with The Godfather license. Not wanting to leave the PS3 out of the equation, EA spruced up the last-gen title and ported it over. The Godfather: The Don’s Edition is more or less a “director’s cut” of things that were left out of the other versions of The Godfather. How does this version stack up? Read on.

Little Italy
It is 1936 and you live in Little Italy. Organized crime it at its peak and everyone needs “protection.” You are just a little boy, not yet involved with the mobs. One day you come across the body of your father after you heard an explosion. He is shot dead by a rival mafia. Don Vito Corleon comforts you and promises you will one day have your revenge. Nine years pass and you have become nothing more than a street thug. Your own mother is worried and asks The Don for his help. He dispatches his trusted advisor to find out where you are so you can be part of the family.

As you roam the streets of New York City circa the 1940’s you’ll feel like you are in that era. The dress, the scenery, the music all throw you back to a time of smooth crooners and sharply dress gangsters. The world that was created in the books and movies of The Godfather remain intact as you feel like you are part of the Corleon’s family. Streets are dirty and the gangsters hiding in the alleys makes the old New York seem like a seedy place to live and operate. Once you start to drive around, you’ll notice that some buildings look the same and the floor plans of the business you need to extort are identical. Not only are there problems with the game world looking the same (save for a few famous buildings) character animations look like stiff boards trying to swagger about.

I Need A Favor
The Godfather: The Don’s Edition might be classified as an open world “sandbox” type game but don’t be fooled. The Godfather is more linear as the story is more pronounced and important than creating unorganized havoc in Brooklyn. You interact with key characters from the movie as you make a name for yourself. Marlon Brando’s voice and likeness are used for The Don, which is nice to see and adds you right in the thick of the movie. Still, there are all the elements of an open, persistent world game. You can mug random avatars, hijack cars, plant TNT on safes, or bride local police. Aside from the story, which is something you’ll want to delve into the most, you can do a variety of side jobs to increase the family’s bank roll.

You can extort businesses for money by offering your protection. If the business owners do not comply, you “negotiate” by any means necessary. These negotiations are a fun mini-game as you find out what breaks the will of the shopkeeper the most efficiently. This is where SIXAXIS control makes a large contribution. To rough up the owner, you can thrust the controller to the side to smash their head into the cash register to open it up or slam them into the wall so they know you mean business. There is a problem with consistency because sometimes the motion controls do what you want and other times, you head-butt the victim.

You can also purchase rackets to make money. Rackets are usually in the back of “legitimate” businesses and after you take over a business, you can take over the racket. There are also contract hits you can perform to people who haven’t paid up or have been a thorn in the Corleon’s side for too long. These favors help you gain respect and respect is what you need to advance up the chain of command. As you take more control, you gain points you spend in various attributes that will make you grow into a more skilled enforcer or operator (negotiator). They each have their strengths and it depends on what kind of play style you like the best.

You Talking To Me?
Combat in The Godfather is cumbersome. For as many illegal acts as you commit, you’d think that the fights would be a little easier to handle. To put up your fists, you hold down L1 and from there you use the R-stick to throw punches. You can also thrust the SIXAXIS controller different directions to head-butt or throw your foe. It just seems like you have to press too many buttons to get a punch to work. Weapons are a different story. There is a menu which I call “dial-a-weapon” that is accessible by holding down L2 and you pick your gun or bat from a circle menu. Aiming and shooting firearms is easy and generally is the best way to “off” people.

Singing With The Fishes
The sound for The Godfather is absolutely top notch. The orchestrated score from the movie is included in the title as well as many voices of the actors who were in the movie. Even the late Marlon Brando recorded some dialogue for the game before his passing. With certified actors on-board, the voice acting is done well. Even the oldies that play out of antique looking radios immerse you into the crime underworld effectively. If there is one thing that The Godfather does the best, it has to be in the sound department.

Make An Offer
There are some compelling reasons to get The Godfather: The Don’s Edition. The sound, the story, and even the interesting, yet repetitive, gameplay all make the game work. If you are expecting a fabulous game that delivers on all accounts, you will be disappointed. Even with the few upgrades over the last-gen titles, The Don’s Edition doesn’t belong on the PS3. I was put off by the complex, inaccurate controls to fight other gangs and by how many of the streets seemed to repeat themselves while cruising in the same part of town. I still kept coming back for more as there is appeal to the title.

The Godfather: The Don’s Edition is a great example of a game that might not work in all of the individual sectors but when it’s put together, the package as a whole works. The atmosphere the game creates is unparalleled but the PS3 feels underutilized as The Godfather: The Don’s Edition is still a PS2 game with some upgrades.