EA Readies New "Godfather" Games

Electronic Arts is working on three new games based on "The Godfather" for this fall. While the Xbox 360 game expands the offerings of the Xbox and PlayStation 2 game that shipped earlier this year, "The Godfather: Mob Wars" for PSP is a completely new game. Taking a page from Konami's "Metal Gear Solid Acid" franchise on PSP, "Mob Wars" is a new turn-based strategy videogame that blends board game elements similar to "Risk" (you build up your territory in New York City) with a collection of 250 cards and short 3D action sequences. EA is also working on a separate "Godfather" game for Wii, which will take advantage of the motion sensor controllers that Nintendo has created.

On the one hand, offering something new for the PSP, rather than porting the PS2 game to portable, is a smart idea. On the other hand, I'm not a fan of card-based games. Even Konami has come around from "Metal Gear Acid" to more traditional action fare in "Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops." "The Godfather" game focuses on turn-based strategy in which the ultimate goal is the same, to rule the five families of New York City. The virtual cards add variety to the gameplay, as the game progresses. The short 3D action segments are similar to the PS2 game, but divied up for short fixes. Turn-based games are squarely aimed more at the hardcore gamer than the casual mass market audience that the PS2 game has reached.

On the Xbox 360 front, EA is adding a lot of new content to "The Godfather." In addition to the lifelike visuals of the actors, which look even better now then when they were first showcased at the New York City World Premiere, the game sports four new missions. One of the new missions revolves around the hit on Mo Green from the film. Also adding depth to the gameplay is a new favor system, which rewards players for helping out the businesses they're "protecting" by eliminating "problems." The expanded story also introduces new hit missions that occur within the same area of the game. The single-player game now offers a computer-controlled crew member to aid you with drive-bys and other endeavors. Two guns are always better than one.

The additional processing power of Xbox 360 has added a realistic night and day cycle in the game. Just like in real life, the time of day changes the city from a bustling daylight locale with businesses running to a quiet nightime backdrop where the black market and other seedier operations take place. The game is now filled with destructable objects inside and out, which adds cinematic flare to the combat. Inside the various stores, each locale feels unique and every shop is filled with breakable items. The family compunds also now have distinctive looks, as well.

Other gameplay improvements include refined vehicle handling for more realistic driving and an auto-targeting system that skips innocent pedestrians and targets only enemies on screen. As you can tell, EA is doing a lot with the extra development time its had for Xbox 360. This game is a huge improvement over the original, which received mixed reviews from the gaming press, but has sold respectably. With a large audience of Xbox 360 owners out there this fall, this game should offer enough new content for gamers to invest in a second copy of the game, while others who waited for this version will likely be glad they did.