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

The Xbox 360 version of The Godfather, which we reviewed upon its release last year, was a real surprise. Too often movie licenses are abused and under developed, leaving a bad taste in the mouth of all gamers. While the first attempt at The Godfather series was not enthusiastically received, Redwood Shores went back and improved most aspects, making the 360 the definitive version until now. With The Godfather EA managed to craft an ambitious and hugely enjoyable tale of mafia gang warfare in a period setting of New York and its only going to get better.

For many it would be simpler to describe it as Grand Theft Auto set 50 years previously, with plenty of suits and meetings in restaurants. Yet this synopsis does not do the game justice as it was very faithful to the heavyweight series (with some creative discrepancies), with many of the famous characters and actors involved.

You take the role of a young hoodlum, picked from the street and put to work by the Corleone family. Customisation comes into the agenda as you are regularly invited to enhance your wardrobe with period tailoring or taking a lead with cutting edge designs. While you are not attending to your love life, physical appearance, street reputation or one of several potential Big Apple bachelor pads, you must work your way up the Corleone organisation by running errands and taking out troublemakers. The missions on offer are extremely varied, showing a degree of fine judgement as the difficulty curve slowly rises as you make headway.

So with the original already proving to be a strong release its great to see EA adding more content and features to the PlayStation 3 version. The SIXAXIS controller is utilised during confrontations with business owners who need to be intimidated to see the Corleone way. More rival families are also promised, with unique compounds (always difficult to clear out), mini-games, skills and hit missions adding to an already detailed experience. The online mode, which only offered leader boards on the 360 version returns with no enhancements, but in fairness The Godfather has always been a singular offline experience.

Taking its cue from the DVD Trilogy Godfather box set this version will also ship with exclusive content showing behind the scenes and making-of-videos. At least this time when the going gets tough you can call in the Corleone hit squad, whereas previously you could only hire one sidekick, who under Gamestyle’s leadership struggled to see his daily paycheque.

So The Godfather: The Don’s Edition promises to be a more rounded affair and open up previous unreachable areas of the city and rooftops. With some worthwhile enhancements and additions to an already captivating formula, it’s a strong candidate for purchase come launch day or beyond.

Words by Jason Julier