Since the inception of games like Mafia
(and its sequel), gamers and Coppola fans alike have been wondering when
we would see the most famous mobster of all, The Godfather, at
the end of our controllers. So when Electronic Arts announced in early 2005
that they would have their video game version of the Corleone family out
for the fourth quarter of this year, we waited anxiously for that eventful
day. Now, with Francis Ford Coppola himself denouncing the game, the release
seems lackluster.
The Godfather of The Godfather Speaks Out
Despite such authentic touches like voiceovers
by Robert Duvall, James Cahn, and the late Marlon Brando, Coppola objects
on many levels to the release of the new game, according to GameSpot.
First, Paramount Pictures never asked him "if [he] thought it was a good idea."
Second, Coppola was displeased with the game itself. He objected to the
manner in which his characters were played in the game. The people in the
game version of The Godfather, whom we know and…well…maybe not
love, but at least admire from the movie, appear in the game mostly to "shoot
and kill each other."
So why do gamers put up with lesser knock-offs of our favorite movies? Is it the wild success of games like GoldenEye back in the late 1990s? (still one of the best games)? Or is it simply that we are the easy targets the marketers see?
I will probably play The Godfather when it comes out in the fall,
like I have so many games with familiar titles. The hope still remains that
the game will be as cool as the movie. Knowing, as I now do, that the genius
behind making Mario Puzo's novel into such a fantastic movie objects, I
doubt it.
Stay tuned for updates. Check out Godfather game screenshots at
EA
Games
''No! Pappi!
Add to Heffee!
