User Reviews (1 - 6 of 6)

Show these reviews first:

Highest Rated
Lowest Rated Newest
Oldest Most Helpful
Least Helpful

Comes up a little short

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 8 / 10
Date: September 30, 2006
Author: Amazon User

It's an enjoyable game, and the premise is cool: you're the guy behind the scenes of the original movie, doing the Corleones' dirty work. You're the guy Clamenza tells to "leave the gun. Take the cannoli," you put the horse head in the director's bed, etc...

Unfortunately, one week after purchasing the game, I've finished both the story mode and mob wars section. I've never played the console version, but I'd read that there was a free roam mode and driving missions that were taken out of the PSP version.

That's too bad, cause I think it could have been as good as "Grand Theft Auto, Liberty City Stories." Instead, missions that you can tell were supposed to have a driving component suddenly skip ahead, and there's not that many missions in the story mode. Once you get to the baptism of Michael's nephew, you start hoping that maybe it will cover some of the story from the second movie, but no such luck.

The Mob Wars component is supposed to make up for that which was dropped from the console game, but it's a huge letdown. It's basically like playing Risk. Instead of rolling dice to compete for a territory, you get a 1st person shooter mission. But there's only a handful of these, so if you think that the building you're going into in New Jersey seems exactly like the one you went into in Brooklyn on a previous turn, you're right.

Once you've figured out that there will be three guys behind the door at a given point, it's not much of a challenge. And once you figure out that a "move three territories" card will get you into an enemy family's compound, you're pretty much done. Each compound is the exact same mission. Go into two buildings, place a bomb in the basement, and run outside. Repeat in the second building. Wipe out each rival family's compound and you've won the game.

And that's it. I was expecting some bonus mission or something that would unlock once I completed everything, but there wasn't.

The game play is fun, and the music is good. I've been whistling the movie theme for a week now. I also like that I have a few of my favorite clips from the movie at the touch of a button, but I'm kind of wishing I'd picked this up used. $40.00 seems like a lot to shell out for a game that doesn't last that long.

Overall, I think that EA dished out sloppy seconds to the PSP audience to make a quick buck. I would have rather waited on development, if it would have had more missions and free play.

Great game, but short

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 5 / 5
Date: November 05, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Fans of the movie should enjoy this game. It puts you in the movie, participating in many of the famous scenes from a background perspective. If you ever wondered how they got the horse's head in the guys bed, this game offers a solution.

My only disappointment is that it was relatively short, only took about three days to finish and was somewhat easy once you learn a few tricks (like let the guys come to you instead of rushing a bunch of guys).

Leave the game. Take the cannoli.

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 5 / 6
Date: January 02, 2007
Author: Amazon User

"Godfather: Mob Wars" gets full marks for atmosphere, but after a fun start the game gets bogged down by a clumsy turn-based interface and repetitive level design.

The idea is a good one: you play a young street hood named Aldo, who is eager to rise through the ranks of the Corleone family after his father is murdered for his loyalty to Don Vito. The game takes Aldo through the Godfather movie's most famous set-pieces, from the murder of Salozzo to the baptism finale, all the while coming up with clever ways to place the gamer at the heart of the action. Whether you're planting a gun for Michael Corleone, or assassinating Don Barzini on the steps of the courthouse, you will feel truly immersed in the action.

The presentation is impressive, with crisp and detailed graphics (for the characters at least), an excellent soundtrack and unlockable film clips adding to the atmosphere. The relentless cut-scenes can be a bit exhausting, however, and after the initial wave of excitement it has to be said that the lack of gameplay depth becomes evident.

The main bulk of the game is made up of third-person shooting missions, in which you are given various Grand Theft Auto-style objectives to complete. These are often enjoyable, especially when you get the hang of shooting, which involves making use of walls and crates as cover before firing off a volley of bullets. There is also not too much of an emphasis on stealth, which means that if you make good use of cover you can get away with shooting on sight, which is always more fun.

But the gameplay quickly unravels after the first few missions, when you are introduced to the "Mob Wars" sub-game. The turn-based system of "Mob Wars" involves playing cards, recruiting gangsters and extorting rackets across the city while fending off the four other crime families. But despite the window-dressing, the main content still involves running around, hiding behind crates and shooting gangsters to gain more territory. Even worse, you can get rid of an entire family's territories in one swoop by blowing up their compound, which is actually far easier than ploughing through the city's rackets one by one. Once you work out where the enemies are hiding in each compound - not difficult as all four are identical - it doesn't take long to beat the "Mob Wars" half of the game.

The rest of "Story Mode" also develops some frustrating flaws as you progress. The camera is incredibly annoying, getting stuck behind walls and refusing to show you who is riddling you with bullets. Bad clipping and faulty targeting also crop up - on one occasion I had to kill a policeman whose head and arms were sticking out of a staircase. The missions can also feel a bit rushed sometimes, particularly as they sometimes involve getting from point A to point B just to get to the next cut-scene. I don't mind linear gaming, but when the mission area is a straight road that you cannot divert from, there's clearly a problem.

Ultimately "The Godfather: Mob Wars" is a disappointing attempt to tag on a turn-based conceit to a heavily diluted version of the console game. It would have been better to emphasise the "Mob Wars" side of things with a more complex system and better missions. There is some fun to be had, whether it's silently garotting guards on your way to a horse beheading or throwing Molotov cocktails into a warehouse full of mobsters, but it's too short-lived to be a lasting experience.

Good game - too short!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 5 / 7
Date: September 24, 2006
Author: Amazon User

This is a very good game and I am quite addicted at the moment. This is a very mature game as well; lots of blood and bad language. Very similar to GTA in terms of game play, although there is no sarcastic humor and no freeplay. Very serious tone.

The game play is pretty cool because there are two modes: story mode and "mob wars" mode. Story mode is mission-based and takes place in NY city in the 40's and 50's. The missions are generally very bloody. I haven't come across any boss fights, so I am not sure that there are really levels like in some games. As you go through the story, you get promoted through the ranks of the mob family. It follows the movies, although quite a lot of the material is new. There is no freeplay to speak of; you can't wander through Little Italy looking for trouble. If you leave the mission area during a mission, you have to start over.

Mob wars mode is pretty interesting. It is turn-based with some mission-type gameplay. You are given a map of the different family territories in NY city and your goal is to expand your territory, take over other rackets, and beat down the other families. You start by moving one of your mobsters to a rival family's territory, then you go on a mission. The mission is regular gameplay mode at that point. Generally, you storm a rival gang's business and shoot them up. The interesting part is that you get one chance. If you fail and get killed, then you don't get the territory and your mobster gets demoted. The turn is then over. You can try again on the next turn. If you do win the fight, then you get the territory for you family. Your income increases, and your mobster might earn a promotion. In order to reach your goal of "Don of NY", you have to play both modes (story and mob wars). It's kind of cool, because mob wars mode combines elements from other turn-based games (like Lord of the rings tactics) with mission-based gameplay. You don't just roll the dice and see what happens each turn, like other turn-based games. Mob wars mode makes each game very unique; you might do well and expand your territory, or you might find yourself without much at all. Money earned from story mode can be used to buy supplies for mob wars mode. Should give the game some good replay value.

This game is pretty short, though, and as some other reviewers have pointed out, they re-use a lot of backgrounds and missions. I like this game, but they could have gotten a little more creative. I am entering these comments after I had submitted my initial review and I'm not sure if I can change the number of stars; I would like to lower the number of stars to 3.

Best Game Ever on the PSP

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 6
Date: December 15, 2006
Author: Amazon User

The Godfather Mob Wars let's you play as the inside man between the scenes. Compared to the console the only big difference is not driving in the PSP version and the new added strategic version. First of all to say there is both the action part and stategy part not just strategy. The action part is great gameplay and a lot of shooting. The strategy part is very boring but simple. Overall the game is great.

One of the better PSP games out there.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 3
Date: March 28, 2007
Author: Amazon User

I gotta say that I really enjoyed this game. I played it non-stop for 10 hours and completed both modes of the game! The story mode was great as it puts you right in the middle of one of the best movies ever made. However, the real surprise in this game is the Mob Wars mode. Mob Wars is basically a very light strategy card game mixed with some third-person shooter action. During the first phase of Mob Wars action you are dealt cards that have many effects. Some cards lower your heat with the cops, some raise your fortification to other families, and some allow you to steal money from other families as well as many other things as well. Once you get your cards you play them based on your play style and then take your beef to the streets where the real business is carried out. Once you defeat the rival families your become the Don of New York! At first the Mob Wars side of the game was a little weird, but once I firgured it out I dominated the city in no time! It also if you play the Mob Wars side of things while your playing Story Mode to unlock weapons, weapon upgrades and character skill points. This game is a must buy in, but definitely rent it if you don't. Happy gaming!!

Review Page: 1 

Actions