/ 12 May 2006

Playing with the Mob

When Bernardo Provenzano was arrested in mid-April, a few people in the computer gaming industry might have suspected Electronic Arts (EA) of having a hand in it. What better publicity for the newly released The Godfather game than to have the Sicilian Mafia’s “boss of bosses” arrested outside the town of Corleone?

The fictitious Corleone crime family, of course, are at the heart of Francis Ford Coppola’s award-winning movie trilogy. When news first broke early last year that EA was to make a game of the first film, many doubted its chances of success. The complex nature of the film does not lend itself easily to the popular gaming genres. And the industry is in the doldrums, with consumers holding back on purchases for existing platforms in eager anticipation of the release of new consoles by Sony (PS3) and Nintendo (Wii) later this year.

The early signs for The Godfather were not good. Coppola took one look at the early version of the game and withdrew his backing. Al Pacino (who played Michael Corleone in all three films) refused to have anything to do with it. EA missed its lucrative pre-Christmas 2005 release deadline (the announcement led to an immediate 5,5% drop in the company’s share price on the Nasdaq index) and struggled to make the revised March 2006 release date.

But, despite the auguries, EA has come up with a winner. The game, an expensive gamble that cost nearly $40-million to make, went straight to the top of the sales charts and is predicted to sell more than 2,5-million units worldwide. With a retail price of about $40, that’s a projected $100-million in sales.

EA have taken the added gamble of pitching The Godfather at mature audiences. This might be a one-off to attract the film’s fans, or a realisation that the gaming audience, too, is growing up. You don’t need superb hand-eye coordination to win the gun battles or the skills of a formula one driver to handle the driving episodes.

Eschewing the tried, tested and failed formula of faithfully following the movie script, this game is a Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead or Noises Off take on the film.

The playable character begins as a low-level hireling of the Corleone family, taken on after his mother pleads with Don Vito Corleone during the wedding day sequence that starts the film. He remains on the periphery, making behind-the-scenes contributions that help the plot develop.

There are two, almost separate, aspects to the game — though they influence each other deeply. One is “missions” for the Corleones, which tie directly into the film. For example, one is to place the gun in the restaurant’s toilet so Michael can kill Sollozzo and the police chief.

The second part is your character’s personal progress. Independently of the Corleone missions, you have to extort businesses, take over rackets and generally cause mayhem throughout the city as you gain respect and rise through the ranks from outsider, to associate, to soldier, to capo, to underboss and then don — with your ultimate objective being to become don of New York.

Provenzano could be your role model here. In his early days he was nicknamed “Bernie the Tractor” for the way he “mowed” people down, but he rose from being a hit man for Lucky Luciano to boss of bosses.

Pacino was the only living star of the film to dissociate himself from the game — the developers even managed to get Marlon Brando to record Don Vito’s whisper before the great actor died. James Caan and Robert Duvall are again the voices of Sonny Corleone and consigliere Tom Hagen respectively. For legal reasons, “Michael” doesn’t look like Pacino — but cigars and age have taken their toll on Caan’s vocal chords, so Sonny doesn’t sound like Sonny any more.

Luciano once said of Provenzano: “He shoots like an angel. Too bad he has the brains of a chicken.” Even if your character starts out shooting like a chicken, by earning enough respect and improving his skills he might live to don a tuxedo and hand out favours on his own daughter’s wedding day.

Rival companies aren’t going to let the Corleones take over, however. Vivendi Universal, with Scarface, and THQ, with The Sopranos, will ensure that 2006 will be the year of the mobster game. Wonder if Provenzano’s successor will get a cut?