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EA is intent on making sure every platform out there has an offer they can’t refuse. While the Godfather games have appeared on almost every other platform, EA deserves kudos for providing a movie-licensed game that not only doesn’t suck, but actually manages to do the license justice and expand upon the movie content in entertaining ways. On the Wii, The Godfather: Blackhand Edition is a welcome addition, simply because there haven’t been many worthwhile action games, let alone a decent M-rated game of any sort.

Wii Extortion

Dubbed the Blackhand Edition, after the Corsican precursor to the modern day Mafia, Wii gamers shouldn’t expect a whole lot of differences between this version and the original game that hit the PS2 and Xbox last year. Given how much time EA has had to evolve the original Godfather game, there are several minor, yet key differences. Aside from the expected attempt at making use of the Wii controls, the map layout has been refined so that navigation is easier and less frustrating, there are new locations to explore and take over, you can take the lead of a hit team, and there is new, vaguely RPG-like character development enabling you to increase your skills in things like fighting and negotiation.

While none of these are enough to buy the game a second time, for newcomers the Wii rendition is certainly worthwhile. Unlike other recent, awful attempts to cash in on popular crime movies and shows (Sopranos and Reservoir Dogs, we’re lookin’ at you…), Blackhand Edition doesn’t attempt to do a by-the-numbers retelling of the movie. Instead, you play a low-level thug who must help the family maintain their control over the city, and eventually move up through the ranks.

Shake Down… by Shaking

Some of the missions are based on sequences from the movie, but most of the game is filled with free-roaming criminal activity. You’ll shake down shop-owners for protection money, take over enemy turf, bribe cops, and protect your own territory. Shop owners will require varying levels of force to start paying out, and occasionally some actually want protection—instead asking you to help take care of a problem (like troublesome drug dealers behind the shop) before they will pay up.

The game uses an innovative persuasion mechanic that requires some finesse when roughing up a shop owner. If you use too little, they won’t budge, yet getting too aggressive will make them impossible to deal with… and possibly kill them. Each shop owner has a specific hot button you need to discover. Admittedly, the options are generally either direct bodily arm or property damage, but busting up a joint is still a lot of fun. Once you’ve taken over a shop, you’ll usually find an illegal, back-door business that will pad your pockets even more.

Motion Sensitive Mobsters

Since you have the five boroughs and part of Jersey to shake down, there’s plenty to do in Blackhand Edition. Your ultimate goal is to become the Don himself, and there are plenty of hours of extortion, murder, and mayhem to guide the way. Since this is a Wii game, players can rightfully expect a more interactive control scheme. While so many of the current batch of games for the system have had hit-or-miss controls, Blackhand Edition works surprisingly well.

You use the nunchuk’s analog stick to move around, and the remote can act as your gun, club, and fist. Even better is that you’ll use the motion sensitivity of both controllers for brawling, throwing, and strangling. While the controls aren’t perfect, and often require exaggerated motions to register, the game is an excellent example of how the Wii’s controllers can be used in an action game to good effect.

Visually, Blackhand Edition comes up short. Even when originally released, the game wasn’t a graphics powerhouse, although the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions were greatly enhanced by the higher resolution. The Wii version, however, looks essentially like the PS2 and Xbox renditions. The graphics are rather muddy and unrefined, and there are noticeable draw-in problems. While the game isn’t horrible to look at, this is far from the best we’ve seen on the system. The audio work is excellent. The voice acting, whether taken from the movie, or recorded for the game, is generally topnotch, and the classic score is great.

A Pretty Good Offer

On other systems, The Godfather series proved to be an excellent alternative to the GTA series. The huge, historical New York landscape, respectful use of the license, and hours of thug action make it a solid game in its own right. While there isn’t enough in the Wii version to warrant a buy if you’ve played the game before, Blackhand Edition provides a much needed M-rated action game for the system.

Article by: Jason D'Aprile
Video produced by: Mark Fahey