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CNET editors' rating:
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Product summary
Mob Wars is actually two different games, both of which fail to realize their respective potential.
Specifications: ESRB: Mature; Genre: Action; Number of players: 1 Player See full specs
Price range: $29.97
Gamespot editors' review
- Reviewed on: 09/19/2006
- Released on: 09/19/2006
The Godfather: Mob Wars adds a card-based strategy game to a third-person action game based on the most popular mobster film of all time. The idea sounds bad on paper, but it's slightly better in practice. The free-roaming gameplay of the console versions of The Godfather has been removed here, as have many of the more interesting missions. Worse than that is the absolutely awful camera control that all but ruins the game. But despite these very apparent flaws in the action portion of the game, the turn-based strategy portion is somewhat enjoyable while it lasts.
The Godfather tells a side story that parallels the events in the 1972 film. You play as the son of a Corleone family associate. Your father is killed when you're a young boy, and years later your mother asks Don Corleone to take you under his wing. The don sends Luca Brasi to turn you into a mobster, and thus begins your career as a mafioso. The Godfather: Mob Wars is divided into two distinct gameplay modes: story mode and mob wars mode. You're free to play each mode in any order you see fit, but you'll have to complete both to become the don of New York City. In story mode you simply play through a series of missions. Unlike in the console versions of The Godfather, no driving or side missions are involved. Instead, you go from one story mission to the next, whacking mobsters, interrogating informants, and taking over rackets. The setup for these missions is interesting, and they fit well with the main arc of the story from the film, but the execution is sloppy.
The problem with these action missions is that the camera control is extremely uncooperative. The camera stays close behind your character most of the time, and you can reset it by tapping the R button. You can also look around by holding the R button, but you can't move and look at the same time. Since you'll spend a lot of time in narrow hallways or small rooms, you'll constantly need to adjust the camera. There is a lock-on targeting system, but you can't lock on to enemies that you can't see, even if they're standing right in front of you as you turn a corner. Instead, you have to turn the corner, adjust the camera so you can see what's around that corner, and then finally lock on to the enemy so you can shoot him. That takes way too much time, and more often than not you'll end up getting killed as you try to see what's going on. You can hug the wall for cover and peek out to shoot, but that rarely works right, and you'll still frequently encounter incredibly awkward and frustrating situations where you get killed as soon as you walk through a door, or you shoot at the ground instead of locking on to an enemy right in front of you.
The missions are also very limited, especially compared to the free-roaming structure of the console versions of the game. You are always dropped right next to your target, so completing most missions is as simple as running a few steps toward the indicator on your minimap and then blasting through a few enemies before interrogating or killing the one character with a special icon above his head. If you try to explore the city or surrounding areas, you'll fail the mission as soon as you step past the designated mission area, which is usually a single small building. This narrow mission design will make you feel like you're just going through the motions to get from one mission to the next. The only challenge to be found in any of the missions is dealing with the aforementioned camera problem.
Continue reading- See more CNET content tagged:
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Where to buy
The Godfather (PSP):
$29.97
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Amazon.com Marketplace
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$29.97 | Yes |
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