The Godfather
| Developer: Creative Materials | Graphics: |
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| Publisher: US Gold | Sound: |
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| Year: 1991 | Difficulty: |
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| Genre: Action | Lastability: |
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| Number of players: 1 | Rating: |
2/10 | |
Loose adaptation of the film The Godfather. You probably won’t recognize any scenes from the movie.
I was nonetheless very impressed by the introductory sequence, perhaps one of the most beautiful ever on Amiga. Nothing exuberant, technically. Just slow-moving panoramas of New York in 1946, accompanied by jazzy music. It feels like the opening of a film. Then, the camera stops in a street, a character enters the frame, and without transition, the game begins, which gives the player the impression of evolving within the cinematic scene. The subsequent levels transport us through the following decades, from Las Vegas in the ’50s, Havana in the ’60s, Miami in the ’70s, and all the way to the ’80s.
The problems start when the controls are handed over. The game alternates between horrendous side-scrolling sequences, where you shuffle along while being shot at from all directions, and first-person phases where you’re trying to control a crosshair while gangsters pop in and out of the scenery to shoot at you. There are two little white bars at the top of the screen. The left one represents your “honor” (your ability to avoid shooting innocent bystanders). The right one represents your health. Game over as soon as either is completely depleted.
In both gameplay modes, the concept remains very basic and dull. The controls respond poorly. Even the bullets move in slow motion and seem to hit their target at their own discretion. I suppose the artistic choices (fullscreen, 32 colours, constant animations, dual-plane scrolling) caused significant slowdowns, incompatible with an action game, not to mention the constant need to swap out the six floppy disks… They could have made it an adventure game, like Deja Vu, or a demo, at best.
This is the extreme example that a game can’t rely solely on its atmosphere or graphics, no matter how brilliant they are. At least, I imagine they had no trouble selling it, considering the screenshots that must have graced the back of the box. Judge for yourself:
For the same concept, better executed: Shoot Out (arcade, 1985).
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