THE EA EVENT

As posted in another thread, I was one of 10 people from around the world (one flew in from Naples!) invited to Electronic Arts in San Francisco to preview the game, meet and talk with the game developers, and take a tour of EA's main campus.




Most of the guests were video game reviewers, of course, and I was invited for other, yet obvious, reasons. ;-) Here's a brief rundown of what we did last weekend:

3/9 - I arrived at the airport and was picked up in a black Lincoln with tinted windows. Already I felt special. lol Everyone arrived at the hotel and in the banquet room they had 10 consoles set up, PS2 and X-BOX. While enjoying a cold cut spread, we were privileged to meet each other and play the game for a couple hours to get a feel for it.

Later that evening we walked over to EA's incredible campus and watched The Godfather film in their theater, enjoying some nice subs. Of course, I enjoyed watching GF on a big screen, but damn was I tired from a long day already -- having gotten up at 5:30AM after 3 hours of sleep, and now it's like 10PM my-time. But it was fun, and even having seen it so much, there's always something new I pick up, especially when it's on a big screen! After the movie we went back to the hotel where we were able to play the game again until 2AM local (5AM for me!), but I didn't last too long. lol




I was gonna get a drink at the hotel bar before bed, but they "pulled a Somerset" on me! Even tho the web site said the bar was open until 1:30AM, it now closed at midnight!!!! WTF?? Just as well, tho, since I was exhausted and didn't need any help getting to sleep!

3/10 - This day at EA was all planned out for us, and was so much fun! We had breakfast with a couple members of the team, then got a tour of the HUGE campus that blew me away! And by campus, I mean it -- this property and multiple beautiful buildings rivaled that of any college! There were game consoles scattered everywhere in all the buildings where one could just stop and play. They had an NBA-regulation basketball court, soccer field, a huge gym for employees to work out, a beautiful open cafeteria, game rooms with all types of table games, historical displays and showcases all concerning video games, etc. Blew my mind.



But what blew my mind the most was visiting "The Godfather Floor" -- almost an entire office building floor devoted to the 100 or so developers working on this game alone. Unfortunately, we were not allowed to take photographs as some things were under development *cough*GF2*cough* but I was in heaven. All the walls were filled with GF artwork from the game, and from the movie. Storyboards, proposed sets and backgrounds, photos from not only the movie but 1940's era New York. Man, my collection would've rocked if I could take just a few of those things!

We stopped at 6-8 cubicles where developers were working and got a short talk on what they were doing, and how it worked. We saw what creating a video game was like, and I tell you, it's quite tedious! Each developer had their own specialty, and I was pretty amazed how the team all came together to create such a beautiful product. Some worked on backgrounds, others characters, sounds, music -- even one person to do the lighting of scenes. I was truly impressed.

We also visited the EA employee store. Not only did they pay our way for airfare, room, and meals, but even spotted us $50 in the store. That may not seem like a lot, but this is the employee store -- every game, including boxed sets, was only $10! Not being a big gamer myself, I just picked up 2 for the PC: Tiger Woods 2006, and the Battlefield 1942/Vietnam collection. I also got 2 t-shirts, and a baseball cap. And I probably didn't even reach $50!

After the tour, we went into a room where consoles were set up again, including 2 PCs to check out the PC version. We were able to play the game more, for a few hours, during lunch, at the same time being able to talk to more dev members and even the executive producer.

At one point, they pulled us each aside to interview us on video. While they asked the others about the game itself, they asked me more about the movie (thankfully!). And this time, I got my favorite line correct!! I think. lol

After this, we were taken out to dinner to a nice Italian restaurant (what else??). EA didn't provide alcohol the entire weekend, but the executive producer was sitting at my table (there were 3 tables), and he picked up the few beers I and a couple others had. After dinner, they thanked us for attending, and held up a framed poster of the game characters, signed by all the development team. Everyone was wondering who'd be the lucky winner of that -- and we were all pleasantly surprised when they told us that they'd be mailing one of these out to all of us! EA rocks!!




After we returned to the hotel, most of us sat in the lounge and had a few drinks and talked a while. All the invited guests, as well as the people who made this game, are great people and I even befriended some whom I will try to stay in touch with. Some of you hardcore gamers who visit gaming sites might even know some of these people. And I was happy that at least one other guest knew who *I* was. lol

3/11 - Return flight home, exhausted. lol

Who wouldn't wanna work in a place like this??

THE GODFATHER GAME

As most of you know, I'm not much of gamer in general. The last console I owned was a Sega, k? But I've had my fair share of video game addictions in the past -- I just could never get too far in any of them because I wasn't all that coordinated. So, I nervously (yet also curiously) sat down with this game to give it a shot.

Wow. First off, the graphics were great! (Personally, I think the X-BOX version looked a little better than the PS2 version, but both were really nice. However, the PC version of course blew them both away). There was no "official confirmation" -- nor denial -- of a 360 version in the works, but I have a feeling they're working on that for a later release. Incidentally, they're also going to release a special edition which will include a DVD with special features (making-of) for the console versions.

Anyway, back to the game itself: I played mostly on the PS2 version, and have always had trouble with all those buttons. That's just me, of course. But I tell you, I had fewer problems with this game than most others I've tried -- the "Black Hand" controls were quite intuitive for once, and it never felt like I had to fumble around to find the right button.

What's unique -- and wonderful!! -- about this game is that you are NOT Vito or Michael or Sonny or anyone like that, but you are you -- your own character (that you can even create to look however you want to the most minor detail) interacting with the characters from the movie. You start out as a lowly hood and work your way up the ranks by first strong-arming shop keepers for protection money, bribing cops, and going on specific missions set forth by Clemenza or other characters. What is REALLY cool is that you can be doing your thing and at any moment, a major scene from the movie will happen, say, outside the window!

For instance, while in a shop muscling the shopkeeper, outside I saw Don Vito get shot, and my new mission was then to kill the would-be assassins before escorting the ambulance to the hospital! And what's great is, events such as these happen pretty much chronologically, and pretty true to the story -- the movie and surprisingly also the book itself.

One of my favorite features was walking down the street, and hearing passers-by having conversations! Very much like real life.

The idea of the game, of course, is to move up in rank in the Corleone family by earning money and respect. As you progress, you'll be taking control of neighborhoods and the compounds themselves of the Barzini's, Tattaglia's, Stracci's and Cuneo's (the other 4 of the 5 Families). Your ultimate goal is to be The Don of NY/NJ controlling everything.

Some of Marlon Brando's dialogue was used I was told, but they got a terrific voice actor to record bits they needed afterwards. Of course, Caan, Duvall, and Vigoda lent their voices as well, and I was told that they had a terrific time doing it! (We saw some footage of them, which will be on the bonus DVD of the special edition).

All in all, I was VERY impressed with this effort from EA! And even tho I'm not much of a gamer, this is definitely one that I will spend some time with once I get it (they're going to send it to me).

I think even the elders among us here will love to check this out -- get the PC version (it comes on DVD), and you won't need to buy a console!

CHECK OUT THE SITE FOR SCREEN SHOTS AND VIDEOS



Coming MARCH 21, 2006

Pre-Order Now!!

• PS2
• PS2 Collector\'s Edition
• X-Box
• X-Box Collector\'s Edition
• PC (DVD)

See Also: Prima Official Strategy Guide
Coming Later: PSP, X-Box 360

Wow! It sounds like you had a lot of fun, JG. I'm jealous!

sounds like you got blown alot lol jk jk no disrespect JG.

The game sounds better than I thought so did they tell you for sure if they're making a second and third game?

Great review, Geoff - thanks for doing this.

Glad to hear you had such a fun time. I've definitely developed a further appreciation for this game and how much work goes into it. I'll be sure to show this to my cousin, as I'm certain he'll enjoy reading it and seeing the photos. I love that framed poster!

Well, blown UP and blown AWAY a lot, at least.

But JG did they confirm any second part?

Don Geoff,

I am so happy for you having had that experience. I'm glad you had a good time. The pic's are great. I promise to buy the PS2 Collector's Edition from your site. BTW how many pack's of niccorette(sp) did you go through?

They said that they plan to make The Godfather title a "franchise" so yes, if this does well, I'm sure there will be at least one more....

Sounds like a pretty cool weekend, JG! It sounds fascinating to tour such a huge place and see how everything gets put together. Pretty cool. The 2 guys holding up the signed poster look really familiar... who are they?

Well, Zia, the one on the right is Mr. Orlando Palmeiro of the Houston Astros...

That's who he immediately reminded me of...

(I hope you meant "4 of the other 5 families" ) (j/k)

Sounds like you had fun, especially with getting the V.I.P. treatment.

One day I'm gonna play one of those new-fangled video games
(The last one I played was Space Invaders) .

I had to do a little wheres Waldo with this pic.

[IMG] [/IMG]

They work for EA -- the guy on the left is the Executive Producer of the game. He has a few interviews up on GameSpot.com\'s Godfather page , another good place to check out samples of the game!

How old is that guy on the right, like 12?

Another cool feature I just remembered (and I'll probably remember more down the line) is that, on the console games, when you're strangling someone (which I enjoyed doing!), the controller actually vibrates like their heartbeat... It's just too bad that, even with a controller on the PC, you miss that little feature, cuz they use it for driving, too, and other things. It just doesn't work on PC....

Shit. No PC "Collector's Edition"?

I asked them the same question - I think marketing wise they want to push the console versions first, and down the road they'll probably come out with a special edition for PC as well....

I believe most of them were college students, and had to be 18+ to attend. So no. He's just short. :p

Any other important questions? I'll answer the best I can....

This is interesting... I just discovered this family tree on EA's site...

As you'll notice, they didn't have permission to use Al Pacino's likeness. They also list The 5 Families and their territories in the game:

Corleone (Little Italy)
Tattaglia (Brooklyn)
Stracci (New Jersey)
Cuneo (Hell's Kitchen)
Barzini (Midtown Manhattan)

JG can you send me the family tree for some reason my PC wont get it.

It's a PDF, so you'll need Adobe Reader to see it. Install that and try again...

That's really a fantastic experience for you JG. You seem like you had a great time and met some great people.

Can I join in when Sonny kicks the shit out of Carlo?

So Godfather, I need your expert advice here. My son has a PS2 console and of course we have computers.

What version do you recommend that I buy? The PC version or the PS2 version?

Wouldn't the PS2 version be a little more easier to navigate than the PC version?


Don Cardi

Fan-tastic, Don!
How many bulletholes did the black Lincoln have?

Hmm, well, I'm sure you'd be happy with the PS2 version - it does look great, and gives you the vibration feedback in the controller.

The PC version looks a little better, and it can be played pretty well with the mouse/keyboard combination - or, you can get a PS2 USB adapter and use that on the PC. But you'll lack the vibration support.

Up to you, really. If I had a PS2 (and/or X-Box), I'd probably get both versions, truthfully.... but that's just me. That way, Daddy and Jr can play at the same time as well.

So is it on-line playable? In other words if I buy a PS2 version and a PC version, can I play online with my son and others?

Or did you mean that it is a two player game?

Don Cardi

Sounds pretty awesome, Geoff!

I'm getting excited reading your posts. I'm glad you had a great time.

I'm glad the game's good too, I preordered it from Gamestop back in October.

I asked them whether they had plans for an online version, and they told me that for the first one, they wanted to do it as best as they could. There may be a multiplayer/online version in the future.

This is a one-person game. What I meant was, you both could play at the same time, alone in your rooms. :p

I'm so pumped for this game. I preordered it last month and may be getting it early.