Featured Game:
San Jose-based software giant Electronic Arts, otherwise known in gaming circles by the simple abbreviation EA, will resurrect the Don later this year. Don Corleone that is. In what is certain to be one of the most highly-anticipated video game releases in recent memory, EA plans on having the shelves stocked at your local electronics retailer with “The Godfather” in time for the “Chrismukkah” rush.
Best known for it’s widely popular sports franchises such as “Madden Football” and “FIFA Soccer,” EA has managed to remain relatively tightlipped about the specifics of “The Father” given the hype surrounding it’s release. Having said that, the word on the street is you, as the player, begin the game as a soldier (you know Senator, a button) and attempt to work your way out of the streets by rising in the ranks of the Corleone Family. Furthermore, EA has confirmed that the game will include re-enactments of several scenes from the film, although which ones are anyone’s guess.
Hollywood heavyweights Robert Duvall (Tom Hagen), James Caan (Santino “Sonny” Corleone) and, perhaps, most notably, the late Marlon Brando (The Don himself) have lent their likenesses and, equally important, credibility, recording voice-overs to ensure the game’s authenticity. Nino Rota, composer of the famed Godfather Waltz, has granted EA the rights to the Grammy and Academy Award-winning score, as well as additional music composed for the film. EA’s take on “The Godfather” is certain to be a surefire “hit.” Look for it in November of ’05 for Xbox, PS2 and, hold on to your proverbial hats, Xbox 2 gaming systems.
Honorable Mentions:
Based upon true events, “Brother in Arms: Road to Hill 30” has been touted as the greatest war game to date set against the backdrop of the European theater. Set during the infamous airdrop on the eve of the Allied invasion of Normandy (think of the HBO miniseries “Band of Brothers” and the book of the same title by historian Stephen Ambrose), the game finds Sergeant Matt Baker and his squad of the now legendary 101st Airborne division scattered about the French countryside. As the story unfolds, you (as Sgt. Baker) must choose between the success of your mission and the lives of your men, as Tom Hanks’ character so eloquently phrased it in the film “Saving Private Ryan.” “Brothers In Arms: Road to Hill 30,” currently available in stores for PS2 and PC, immerses players in the historic, eight-day invasion of Normandy, “with unparalleled imagery, authenticity, sound, and gameplay.”
Author Tom Clancy’s latest installment of the cult phenomenon “Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory,” has also been racking-up superlatives such as “the best video game… ever.” The game finds Sam Fisher, the NSA’s (National Security Agency) most elite black-ops agent, fresh from his stint in East Timor and reassigned to the front lines of the ongoing information warfare. In a game which features “vastly improved graphics and physics” than that of earlier Splinter Cell editions, “Chaos Theory” can, perhaps, best be described as a taut, stealth-driven game which begs to be played. Now available in stores for Xbox, PS2 and PC platforms.
