j-e-f-f-e-r-s said:
Honestly, is no-one else bothered that EA actually made a series of games milking based on the Godfather series? No-one else here think this is pretty low? Francis Ford created arguably the greatest movie series ever, and now EA are using it to peddle games which( no disrespect to Mr Pitts) all other reviews I've read agree are pretty iffy.
I love this question. Thank you for asking it. You raise a really good point about media consumption and brand identity.
For my part, I worship the Godfather films (Parts I and II. Part III does not exist.) I watched both of them for the first time back-to-back about 10 years ago and my mouth was hung open the whole time. For me, those movies redefined the art of filmmaking and remain some of my favorite pieces of creative work of any kind.
Did The Godfather II game establish itself as a similarly seminal piece of art? No. Absolutely not. It's a dumb, fun game that kind of screws over the license in some ways, actually. But it's still fun and I actually enjoyed it a great deal.
I think I look at licensed properties like The Godfather II game in the same way I'd look at Batman: The Dark Knight pajamas. Batman: The Dark Knight was a great film that inspired me in a number of ways. The pajamas, however, are just comfortable clothes with a logo on them. They do what they set out to do well and have a loose association with a media property I love, and so are slightly cooler than normal pajamas as a result.
The Godfather II did not blow open my mind to the possibilities of an art form the way the films did, but, like the pajamas, it does what it sets out to do well and is slightly cooler than other open-world games owing to it's association with a familiar brand.
