"EA makes Wii owners an offer they can't refuse!"

When "The Godfather" was released in the Spring of 2006 (and Fall 2006 for the XBox 360), I had absolutely zero interest in the game. It wasn't until I saw the trailer for the Wii port, dubbed the "Blackhand Edition", a few months ago that I changed my mind and decided to keep an eye on the title's progress. Once the mostly-positive reviews hit the various gaming media outlets, they all seemed to echo each other on the most important feature: the Wii's motion controls and how they make this particular version more fun to play than all of the other incarnations of the game across all of the other systems it's available for.

EA has managed to prove that the Wii-Mote/Nunchuck combination can actually improve the gaming experience. The controls feel comfortable and work well enough that they feel like an enhancement to the standard open-world, "sandbox" style of gameplay found in similar games like the GTA series, Saints Row, Crackdown, etc.

The graphics aren't bad, but could definitely be better (the Wii is capable of a lot more than these ported-from-PS2-to-GameCube visuals). This is a solid effort from EA which proves that with proper development time, the Wii can have fully immersive games with refined, near-perfect, motion control - without any gimmicks or having to force mini-games down our throats.

If you are reading this review, enjoy these types of games and have been "on the fence" about picking-up The Godfather: Blackhand Edition for the Wii, I whole heartedly recommend this one. It's definitely worth your $50. Once you master the controls (taught via tutorial missions over the first hour of the game) you will not be able to stop playing!

The Wii finally has a very solid "M" rated game. If we want to see more Wii games made for an adult audience, show some support and pick-up The Godfather. Developers need to see that "M" rated titles can sell on the Wii before they really begin to take the Wii seriously as a machine capable of reaching mature gamers that sometimes find themselves in the mood to play something other than kid-friendly party games.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 04/09/07