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A mob war is brewing after the murder of the Philadelphia
boss' nephew. The Sopranos crew has been named as the culprit,
and Philadelphia's and New Jersey's most powerful families
are about to collide. As the illegitimate son of "Big Pussy,"
you have been born into the organisation and now have the
opportunity to demonstrate your loyalty to Tony Soprano. Starting
as a soldier, players must make money on collections, protect
their turf through intimidation, and gain admiration within
their own family to move up in the ranks of the organisation...
The
Sopranos: Road to Respect sees
you playing Joey LaRocca (whose father Salvatore Bonpensiero
disappeared a few years ago) as he attempts to work his way
up the ranks of the Soprano family. Many people believe that
Tony Soprano had a hand in Salvatore's disappearance - but
that hasn't put Joey from busting a gut to impress him.
This
wouldn't be a Soprano's game if you didn't get to beat
the living daylights out of some unsuspecting thugs. And,
unsurprisingly, that is the main thrust of the game - to beat
up the numerous individuals you come across. However, part
of the skill in playing this game is knowing when to use your
fists and when to back down.
Before
many of the fighting segments you will have to engage people
in conversation. Here you have the option of being hard as
nails or
charming - and the way you interact with these characters
will determine how certain missions turn out. For example,
if you are rude to a certain drug dealer he will get his guys
to attack you. And, should you finally beat them up, your
partner will get annoyed that you have upset his supplier.
What you should have done is played it nicely and let your
partner sort everything out - this also has the added bonus
of you not having to thump anyone.
There
are problems with this, however. Firstly, sometimes there
doesn't seem a lot of difference between your "nice"
and "nasty" responses and to be honest, apart from
a very few times, it doesn't really seem to matter how you
speak to people.
Throughout
the levels there are various items that can be picked up and
used as weapons, as well as hot spots where you can perform
some killer (quite literally) moves to dispatch your enemies.
You also have a gun which you can fire off and kill people,
or pistol whip them. To be honest, it's best not to use this
too often as if you cause too much attention your respect
metre will take a dive and then you'll probably end up getting
whacked.
There
are plenty of great little touches. For example you can listen
in on people's conversations by walking up to them. Sometimes
this is fairly bland, but generally they are quite amusing.
The storyline is also quite engaging, but you do feel a little
like you are being shepherded through the levels - there's
no real opportunity to go off and explore.
This
hasn't got an 18 certificate for the fun of it. There is a
hell of a lot of swearing, adult content (including dancing
strippers) and gory killings. There is also a fighting system
hidden away in here too, which lets you beat up people with
a combination of moves - however, mashing the two attack buttons
is all you'll really need to easily beat anyone who comes
at you. The
biggest disappointment though is the fact that you can probably
finish the whole game in a determined afternoon - which is
not good for a £35 game.
If you are a fan of the show you'll probably find a lot here
to keep you happy, just don't expect it to provide more than
a few days of entertainment.
Nick
Smithson
Buy
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£25.99
(Amazon.co.uk)
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£29.99
(Play.com) |
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£29.99
(HMV.co.uk) |
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£29.99
(Game.co.uk) |
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£24.98
(Blahdvd.com) |
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£29.97
(Gameseek.co.uk) |
All prices correct at time of going to press.
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