If you were bummed out by the uneventful climax of the final episode of “The Sopranos,” fret not. You can create your own brand of bloody New Jersey chaos in “The Sopranos: Road to Respect.”
But the experience is about as fun as exhuming a dead thug.
Like the game developed from its iconic and oft-quoted inspiration, “The Godfather,” “Sopranos” takes players to the streets as a low-level soldier who must pummel and extort his way into the good graces of the mob's elite.
That soldier is Joey LaRocca, an illegitimate son of Sal Pastore. The game starts in the midst of a purse-snatching, when LaRocca is caught and given a good talking-to by Tony Soprano (voiced by James Gandolfini).
Game play begins slowly, as LaRocca scurries around the Bada Bing gentlemen's club fielding sandwich orders from Paulie Walnuts on the left and lap dances from good-hearted strippers on the right. The amount of boobs and F-bombs in the opening scenes alone is a slight bit excessive - even for “The Sopranos” franchise.
Soon the player learns to put the force in enforcer by beating up misogynistic club patrons and delinquent loan-payers. The combat system offers players a few strike options - namely punch and grab - in addition to environment-sensitive attacks, such as slamming a suspicious night watchmen's head into a filing cabinet or a urinal.
Gun use is tied into the game's strategy. Although the player is free to leaden up any punks in their path, every fired bullet will lower their respect from the family. You can raise it back up by paying respect - cash - to Tony and co. When the respect meter hits zero - well, off you go, buddy.
Joey's choices are also crucial when it comes to conversations. At several points, the player will be asked to respond to other characters' words in a “Cool,” “Neutral” or “Tough” manner. Your selection can determine whether you calmly diffuse a situation or solve it with a wine bottle upside one's skull.
Unlike other gangster games like “The Godfather” or the “Grand Theft Auto” series, “Road to Respect” limits the player's opportunities to break out of a linear plot and soak in the seedy world of the Jersey mob.
Bystanders are always around for short conversation - mostly about sex or gambling - but you can only attack them when the game allows it. And at any given time, only the setting of LaRocca's current objective is accessible to him.
The graphics of “Road to Respect” are unimpressive - particularly the faces of main players in the game. It almost appears as though the designers spent more time sculpting the strippers' breasts than the stern brows of Tony or Paulie. The frame rate also suffers when LaRocca runs through active environments like the Bada Bing or Nuovo Vesuvio's.
For a mythology as dense as that crafted by David Chase, “The Sopranos” deserves a playing time longer than the four hours it takes to complete “Road to Respect.” The shocking elements may be more superfluous here than in the series finale, but this game still doesn't command the respect of its source.
Staff writer David Wilcox writes about video games for The Citizen. He can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 245 or david.wilcox@lee.net
“The Sopranos: Road to Respect”
Score: C
Parental rating: Mature for blood, intense violence, nudity, strong sexual content, use of drugs and strong language
Publisher: THQ
Platform: PlayStation 2
Retail price: $39.99
Features: 1 player
Life span: Approximately 4 hours to complete
The final boss: If you spot “The Sopranos: Road to Respect” on store shelves, fuhgeddaboutit
Like the game developed from its iconic and oft-quoted inspiration, “The Godfather,” “Sopranos” takes players to the streets as a low-level soldier who must pummel and extort his way into the good graces of the mob's elite.
That soldier is Joey LaRocca, an illegitimate son of Sal Pastore. The game starts in the midst of a purse-snatching, when LaRocca is caught and given a good talking-to by Tony Soprano (voiced by James Gandolfini).
Game play begins slowly, as LaRocca scurries around the Bada Bing gentlemen's club fielding sandwich orders from Paulie Walnuts on the left and lap dances from good-hearted strippers on the right. The amount of boobs and F-bombs in the opening scenes alone is a slight bit excessive - even for “The Sopranos” franchise.
Soon the player learns to put the force in enforcer by beating up misogynistic club patrons and delinquent loan-payers. The combat system offers players a few strike options - namely punch and grab - in addition to environment-sensitive attacks, such as slamming a suspicious night watchmen's head into a filing cabinet or a urinal.
Gun use is tied into the game's strategy. Although the player is free to leaden up any punks in their path, every fired bullet will lower their respect from the family. You can raise it back up by paying respect - cash - to Tony and co. When the respect meter hits zero - well, off you go, buddy.
Joey's choices are also crucial when it comes to conversations. At several points, the player will be asked to respond to other characters' words in a “Cool,” “Neutral” or “Tough” manner. Your selection can determine whether you calmly diffuse a situation or solve it with a wine bottle upside one's skull.
Unlike other gangster games like “The Godfather” or the “Grand Theft Auto” series, “Road to Respect” limits the player's opportunities to break out of a linear plot and soak in the seedy world of the Jersey mob.
Bystanders are always around for short conversation - mostly about sex or gambling - but you can only attack them when the game allows it. And at any given time, only the setting of LaRocca's current objective is accessible to him.
The graphics of “Road to Respect” are unimpressive - particularly the faces of main players in the game. It almost appears as though the designers spent more time sculpting the strippers' breasts than the stern brows of Tony or Paulie. The frame rate also suffers when LaRocca runs through active environments like the Bada Bing or Nuovo Vesuvio's.
For a mythology as dense as that crafted by David Chase, “The Sopranos” deserves a playing time longer than the four hours it takes to complete “Road to Respect.” The shocking elements may be more superfluous here than in the series finale, but this game still doesn't command the respect of its source.
Staff writer David Wilcox writes about video games for The Citizen. He can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 245 or david.wilcox@lee.net
“The Sopranos: Road to Respect”
Score: C
Parental rating: Mature for blood, intense violence, nudity, strong sexual content, use of drugs and strong language
Publisher: THQ
Platform: PlayStation 2
Retail price: $39.99
Features: 1 player
Life span: Approximately 4 hours to complete
The final boss: If you spot “The Sopranos: Road to Respect” on store shelves, fuhgeddaboutit
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