Nothing to respect here
The Sopranos is one of the most acclaimed crime dramas of all time. As with most good things in life, what do greedy people do when they get the rights to a property? Make a soulless and shallow cash grab. In 2006, we would get the Sopranos game that was nuthin’ but complete disrespect – Road to Respect. Spoilers: this road commands absolutely zero respect. This is everything that was wrong with licensed games at the time. How something so beloved can spit out something so rotten is absolutely mind-boggling.
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Table of Contents
How did QA see this and say “good enough”?
The graphics, even for the time, are pretty mediocre. This looks like something a character on the show would play in place of an actual game. The character models are flat, lifeless, and stiffer than a wooden fence. The cutscenes don’t fare much better; the character models look like melted mannequins moving like dripping wax. This came out after God of War, and the fact it looks worse than GTA 3 is inexcusable.
This game is worse than any crime Tony ever committed
The gameplay is boring, dull, and utterly uncreative. The character moves in-game like he has sand in his shoes. Combat is exceedingly simple and woefully unengaging—simply tap the button to throw a series of punches and use the analog stick to perform your “special” finishing move. You can pick up objects to use as weapons, but it adds no excitement to this snore-inducing slugfest.
Should be sleeping with the fishes
The one place this game does shine is the voice-over work—many from the show, including Gandolfini himself, reprise their roles. They absolutely knock it out of the park like they would in any episode. What’s really upsetting is this could have worked. Like I stated before, we had GTA 3 and The Godfather; they had more than enough groundwork to expand upon. Imagine: you play as either Tony or a foot soldier in his gang and, as the title suggests, work your way to respect. Instead, we are left with a clunky, unpolished, ugly, and bland experience that does not deserve to hold the same title as the acclaimed source material. Stick to the show and toss this piece of garbage down the water with cement shoes.
Verdict: 3/10
Buy this here if you’re wearin a wire! – (The Sopranos – Road to Respect) – Link to Amazon Purchase