The Godfather: The Blackhand Edition [Wii]

It's about time we got a Wii-make that adds more than it takes away. Publishers have found it easy to add a few motion controls and new levels to existing games as a means of filling the first-generation Wii software drought, but most of the efforts have been less than inspired. The Blackhand Edition of EA's popular The Godfather bucks the trend, however, by adding excellent controls and enough new content to make it the best version of the game available.

The core gameplay hasn't changed at all since we saw it on the Xbox and PS2. The Godfather is still a GTA-style meander through the periphery of Puzo and Coppola's story, with voice acting both lifted from the films and created anew, plus a lot of cutscenes and enough strong-arm and diplomatic free-form content to keep you busy for a while.

Actually, it's not quite true that the game is the same; it's been greatly expanded. There are 30 new missions, basically doubling the game's content, as well as new hits, favors, weapons, cars, tactics and more. And EA has done a great job integrating it. If you haven't played the game before, none of the new material glaringly stands out as after the fact.

More importantly, this is one of the best ways we've seen to integrate motion sensing controls into a familiar game. You'll press a button on the nunchuck to target an enemy; hold it and press the remote's trigger to grab. From there you can swing one controller forward or sideways to throw a punch, or move both in tandem to bodily slam the guy into a wall or automobile. Twitch the two controllers in the same direction and release the held buttons to perform a throw.

The action is all effortless, and you'll probably be performing 'advanced' moves long before the game provides instructions on how to do so. The system is that easy and intuitive. We ended up using a better array of varied tactics over the course of the game, since it was more fun to do so than before; slamming a guy into the wall with a little flick (it really doesn't take much movement) was a lot more entertaining than more button mashing.

It works during gunplay, too. The same lock-on control used in melee works to target a foe, which paints him on the chest with a reticule. Use the remote to aim at other body parts for location-specific damage. Chances are, if you've already played the game on the PS2 or Xbox, you'll end up getting a lot more bonuses for kneecap and headshot kills, not because they're easier, but because the aiming system feels natural. Flicking the d-pad activates the free-aim mode, which is far more usable than before.