The Godfather: Five Families on Facebook puts friendly ties to the test

The word "family" implies a lot to the average American: love, togetherness, mutual respect and support ... in-laws. But for folks, you know, in the mob, that same word holds an entirely different meaning. Soon enough, we Facebook gamers will know what "family" means all too well, and that lovey-dovey stuff isn't part of the equation. Kabam, creator most recently of sci-fi-themed strategy Facebook (and Google+) game Edgeworld, has announced The Godfather: Five Families for Facebook.

Thanks to a partnership with Paramount Digital Entertainment, the developer will pay homage to the Academy Award-winning film trilogy in the only way it knows: intense, constant competition. (And, in this case, tested friendships.) The Godfather: Five Families throws players into the Prohibition Era of our fine nation's history with the initial choice to join one of five families--just like in the movies--and vie to become the dominant family in New York.

Five Families concept art
Based on an early look at Five Families, thanks to Kabam GM Lawrence Koh and VP of Brand Marketing and Communications Ted Simon, these families look to act much like factions in previous strategy games by the developer. However, the ties that bind your family together haven't been done with the best knots, but more on that later.

When it comes to combat, the developer's old fondness for sprawling battle scenes filled with clashing swords and searing spells will give way to smaller, more meaningful conflicts and focused rivalries between families. Of course, resources like cash, food and building materials and will be at the heart of your combat operations. But even more important is your muscle, which at launch will span 10 far more down-to-earth units like Hitmen, Arsonists and Tommy Gunners.

Gallery: The Godfather: Five Families on Facebook

While--like in most Kabam games--players will have to defend their own territory known as Estates, combat will be provoked in more inventive ways in Five Families. As friends come to each others' defense in the wee hours of the morning, neutral areas known as Landmarks with rich, attractive resource bonuses will lure players into cross-family skirmishes over control. These battles over familiar locales like the Empire State Building and Times Square will quickly become ongoing struggles.

While these bloody games of King of Hill rage on, players will have that Estate to worry about. Estates will serve as the home base for all of your operations from recruiting new units to gathering resources and interacting with your family. We imagine that, like other Kabam games, you will be given a grace period to build their defense before you become a fair target. So, unless you want to be open to attack from the 70,000 players per server (a figure Kabam revealed to us), we suggest you pimp out your Estate.


And fast. As your Estate progresses, thanks to upgrades, its appearance will change and improve. Not only will this slowly increase your cred within your own family, but give you a sense of your power increasing. (Check out the nifty, interactive slider above to see how a Level 10 Estate looks compared to a Level 1 Estate.) But that's far from the only thing that will change as you progress through Five Families.

Remember this well: There can only be one "Don" ... per family. This position of power--much like the King in CivWorld--holds far more weight than you might think. While it's specific benefits weren't revealed just yet, what was is the fact that this will be a highly coveted goal for members of the same family, which will inevitably lead to tension and eventually conflict within families. Five Families will cause players to question their social connections, which speaks volumes to how ambitious this project looks thus far.

Five Families concept art victory
But you will see evidence of that almost immediately through the engrossing, scene-setting concept art littered throughout the game. When you win a battle, you'll be greeted by a dramatic scene of a mobster plodding through the streets of New York on a damp night, bodies laying motionless on the curb behind him as he totes a tommy gun. And this is just one of many vivid pieces you will come across in Five Families.

The Godfather: Five Families, with its focus on faction-based combat and intense inter-familial conflicts, looks to be Kabam's most socially inventive strategy game yet. While we were told that a heavier focus would be on combat in this game, we weren't shown enough of it to give impressions just yet. But if you want to see the combat firsthand, Kabam is now accepting registrations for a closed beta test of the game set to launch within the next several weeks.

Click here to sign up for The Godfather: Five Families Closed Beta Test Now >

Are you psyched about a Godfather game coming to Facebook? How well do you think the game will represent the films in its social strategy combat format? Sound off in the comments. 1 Comment