The Sopranos: Road to Respect

The Sopranos: Road to Respect
Developer(s)	7 Studios
Publisher(s)	THQ Inc. HBO
Platform(s)	PlayStation 2
Release date(s)	NA November 7, 2006 EU November 17, 2006 AUS November 23, 2006
Genre(s)	Action-adventure game, Beat 'em up
Mode(s)	Single player
Rating(s)	ESRB: M (Mature) PEGI: 16+

The Sopranos: Road to Respect is a 2006 video game based on the HBO series The Sopranos, which aired from January 10, 1999 to June 10, 2007. It was released on November 7, 2006.

The game's storyline takes place between the fifth and sixth seasons and centers around Big Pussy Bonpensiero's illegitimate son, Joey LaRocca, as he makes his way through the family business.

Gameplay

The player is able to take missions from the main characters of the series at certain points in the game. Road to Respect differs from other mob-influenced games in that it is in a linear, story driven action game as opposed to Grand Theft Auto's open-world type gameplay. However, players are able to play Texas Hold 'Em with members of the Family and visit The Bada Bing. Unlike the TV show, the game focuses almost exclusively on the Mafia aspect of The Sopranos rather than the blend of family/business/therapy that Sopranos fans have become accustomed to.

Plot

Story

The game begins with Tony Soprano offering Joey LaRocca, the protagonist, a place in the Mafia. During his first job, he accidentally kills Mario Buscetta, the nephew of Angelo Buscetta. Angelo is the boss of Philadelphia family. Angie sends a hitman to kill Joey, but Joey kills the hitman during a rooftop chase.

Joey going to talk to Paulie at Satriale's.

A few days later, Tony’s son A.J. has a drug deal go bad on him; his partner wasted the drug money, prompting the dealers to kill his partner and steal his dad’s car. Joey retrieves the car and kills one of the dealers, only to have the car stolen by Angie’s men. While Joey is fearful the theft of Tony's truck may get him whacked, Tony says that A.J. admitted responsibility. Tony has Joey retaliate for the theft by burning down one of Angie’s businesses.

A few days later, Angie returns Tony’s car, completely wrecked, and containing Joey’s girlfriend, Trichelle, beaten and raped. Joey vows vengeance. He finds Angie at the docks, where he kills Angie by throwing him off of his yacht.

Through various intervals in the game, Joey is visited by the ghost of his dead father, who warns him about some of the trouble ahead. For eliminating the rival boss Angie, Tony makes Joey. Just before the ceremony Joey is visited one last time by Salvatore, who is not bitter about his son joining the same mobsters who killed him and only wants the best for him, and that he is at peace in the great beyond.

Cast

Cast members include James Gandolfini returning as Tony Soprano, Michael Imperioli returning as Christopher Moltisanti, Steven Van Zandt returning as Silvio Dante, Tony Sirico returning as Paulie Gualtieri, Joseph Gannascoli returning as Vito Spatafore, Vincent Pastore returning as Big Pussy Bonpensiero, and Robert Iler returning as A.J. Soprano. David Chase continues to write for the most part. The main character is voiced by Christian Maelen as Joey LaRocca, who was David Chase's second choice to play Christopher Moltisanti. Other noted actors Monica Keena as Trishelle and Robert Costanzo as Angelo Buscetta. Anthony DeSando, who played Brendan Filone on the series, voices an entirely new character as LaRocca's (Maelen) partner in crime, Reggie.

Reception

The game received poor reviews from Gamespot and IGN, which complained of overly simplistic gameplay mainly involving beating endless numbers of anonymous thugs by repeatedly mashing the "punch" button, a tiny and completely linear game world with no ability to explore, blocky and unappealing graphics, marginal game mechanics such as nearly-useless money and a "respect" meter which is almost always irrelevant to gameplay, and various clipping and collision detection bugs.

The game also featured numerous inaccuracies with the series. Including a scene where Tony Soprano openly says in a public restaurant amongst numerous people that he wants a certain person whacked.

Limited Edition

A Limited Edition of the game with a bonus disc was released with a cardboard sleeve featuring a different cover picture as well as a commemorative booklet and poster.

External links

• HBO - official site at HBO.com
• GameSpot's Summary
• IGN's Review