I’ve heard both good and bad things about this game. Knowing that movie to games are adaptations tend to be more often like Sopranos than Aladdin, I was not expecting too much when I picked it up with my free rental coupon. And boy, was I pleasantly surprised.

Graphics
The graphics are superb. The cars look great, and there is more then a variety of them. The collision detection while you are walking around the city is great, the load times are practically non-existent, and all the characters look good. The animation is good enough to get you engulfed in the story, which follows the movie pretty accurately. One thing that I found a bit hard is the fact that a lot of the colors used in the game are dark, causing a little more eye strain on smaller TV screens.

Story
What can I say? It’s The Godfather, one of the greatest stories ever told. When the game begins, you are a little kid whose dad gets killed by some thugs. Some years later, you grow into a bigger man and finally get a chance to avenge your father. Quickly you get involved in the family, and you slowly work your way up from an outsider, to a soldier, and eventually to the big boss. During your journey you encounter some of the things that happen in the movie (i.e. the infamous horse head in a bed scene, the assassination by Michael Corleone, or helping Michael defend his dad while he is lying in the hospital). However, there is a whole other story being told as well, which although nowhere as classic as the original, still gets the player involved with the character).

Gameplay
It has been some time since I’ve played a GTA style game. This game is clearly made in a similar fashion, but it has some unique differences. There are several main things that you have to do in the game which is fight, shoot, sneak, or drive. The driving is great. The cars handle well, and you feel like you are driving a car from the 30’s. The cars do get more damage as you smash into others, and eventually catch on fire if you are that bad.

The fighting is fairly easy to learn as well. You get a quick tutorial in the beginning of the game teaching you how to fight, which is well incorporated into the storyline. Although the moves are not very varied, the fighting still provides quiet a lot of entertainment as you get to pound your opponents into submission. As the game progresses, you also get several weapons to help you out like a lead pipe or a baseball bat.

The shooting part is pretty easy as well, and a tutorial is given for this too. There are many weapons to choose from like a shotgun, tommy gun, or my personal fav, a Magnum. Different weapons have their different uses. One of the cool things I found in the game is your ability to shoot at different parts of your enemies’ body to do different things. For instance, if you are trying to stop someone from running away, you can just shoot out their knee, or if they have a powerful gun that they are blasting away at you with, you can shoot them in the shoulder which will prevent them from firing anymore so you can just unload a whole clip on them afterwards. Of course, you can also just pop an opponent into the head and take them out that way.

But there are several parts in the game where shooting and fighting just isn’t enough. For instance, when you are sneaking into a house to place a certain package for a movie producer, you have to make sure not to set off the alarm, so you have to sneak up behind guards and choke them. This involves patience and a little experimentation with different routes.

Beside the main storyline, there are plenty of other side tasks that you get to do. The main thing is taking over businesses and rackets. You have to walk in to different stores, bars, and clubs and “convince” the owner that it is beneficial for them to join the Corleones. At times it might be as simple as a little intimidation, but more often than not, especially at first, you will have to break some furniture, harass the customers, or show the owner themselves who is boss. The more intimidating you are, the more you can extract from each business. But push your luck too far, and the owner will tell you to go make love with yourself. There are some other side tasks as well, for instance prize fighting. There are many nuances to the game, such as paying off the cops or the FBI, blowing up other families’ business, vendettas, and much more.

Sound
The sound is great. The voice acting is plenty, and all of the voiceovers sound like real actors instead of some amateurs. Of course, the music is amazing, since a lot of times you hear the famous godfather theme playing in the background.

Summary
This game is extremely fun. Even for someone that isn’t a fan of the Godfather series, the game provides lots of entertainment, and gets you hooked into the story right off the bat. If you are a Godfather fan, or even just a fan of mob movies, then this game is a must have. You feel like a true old-school gangster hiding behind a table shooting off three mobsters with a tommy guy. As far as adult material, this game can get a little bloody at times, and there are curses thrown in sporadically throughout the game. Some sexual innuendos are around as well, but no nudity and nothing too bad. Should be fine to buy for most teens.


Recommended: Yes