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Mario Puzo and Francis Ford Coppola's The Godfather is seen as one of the greatest movies ever made and one of the best books ever written by most people. Before Martin Scorsese's Goodfellas was released in 1990, The Godfather was seen as the definitive portrayal of life in the Mafia. In 2006, a game adaptation was released. Its about the same things the film is (money, power, love, revenge and betrayal).

You play as a character (who's default name is Aldo Trapani, so we'll call him that) who's wiseguy father was killed by Don Emilio Barzini of the Barzini family (one of the strongest families in New York City) in 1936, fast forward nine years to 1945, he is a young hoodlum (probably in his 20s) who ends up working his way up from being a simple enforcer for the family to being the Don of the whole city.

This game has a very close relationship to the movie and doesn't deviate from the plot very much. In it you get to meet major characters like Don Vito Corleone, Michael Corleone, Sonny and Tom Hagen. You get to be involved with the killings of Virgil Sollozo and you also help kill the rival family Dons. But your character's main goal is to take over the city for the family and get his revenge on Don Barzini.

I give this game a solid 10/10 for its amazing graphics, controls, storyline and gameplay.

The Godfather is one of the great classics in movies and so is the game. The game actually followed the same story as the first Godfather movie. With a good cherry on top, it even has the actual voice of Marlon Brando who voiced and played Vito Corleone. The combat in the game is absolutely brutal in melee and even when using executions with guns. I can even kill my enemies by throwing out the windows and, in the street, to make me feel unstoppable. The game is an exciting way to take over New York by offering protection in shops, taking over warehouses and exploding an enemy's compound, and then owning it like a safe house. Every high-level gun I find in secret black markets they were absolutely expensive. They are maybe the same but very unique. It even feels like it was a Snyder cut or the director's cut version in the game giving more extra scenes that are not part of the movie. The best thing I like about it has character creation. It gives the complete freedom to create my character also known as creating my version of Aldo Trapani. However, it didn't have enough character-creation items or accessories. If you wanted another GTA-like game, then this game is for you. However, it is honestly a little difficult when you don't upgrade your character properly but it is fun!

Following the plot of the first film, this has you as a foot soldier of the Corleones(and you have to avenge your father), and you work your way through the ranks, take over NYC(that is half-heartedly recreated, with locations looking essentially the same) and become the new Don. This Grand Theft Auto rip-off is a one-trick pony. You drive(with mostly adequate controls... and forget about drive-bys, only in a few of the handful of cool, memorable of the missions do you get a partner in the car who will do so when he wants... they don't even import the thing from Enter the Matrix where you can tell him when, and he can only do it for a while before having to rest for a little bit) in a mere half a dozen different cars(I wish I was kidding; and only one kind is fast, and four others are moderate, the rest are useless; and none of them break in an noteworthy manner), you extort(businesses, warehouses and transport hubs... you find the owner, tell him you want to take over, and he'll either agree right away or you have to smash his store and/or threaten to beat him up(or go ahead and do so) until the bar reaches the green portion(not the red, or he'll say no... meaning you can push someone beyond the point where they will agree to do something for you; I guess the developers realize something the US military won't), and be careful not to kill him(this gets old really quickly); those are the only ones who have faces that look different, too, these that you only see once per person... goons have two appearances, and you can only tell who they work for by the color of their suit), and you shoot. That last one is a big part of this, and it's the most painful. You are usually forced to use a target-lock(you can't fire around corners or from cover(only by pressing the trigger can you ready yourself to, and they pop up and down quickly) without it(also, they come from several angles, so you'll often be caught with your back or side to someone who slaughters you), and when it works, it's your best bet for getting critical hits on those pesky foes that run around), and it is partially broken. Examples? It'll go onto a civilian when there are perfectly fitting *armed* opponents around(and you can't tell it to "move on to the next possible one"), it'll stick to ones that are far away and/or hidden instead of ones out in the open, and worst of all, when you move it around(yes, apparently they figured that you'd want to go for knees and the like, instead of eliminating them quickly... it doesn't make them easier to get when they're temporarily slowed down, as depressing as that is to realize and type out), it can aim over their heads(*WHY* would you ever need that?!?) and you can empty clips at their face... with every bullet missing! There are few situations you can get past without at least a certain amount of luck(meaning you can complete in ten minutes what has just eluded you for hours purely from chance). This goes back and forth between excessively challenging bordering on impossible to piece of cake. There is nearly no consequence to anything. Dead? Don't worry, you lose nothing other than your most recent progress(you don't even start over on your objectives, any you completed are still done if you reached a checkpoint). In jail? They don't even take your ammo(one nice thing is that you can't carry a lot of it, forcing you to strategize). You can restock that at any safehouse, that has all four(! No, that's seriously it) guns(a .45 pistol, a .38 snubnose revolver, a magnum, and the essentially useless Tommygun(it eats bullets, and few hit anything)), molotovs and dynamite(you can also get bombs... no clue what they're for). To complete this, you have to take over all rackets and the like(only once, no one reclaims them), and blow up the other compounds(two buildings per, and you have to get them both). You can keep playing. There's no reason to, since unlike the game it steals from there is absolutely nothing to do in this once you have. The graphics are fine(except for the many glitches, including doors that open weirdly), but like everything else in this, they're phoned in(and all cut-scenes are in-engine). Voice acting varies; the stars do well, and slang and accents are more or less there. There is a fighting system, and it's really awkward and tough to use. Those you're up against either run to you and try to take you on(and they are either no trouble or freaking unstoppable), or, well, blast you away(...OK, I'll admit, I might also pull an Indiana Jones in that situation). You start by using MobFace to choose your appearance... well, that one aspect of it... and it's so limited, it barely matters. The length is appropriate, though you'll have tried all there is in this really early on. You relive scenes from the movie, playing an important part in them. Stealth sucks, and is only useful when it's required(same goes for the garrotte wire). The police barely care about you, and getting chased by them just isn't that exciting. I haven't played the GTA franchise(the only thing this has on that is time period) since Vice City, and that one is superior to this in every way. There are four or five years between the two, and yet that one comes out victorious, and it isn't even close. This is why I avoid EA Games. Though I don't know if they always do this, it's happened a lot at their hand, and I hear it has even in titles I haven't tried by them. There is a lot of bloody violence and a little strong language in this. I recommend this to those who have to see it for themselves. 6/10

Grand theft auto spawned a whole new generation of free form, sandbox game. From Streets of LA to Mafia. This is EA's take on the subject using The Godfather for limited inspiration.

The game itself is very lacklustre and anyone who has played similar games will immediately see that this is a very poor example of both how to make a game and how to use what is solid gold subject matter. Considering the quality of the original film it seems surprising that this game made it out the door.

The graphics are no better - and in fact worse than Mafia even though this game was released some 3 years ago. In a similar vein the city is a dog to drive around and to make matters worse the cars are some of the worst ever done in a game of this type.

The actual game itself is over far far far too quickly. Whereas similar titles have some 50 to a 100 levels the Godfather gives a meagre 25 and most of these are either small or taken up at the start as tutorial missions. The remainder are usually just generic missions with only a few relating to the film.

Action in the game is equally bothersome. At times it seems as though enemies are either made of wet tissue paper or are full on bullet proof. You will very often find yourself cursing at the screen because a mobster takes 5 magnum hits to the chest and takes you down with one seemingly devastating long range shotgun blast. The only saving grace is the style that you get to execute some finishing moves; with names such as hats off execution or Face-off execution.

All in all this is not worth the time or money. Its just a lazy way for EA to cash in on a game area that they have no expertise in. Rent the game, borrow it or play it at a friends. mafia handles the same subject of 1940's gangsters better and Grand theft auto gives you far more too do and gives you a hell of a lot more fun while you do it.

5/10

When I saw this game advertised I had to have it. I am a huge fan of all three films, the music and the novels. The way the game is presented, the packaging, the marketing and the hype point to this being the game we Godfather fans have been waiting for, but for me at least this was not the case.

From the outset the game reminds the player of Grand Theft Auto III and later GTA titles. This would not be a bad thing, as they are some of the best selling games of all time, what is a bad thing is that the graphics and the movement (on the PS2 at least) feel more like GTA III than the year old San Andreas.

The story that runs through the game starts well with reenactments of the movie and big star voices matched to well rendered characters. The player missions do not fail to entertain, but if you fail them a few times the game fails to entice you to try again and again in the way that GTA does. The most boring part of the game is the neighbourhood consolidation missions. These are highly repetitive and time consuming.

The controls of the game are also a let down to any fan of the GTA franchise. It would seem that in a move to distance this game from GTA the new 'blackhand' control setup has been created. Trying to learn this new setup after years of GTA play left me frustrated playing the early stages of the game. Worse than this, however, is the driving model. The cars are mindlessly unrealistic in their reaction to the controls and driving in a straight line is as much a challenge as knocking over a tailors. (More likely to accidentally knock it over in a car) Fans of the Coppola and Rota expecting great use of 'that' music will also be disappointed. Yes the themes are used but only when driving, and mixed with what sounds like dodgy 80s synth.

All in all I'd recommend fans of the Godfather to play The Godfather soundtrack whilst playing Mafia to avoid disappointment.