"It's not personal.. it's business" (review)

Before I start out on what a great game this movie adaption is, I have to point out that I have not actually seen the Godfather movies. I am thoroughly ashamed of this, especially since I own all three movies and they're sitting right under my tv. But give me a break; they're in VHS form and in all honesty.. nobody has a tape player anymore.

Despite having missed one of the best movies of all time, I did manage to get a movie-like experience when I played the Xbox version of the Godfather. While versions exist for both Xbox and PS2 (as well as an updated Xbox 360 version, with new missions, improved graphics, and various other game tweaks), they are essentially the same game following the plot of the movie with a new character (the player) helping the Corleone's take back control of New York.

First of all, the game kicks ass. Straight up, no question. It's a 'sandbox' game modeled after Rockstar's GTA series (see GTA Clones) which is a particular favorite gaming model of mine, because it incorporates several game genres into one awesome product. You have racing, shoot-'em-up, role playing, and even a little bit of basic puzzle solving all incorporated into a large real-world model environment that allows for lots of interaction. In Godfather you can listen to people on the streets talk about what they're going to make for dinner, complain about their unfaithful spouses or even make snide or outraged remarks when you bribe police officers in their presence ("I wish I could make deals like that"). Touches like these are what makes good games great.

EA delivers an authentic New York Gangster experience. Come and get me copper!

Regarding the game play, Godfather is a tough game. Expect to get "iced" regularly, because dying is easy when you're a mobster and tommy guns are rampant throughout the city. There are five families (based on the fictional movie families, not the ones from the book) and some tend to be more violent and aggressive than others. The Tattaglia's are notably the weakest, the Stracci's and the Cuneo's are somewhat in the middle, and the Barzini's are absolutely ruthless. So paying attention to what family you are attacking is important, because some are much quicker to violence (the Barzini's in particular will whip out a shotgun and blast your face away before you can say "spaghetti")

As with every game, there are a few glitches: the targeting system is well done but it is a little finicky on choosing a target; I found myself accidentally mowing down innocent bystanders on more than one occasion. Overall, it is clear that EA spent a lot of time making sure that these glitches were minor and easily made up for by the excellent game play. In short, if you love sandbox style games... this is a must have.

Sheel-Score: 8.9/10