The Godfather (Xbox 360, 2006)

I never have been a fan of the Godfather movies. In fact, I couldn't get myself to sit through it. Just something about them that turns me off. I guess my feelings can best be summed up from Peter Griffin when he said he didn't care for the movie because "it insisted upon itself". As for the game, that is a different story. I love GTA style games, so I figured I would give it a try. For the most part, I found the game enjoyable and fun, but really nothing to write home about.

The graphics are decent, but not much better from what you would see on the original Xbox. There is limited variety to the character and car models. The world looks the same and it is a little hard to differenciate the neighborhoods from each other. Considering this is a port from the Xbox, it looks like the developers decided to add content instead of a graphical overhaul. This isn't really a bad compromise.

The sound department is a mixed bag. The voice acting is top notch for a video game and the gun shots, car engines, and other ambient sounds are great. Musically, there really isn't much content. You have the Godfather theme playing every once in awhile along a with a few other tunes, but that is about it. There are times when there isn't any music at all.

Controls are adequate but have a few annoyances. Driving is fun and easy, but you only have a choice of maybe 6 or 7 diffent vehicles. After playing GTA and Saints Row, I am used to having numerous vehicles to choose from, so I am a bit spoiled because of GTA. The combat is a little different. Fighting requires you to hold down the left trigger and then move the right stick to throw punches and the like. Different, but nothing to throw any one off who isn't used to it. Shooting allows you to either lock onto your target or you can free aim. I always try to use the free aim since I think it makes the game more fun, but there are times I had to use the lock on feature. This is because the camera can make it difficult for you to see and enemies have a tendancy to sneak up on you. Can't count how many times I died because of that.

Just like GTA you have your story missions and secondary missions. The secondary missions consist of doing specific hits or doing favors, but the majority consist of extorting businesses, rackets, and warehouses. You spend most of the game extorting since your income is dependant on how many businesses you own. These can get a bit repetitious after awhile and it takes forever for you to get your daily income. This is bothersome since weapon upgrades and safehouses don't come cheap.

My overall feeling is The Godfather is a slightly watered down GTA. There really isn't anything bad about The Godfather, but there really isn't anything that makes it stand out among other games of this genre.

I thought this was going to be another game that ripped off Grand Theft Auto when I bought this game. It does a little, but only a little. This game, though, adds so much more. It has all the cool things from the Godfather Trilogy whether it's carrying out a hit on a rival family, paying bribes to G-Men and cops, or influencing store and hotel owners that they need your protection for a fee. You can go along with what the agenda is or you can go and try to obtain more businesses and racketeering ventures. And what's really cool about the game is that for each time you kill a member of a rival family, they keep a vendetta out on you. If you kill too many members of the same family, then a mob war starts. The only way to end the mob war (and win anyway) is to bribe a G-Men or bomb a rival business within 48 hours (time goes by rather quickly though, it's not really 48 real hours, more like 48 minutes if even that). The only gripe I had was the controls are a little goofy to get used to for a newbie when you're fighting (it kind of reminds me of Fight Night, the boxing video game). But I got used to it, and now it's no big deal at all.

Dollar for dollar, there aren't too many games that are as good as The Godfather. The storyline is exceptional, and there are so many things to do. It even lets you create yourself as a crime thug (I'm a longhaired hippie and it won't let me have long hair-minor bummer) and you work yourself up the family ladder. I bought 24: The Game and thought that game was pretty good, but that almost stinks when compared to this game. I liked the storyline on 24, but the options and gameplay on The Godfather are much much better, it's just way more fun (sometimes too fun, real time hours go by too fast when you play this game, warning to significant others). I reviewed 24 a couple months ago and now I wish I hadn't given it such a good review after playing this game. If you're a fan of the Godfather Trilogy, you'll absolutely love this game. If you're not familiar with the series (I would say "If you're not a fan", but that would be absurd. I mean if you're reading this, you can't dislike the movies unless you just dislike Godfather 3), you'll get to be a character in the movie but in game form. Parents should be cautioned with this game. It's violent and the language might not suit young ears. Otherwise, I know you'll love this game. It's unique gameplay and storyline will give you hours and hours of enjoyment.

This game is one of my personal favorites because of the unique story line that goes along wit the movie but to a different level. The only problem (not really a problem), is it is exactly like the original on Xbox, despite a few new missions and features, which include hiring body guards, doing favors,and better graphics (ex. when someone gets punched in the face a bruise appears along with the normal blood splattering). I would recommend this game because of a Grand Theft Auto like game-play and a classic story that you go through in the game as a new character.

All I can say is this game ROCKS!!! I own The Godfather for my PS2 and now the XBOX 360 thanks to Ebay. Graphics and game play wise this is one of the best looking games I have ever had the plesure of playing. The XBOX 360 version of the game goes a litte deeper than the PS2 version, but both are excellant games.
If you ever watched the movie The Godfather, this is the videogame version of the movie to a tee. From Don Vito being shot, to sonny's execution at the toll booth and even Luca Bratzi "sleeping with the fishes" its all in the game. I had over 50 hours of game play on the PS2 version till I close to beating the game and have over 38 hours so far on the XBOX 360 version. The detail in the production of this game are outstanding. The 5 families fighting for control of the different cities in this game give it quiet a gaming twist. You don't have 1 enemy you have 4 differtent familys all trying to put you out of bussiness "for good". I would tell any one that like first person shooter and games where you can just kill people and blow stuff up....this is a game you have to own.

Amazing game. A little old but still fun. Control the city of New York. You get to be the Don. Very fun!