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It couldn't get any worse...

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 4 / 24
Date: March 26, 2006
Author: Amazon User

In a review submitted below, and prior to the release of this game, somebody raised a concern that it might turn out to be little more than a cheap copy of GTA. Well, that reviewer needn't have worried as The Godfather doesn't seem like a cheap copy of GTA or even a 3rd rate copy of GTA. In actual fact it seems more like an abysmal copy of another game somewhere else that had already copied Grand Theft Auto badly...and that's about the best thing I can say for it as digging further the pain just doesn't stop there.

While the both the page turning novel and epic film adaptation of The Godfather had intelligence, style and a reasonable degree of depth, the game has zero intelligence, zero style and no depth whatsoever. It is moulded in the style of throwing zombie-like pedestrians and AI-challenged enemies in your way while you go about the business of unrealistically forging a career in the mafia. You can basically steal cars (as already mentioned - just like in GTA), grab people and then waggle the left stick around on your control pad to beat them up thereby either intimidating or `icing' them, you can shoot some badly textured guns without any danger of feeling like your have ever been near a gun or a gunfight, and you can watch some utterly rubbish cut-scenes that stitch the thing together with all the grace and subtlety of a Punch and Judy retelling of the original story.

While all this is going on, of course, there are other treats to lose yourself in. Marvel as your character gets a haircut or buys some clothes (again, just as in GTA) or become steadily overawed by the addition of a skill points system that allows you to increase your ability to waggle the left stick around to greater effect or to shoot your unrealistic gun even faster. Also, you may love the truly ridiculous driving missions that are occasionally thrown your way, in which you get to pilot something that looks like a badly drawn brick around the dull and uninteresting streets, while further AI-challenged enemies swerve at you like metal lemmings in an attempt to irritate you to death.

To be as blunt as possible, The Godfather is probably the worst game I have ever played, and that is really saying something. Like EA's previous fiasco of 2006 - Black - it seems as if a fantastic idea was somehow given a lobotomy, checked through a series of Mediocrity Assurance Committees and only finally then released when it had been proved itself dumb enough not to confuse anybody with an IQ matching their shoe size. For myself, I could just about tolerate that from Black as who cares if there is one more moronic video game to avoid, but when it comes to dragging The Godfather into the sewer then I have really had enough.

To trash the memory of one of the best movies ever made by plastering a ropy narrative and a generally lacklustre game onto it is unforgivable and I sincerely hope - whoever you may be reading this - that you will feel the same. Please don't buy The Godfather as it deserves to be a black eye for the company that made it, and then perhaps the idiots responsible will be taken out of the loop for future releases.

Typical EA game

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 3 / 4
Date: June 26, 2006
Author: Amazon User

I say typical EA game because it starts out looking good, plays well initially and then the lazy programming starts to rear its head. With more time this could have been a great game but instead it's merely OK (much like Tiger Woods Golf and their NASCAR game.) How many times do you need to hear the same sound bite of "you bastard!" as you drive down a sidewalk? No depth at all.

The overall story is short. There isn't near the depth as there is with GTA. The city itself isn't all that interesting. You won't find yourself cruising around just for fun like in GTA. It is fun to interact with the characters from the movie and participate in the periphery of famous scenes, there is just not enough.

Extorting businesses is fun but once you end the story mode there isn't any reason to keep going forward with those missions.

The targeting and fighting is actually easier than GTA and the ability to hide around corners similar to Rainbow Six is a great touch.

Typical of modern mature games there is plenty of violence but no sexual content beyond suggestion. What is it going to take for some real sex in a video game made for adults? Oh sure, you can murder thirty people taking over a warehouse but no breasts to speak of.

Overall I'd say this game is a rental. You can finish the good parts in less than a week and then happily take it back to the store.

Joining"REAL" Mob easier!!

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 5 / 9
Date: April 15, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Ok,Ok, First this is a good game if you're a hardcore Godfather fan. GTA fans will find it a little frustrating on locking on targets. This game locks on dead people (the ones you just whack seconds earlier) some times giving the enemies time to shot you. No armor of course ,so dying is part of living in this game. (SAVE A LOT).Killing with level 1 & 2 weapons don't get the job done. Level 3 weapons expensive. GTA got it right as far a weapons "real" damage per weapon size.I would rent/borrow before buying .I bought used for $20.00 with trade in credit and wishes I would of rented. I guess like everybody, once you played GTA. It's hard not to compare. Don't believe reviews saying this is a bad game. It's good, but not a "must have." Just must PLAY.

Fun diversion but not the game I'd hoped for

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: December 31, 2006
Author: Amazon User

After playing "Mafia" I couldn't wait for The Godfather game to come out. The screen shots and videos looked a lot like Mafia but with all of my favorite Godfather characters. I basically loved the missions and interacting with the original characters and story line but I have to admit there were some huge dissapointments. My first dissapointment was how the developers used (and over-used) the same exterior and interior spaces, I would see the same buildings and sets so many times that I would get confused as far as what part of the city I was in. The draw distance is also very low; buildings, cars and people appear out of no where as you are walking and driving, this lack of continuity really takes away from getting into the game. Driving is a huge hassle because many of the streets are so narrow that you either get stuck behind slow drivers or crash into them to push them out of the way. I also had problem with game play; the game advertised that you can be as mean or nice as you want but there is really no way to play this game without putting a lot of hurt on shop owners. I mean it's a given that you'll kill or hurt other gangsters but there are way too many beatings of civilians in the game. One thing I like about Mafia was that all throughout the game the character was getting drawn deeper and deeper into the gang but there was always a sense of "is this right?". Even the ending of Mafia showed that the gang life doesn't always end happily. In this sense the Godfather movies are much more like the game Mafia then like the game The Godfather. As far as the character models go they were pretty good, even better than Mafia, I just wish Pacino had given permission for his likeness because the Michael Corleone model doesn't look or sound anything like him, and that really sucks because he was really the main character of all 3 movies.

If you're a big Godfather fan and want to interact with some of the movies characters then go ahead and buy this game. But if you're really looking for a gangster style shooter with a great story and better city graphics then buy Mafia.

A Microcosm of EA

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: February 25, 2008
Author: Amazon User

Two thing stand out about this game:

1) The remarkable degree to which it was lifted from the GTA franchise
2) How inferior it is to said franchise

Really, it comes down to the difference between EA and Rockstar Games. Rockstar very rarely puts anything less than A effort into their games. Consequently, A ideas become A games and even F ideas become C games. EA puts C effort into most of their games, so even a great idea like this one becomes a B or C game. Not BAD certainly, but far from great.

Some of the flaws of the game are forgivable because they are flawws of the genre: narrative in video games is still in its infancy (in my mind, television is just now coming into its own as a narrative medium and it has been at it a lot longer than video games and is closer to more developed mediums like movies and books). A lot of the flaws, though, are simply problems of too little effort having been put into the game.

I don't BLAME EA for this per se. It is established that people will buy their games even if they put C effort into them. I don't see what motivation they have to put A effort in any more than they do. HAving said that, I didn't notice until I got the game home that it was from EA. Had a noticed that, I wouldn't have bought the games. I'll be more careful in the future.

A Good Tribute to a Fantastic Film

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 4 / 4
Date: April 08, 2006
Author: Amazon User

There is always a risk when turning a movie into a game. Most of the time they just don't come out right. So of course, when The Godfather was announced as being a big videogame, fans of the film and even the novel, became nervous. This is not like adapting Spider-Man into a game. The Godfather is often cited as one of the greatst films ever made, so it's important to give special care to such a license. The creators of this game did know what they were doing when adapting the movie into a game. As an adaptation, it's pretty good. As an overall game, it's bogged down in some areas that--considering how long we had to wait--shouldn't be such a big problem anyway. Nonetheless, The Godfather is still a good game.

The Godfather doesn't put you in the role of any of the film's major cast. Rather your just someone working for the mob. An original character. This, surprisingly adds to the game rather than take away. And as a member of the mob you'll be intimidating store clerks, performing the Don's every need, bribing cops and taking on rival mobs. The game borrows a lot from GTA in terms of gameplay. You can steal cars and gun down (or run over) pedestrians. There's even a number of badges to show just how badly the cops want you. The difference here is you can bribe the cops to look the other way, which isn't so bad.

You'll also have a chance to take part in classic moments from the movie. For example you'll have to plant the pistol for Michael Corleone, re-enact the famous horsehead scene and others among those. These scenes stay pretty close to the movie, and they even keep the same feel.

Another thing that helps The Godfather's Gameplay is the arsenal of weapons you have. You can carry as many weapons at a time as you want, and each one can be upgraded. You'll be able to take on anyone you feel. That shouldn't suggest that The Godfather is an easy game (or that it will become such later on). You'll often find yourself as a one man army, and taking on several mobsters at once is not an easy task. You'll die more than a few times. So don't think that because you're a powerhouse you're invincible. There are times when the game glitches out in the gameplay department. Like when a mobster is facing in the opposite direction yet he's still somehow pumping you full of lead. Little glitches like that get annoying.

The way The Godfather looks and sounds is pretty cool. There are some framerate issues in the graphics, and they're frequent. But that doesn't separate from the fact that The Godfather is a beautiful game. The music comes straight from the film, so it works out nicely as well. It would've been nice to hear some original music (but keeping to the theme) but to complain about the music would be complaining about too much of a good thing.

The Godfather is an overall good adaptation of the film. It stays close to the film, without overstepping too many boundaries. It feels too much like Grand Theft Auto at times, but it isn't much to worry about. For what it's worth, The Godfather is an overall fun game.

The Good
+Beautiful Game
+Stays close to the movie
+Even though it has an original character, he fits right in
+There's plenty to do
+Free roaming Grand Theft Auto feel
+Great use of the license

The Bad
-There are some glitches
-Framerate issues
-It feels like another attempt to off Grand Theft Auto

The Godfather succeeds in more areas than it fails...........

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 4 / 5
Date: April 11, 2006
Author: Amazon User

EA isn't exactly known for it's outstanding licensed products, from Marvel: Nemesis to Catwoman, disappointment abound. So when EA unveiled The Godfather, the videogame realization of Francis Ford Coppola's mid 19th century mobster opus, many fans and videogame junkies took notice, but with some notable apprehension. After months of silence and delay, The Godfather has finally hit store shelves, pun intended. And now I am proud and quite frankly relieved to report that The Godfather is....almost everything I and hopefully fans of the films, have been waiting for since late 2004.

The setup is simple, after your father is whacked by the Barzini family, you end up hanging with a dead end crowd, but later find yourself being taken in by the Corleone family. From here you raise up through the ranks and ultimately become the Don of New York. The story is told via in-game cutscenes, each character with their own mannerisms. The story istelf isn't epic, but fans will appreciate the little details here and there, you even reenact the horse head scene, which is extremely disturbing to this day. While I'm not a fan of The Godfather universe, not having seen much from the films, I do recognize a good presentation when I see one.

The Godfather begins right off the bat with you taking control of your character's father as he fights off some rival gangsters in an ally. Here you will get a feel for how the combat controls work. The right thumbstick coupled with the left trigger works mainly as your fist control, but can also be used to throw enemies up against walls, off of buildings, thru windows, and even into ovens. You can even slam peoples heads into vase's and cash registers. Aiming is done with the left trigger for lock-on, and right trigger for shooting. You can lock-on and pinpoint the spot you'd like to hit using the left trigger and right thumbstick. As an alternative to this you can enter free-aim mode with the white button, although I wouldn't recommend it, as I've found it completely useless. But again it's an alternative. Anyone who plays Grand Theft Auto knows how valuable sprinting can be in tight situations, and this is handled predictably with the A button. And finally, vehicle control is handled with the left and right triggers, left trigger is accelerate and right trigger is reverse. The controls work extremely well all around, once again showing that if the rest of the industry can do competent targeting in a 3D environment, Rockstar should be able to aswell. Frankly this was one of the things I had worried about with The Godfather, but gladly EA has delivered on this front. The only thing, the vehicle controls are somewhat floaty, unvaried, and just under par in general. That said, they are competent, even if they aren't as polished or fun as in other games of this type. The controls in The Godfather work well, and there isn't much to complain about on an overall basis.

At the beginning of the game, you will create your character with EA's "MobFace" creation system. Here you are given a wealth of options, hair style, size, color, face size, complexion, ear size! It goes on and on. Although you are not able to go absolutely wild like in EA's Tiger Woods series. But hey, this is serious business, extorting shop owners and making dough for yourself and the Corleone empire isn't something traditionally done with a swollen head, popeye arms, and an abnormally long nose. If you walk these streets looking like that you'll be sleeping with the fishes in no time flat, capiche?

Basically the meat of the gameplay involves extorting businesses, fighting rival families, racing from one area to another, evading law enforcement, upping your stats, and performing hits. Most missions are quite reasonable in their difficulty level, the only problems I've had are with getting from point A to point B, because many times this means that you have to drive all the way from Little Italy to Hell's Kitchen, for example. And unless you pay close attention to your world map, you will likely get lost quite often trying to reach your destination point, one time I had spent a long period of time trying to find an opening in the middle of a tunnel, because I was right on the blue dot, the problem is that it was hard to tell if I was to go into the tunnel or over. So before I figured out what the problem was, I was ambushed while buying a pistol, which happens often if you manage to trigger a "Mob War", which is the equivalent to hell on earth. In situations such as this, you can't just walk right into a barrage of gunfire, so you'll find yourself taking cover quite often. Whether this be behind a vehicle, crate, or fruit stand, it is temporary, so the best form of cover is standing against a wall, which is accomplished by pressing the X button when the sign for the appropriate action appears on-screen. That said, when you level up your young entrepreneur's skills and attributes, you can always choose to focus on improving his health over other areas. However, I recommend that you strike a balance between health, shooting, fighting, street smart, and speed. All of these are essential in grooming your character into a force to be reckoned with. As you progress through the storyline and complete missions for the Corleone's, you gain prestige, and obviously promotion. You will go from Outsider, to Associate, to Soldier, Capo, Underboss, Don, and finally, Don of New York. The latter being achieved after you've taken control of all businesses, completed all missions, and face no opposition. There are five mafia families in The Godfather, the Tattaglia family, the Cuneo family, the Stracci family, the Barzini family, and of course, your family, the Corleone's. Each range in their levels of aggressiveness, fortune, and control. For example, the Cuneco family isn't very wealthy, and owns a very small amount of their home territory, which is Hell's Kitchen. Two of the main reasons for this are quite obvious, Hell's Kitchen is rundown and fraught with poverty.

The Godfather's gameplay isn't quite as extensive as say....Grand Theft Auto, but instead it is more focused on the source material. You're a mobster in it's truest form, you don't drive firetrucks and ambulances for money, or anything outlandish like that. While The Godfather is a bit more limited than the king of open world action games, it does come with it's perks. For example, you can pay local police to turn a blind eye to illegal activity. Unless you like as much mayhem as humanly possible, in which case, create as many vendetta's as possible, you can mess a family up so much so that you will even start a full scale "Mob War", which in my experience, lasts for about 2 days(45 minutes). During that time, you will be hounded beyond belief with road blocks, mafia chases, and everything inbetween. Your best bet, if you're not equipped to handle it, is to stick to home ground for the duration of the mob war.

Extorting businesses is perhaps the most tricky part of taking over each area, because each business owner has their own level of stubbornness, and if you push them over the edge they will become irate and fight back, rendering your extortion attempt a failure. If anything you are at a loss due to the fact that in order to take someone over, you have to whack all thugs outside or within the building, which is not all that easy. Of course you could always flee the scene, if you feel you can get away relatively unscathed. Your best bet is hiding behind the counter and picking your targets off one by one as they stupidly storm in after you. Some don't, however. They instead hide beyond obstructions, making your firefight that much more complicated. The AI is very good that way, they aren't stupid, allies don't get hung up on objects, enemies don't sit there idley while you shoot their allies, and when you pull a gun or aim it at an innocent, they put their arms up and show some actual emotion. Grabbing a character by the neck renders a similar effect.

You can navigate with the world map, which highlights each city based off of where you are at the time. It is clear, easy to navigate, and reminiscent of Grand Theft Auto, which is a good thing. Sadly quite often I found myself having to pause and look at the map a million times trying to reach a specific destination because of how non-distinctive the game world is.

Faithful to the source material, the sound in The Godfather is appropriate for the time. During an intense situation, or a quiet stroll, the music is always appropriate for whatever happens to be going on in the game at that moment. The music is high quality, if somewhat forgettable. Each gun and vehicle have there own unique sound, there is also strong variation in the voice over department. It's all standard stuff here, nothing in particular really stands out, besides the excellent voice acting done in large part by the original cast of The Godfather. One thing that was a bit off were the explosions, not quite loud and organic enough. Overall the sound in The Godfather is solid, but not mindblowing.

Visually, The Godfather looks completely authentic, everything is realistic, and not stylized ala Vice City. In this case, it works to the advantage, you really look like a real mobster, the world around you and the people in it, look like they are straight out of the mid 9th century. Characters are detailed for the most part, however, they look a bit "PS2ish", what EA could have done with The Godfather if they had of done it strictly on the Xbox or PC, we can only imagine. That said, there is more than enough to be pleased about from a visual standpoint, even still. Textures are mostly high quality, aliasing is minimal if non-existent, and NPC's are modeled with many times the polygons of those in a game like GTA, but then again, without a distinctive art style like Vice City's, you need to have higher polygon models to sell realism. Vehicle variety is quite weak, and the vehicles you do find only come in a few colors. But perhaps most disappointing is that buildings lack variation, sometimes you'll swear you were in the exact same layout on the other side of town. All bars and hotels seem to be the exact same, there's no real variation. This is something EA should have stepped up to the plate on, they've really disappointed me. Unlike in a series like Driver, where there is a stark contrast between cities. Although to be fair, you aren't traveling from LA to Nice here. The vehicle physics are also disappointing, because when I shoot at a window, it's bad enough that you can't see thru the glass, it's even worse than when a bullet hits the window, nothing happens, but when I hit the bumper with a second shot, the front window suddenly cracks. This is completely unrealistic, and quite frankly sloppy on EA's part. But it's nothing new, I can look past it for the most part. Especially when the explosions produce some of the best fire I've seen in a videogame. A lot of games have cheap fire effects, but for some reason EA felt the need to put some hard work into this aspect of the visuals, for that I credit them. It's a mixed bag in this area, good vehicle models, but terrible damage physics. Vehicles also come into view way too close to you, and the draw distance is not that good. The framerate is also highly unstable, and even interrupts the gameplay at times. But on the overall, I think The Godfather's shortcomings are forgivable, I just hope that EA takes note and improves upon these aspects in future iterations, if they are to exist.

Clocking in at least 30 hours, The Godfather provides more than enough value for your $40. EA has done The Godfather license proud, in some areas it even competes and reigns victorious over other games of this type. The combat is great, the acting is top notch, the gameplay is strong, and the world is immersive. It's not too easy or too hard, and it keeps you coming back with more new and escalated situations in your persuit for control of the map. The Godfather has taken over my neighborhood, and it should yours aswell.

"Respect the Game"

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: November 18, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Movie tie-ins are usually a rather tiresome affair. They sell bundles of units and are more often than not a large pile of mediocrity. The Godfather game is different. Obviously it's been made on the back of the unparalleled success of Francis Ford Coppolla's gangster masterpiece. And it will sell for this reason as well. However, The Godfather game has it's own place in the epic narrative.

It would have been easy for EA to put the player in the shoes of Michael Corleone - the main protagonist in the movies. Indeed, it may have been due to the failure in securing a license to use Al Pacino's voice and likeness that forced EA's hand in creating a fresh perspective on the famous storyline. What we're left with is a new take featuring your good self; a narrative that sees you seamlessly weave in and out of events loyal to the film. For example, when Luca Brasi is stabbed through the hand and garrotted - at the start of the first movie - you look in on the event through a window, you're spotted and the scene turns into a revenge mission. It's expertly executed as you feel a part of a story that is genuine and loyal to film.

The violence has been superbly recreated also. The realistic nature of the firearms in The Godfather makes for interesting gameplay. As you might be used to the rather `cartoonish' gunplay of Saint's Row and GTA, The Godfather might at first seem unforgiving. And it is. But it's realistic - take one bullet from close range and you're sleeping with the fishes... it's as simple as that. Conversely your own guns carry the same clout, so shootouts often become intense and challenging affairs, if a little frustrating. Where as in GTA's gun fighting success is dependent on how quickly you can change targets and get your shots off, The Godfather sees you picking your shots and timing runs between cover. It's obvious that EA's development focussed heavily on the walking and shooting parts of the game, as this is where most of the appeal lies.

Driving however is a different affair altogether. Given the nature of The Godfather EA were limited on what is and isn't possible for the driving sections. The physics of the cars mean they are frustrating to play with. Most of the vehicles are slow and the faster cars seem unnaturally quick. The handbrake turns that work so well in GTA are irritatingly difficult to pull off, especially when being chased by the coppers. Cars bounce off kerbs but smash right through lampposts practically unaffected. Other vehicles, however, are seemingly made of concrete.

Also, getting from one way point to another can be at times be tedious - GTA gets round this by the superbly scripted radio stations, but The Godfather doesn't have such ingenuity - you're instead treated to a violin-based soundtrack that is depressing once the novelty has done a runner. The valid excuse is that most of this isn't EA's fault - this is more or less what it was like to drive a car in 'them days'. There was no radio; the cars were lame, classic, but moved like pair of concrete boots. Where the violence is so real, so must the rest of the game be if only for consistency.

As you would expect much of what you do is directed by the storyline. However there have been provisions for those who are more impulsive. Outside of the missions there are businesses to extort and rackets to take over. Doing as such will build your weekly wage, which you can then in turn spend on clobber and sorting your hair out. You have a respect bar that increases with each completed mission, but coolly this isn't the only way to gain kudos amongst fellow gangsters. Buying a nice wise guy suit brings in the plaudits and boosts the respect meter as much as whacking a guy. Each time your character levels up you get a point to allocate to his attributes. It's a bit of a weak RPG element, but worth thinking about when acquiring garments.

Extorting businesses is tricky, but worth the effort. You'll usually have to take out two or three 'bad guys' before being able to get to the owner. When you do the situation requires thought. Essentially you need to scare the businessman into paying, and you do so by finding his or her 'limit'. So while some owners will agree to 'protection' as soon as you ask, others will have to be battered to the brink of death. Pretty sick, but then the life of a gangster isn't for fairies. Be warned though, going over the top or killing the proprietor will render the business inactive for a while and you'll get nothing but a bruised set of knuckles. It's a fantastic sidetrack to the main game that has to be taken seriously if you want to hire muscle and buy more powerful weapons for later missions.

And so you've got two sections of the same game that sit paradoxically to each other. The superbly well balanced combat game play that forces you to be thoughtful and timely. And the very dodgy vehicle part that frustrates and bores more than anything else. It's difficult to review a sandbox game without making a comparison to GTA, although it's slightly unfair to do so with The Godfather given the rules imposed by the subject matter. At it's very best it delivers a gritty realism, but by the same realistic token, it can be at times terribly dull.

It is difficult to dislike The Godfather as EA have been so faithful to everything we loved about the films - but this is the undoing of the game also. It would have been forgivable to exaggerate the gameplay in places in order to make it more entertaining. But The Godfather is a game for the purists and in order to please it has to feel genuine, The Godfather certainly is.

Pretty good game for Godfather enthusiasts

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: March 22, 2006
Author: Amazon User

This is a pretty good game. The storyline is entertaining and the graphics are well done. The voice acting is a nice touch and well above average.

If you like the Godfather movies you will get a kick out of playing some missions that come straight out of the movie, and if you arent a Godfather fan you will still probably enjoy the GTA style action.

Take the Cannolis

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 25 / 26
Date: March 26, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Though most of the game concept was lifted from GTA, it still manages to come up with some original flavor into it, thanks to the unforgettable characters that made The Godfather a classic. Amazingly, the game isn't just a drive around and do missions. It actually leaves you free to walk around and do things that will affect your business as a "made-man" with the Corleone family. Yes, you have to do the missions to keep the story moving but at the same time, you can ignore the missions and just go about doing other things to increase your "business" and contribute to the Corleone family. Take for example what I did in the game. I did about 50% of the missions and I decided to just clean-up Little Italy (where the Corleone family is based) from the Tattaglias; taking over these businesses, their warehouses.

One interesting mode in the game is the "Mob War" mode. This happens when you hit a crime family too much, they eventually declare a mob war with the Corleone family. Only to win a mob war is to either bomb one of their properties or pay an FBI agent to come down hard on the rival family. It's good fun really, and quite different. I usually bomb a place and then head to my apartment and let things calm down a bit. These fresh concepts make this game quite unique in its way.

Speaking of families, you need to wrestle control of NY from all the other rival families. The biggest rival that you'll be pitted against is the Barzini family who owns Manhattan. By the way, the game recreates an almost perfect replica of New York, even the streets are accurate. I know because I'm from NYC. One trick I did to test the accuracy was fifth avenue and madison ave. Fifth avenue is just across Madision ave, which is correct in the game. Canal St. and Mott St. are real streets in NY, with Canal St. being Chinatown today.

Going back to what I am doing now with the game, I've basically knocked out Tattaglia from NY. Only thing left is go to and overrun his family compound. One important tip if you're planning to buy this game. The moment you get about $16,000 in the game, buy yourself the most expensive shoes, suits, hat, and glasses. These accessories give Bonus Respect points on your character. Very important if you want to get that extra boost of respect points to get to the top.

So is this game worth it? Yes definitely. If you are into mobster-themed games, look no further. This is almost almost real-life. By the way, prepare to die a lot in this game. This game is not easy. Be patient and keep buying those safehouses all over NY. This is where you can save your progress and start off in case you get "ICED".

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