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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".

A Game You Can't Refuse

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 10 / 10
Date: May 10, 2006
Author: Amazon User

This is a great game. Violent as all get out but hey, that's life in the family. Definitely NOT for kids though.

The graphics of the game are very good. The characters look fairly close to the actual actors (with the very notable exception of Michael Corleone) and even the stock characters, while not much in the line of variation, look decent as well. Voice work is excellent and original actors in most cases again with the exception of Michael. Controls are extremely easy to master and the story line draws you in immediately.

You don't have to be a fan of the movie or to have even seen it to follow the game but it certainly helps because you will gain further appreciation for the devotion of the developers. It's obvious that they were huge fans of the film and many of the best remembered scenes show up in the game (the infamous horse head scene, the hospital scene, Sonny getting gunned down at the toll booth, etc.)which really makes the game feel more genuine.

The game is non-linear and you have a huge area to wander around in, taking over businesses and just causing trouble in general. There are specific tasks assigned and hits to carry out but you can really approach the game in any way you choose...be a top negotiator or just gun everyone down within a 2 mile radius. There are film reels scattered about which unlock film clips but they aren't really part of the game, just extras to pick up if you want. The film clips are either actual clips from the movie or from the game itself, some of which contain hints for objectives. You can interact with everyone in the game but only those with the Godfather Puppeteer above their head are the ones with the real value. This makes a big difference in the gameplay as well so you don't waste time searching for the character you need.

I have determined however, that I am one wicked driver. I've plowed down more pedestrians and signposts than I care to admit not to mention the countless cars I've crashed. Hey, I'm the Don so get out of my way.

The only negatives I can think of for the game are as follows:
1) Graphics can be a bit glitchy at times and while the game loads very quickly sometimes it takes the background graphics a while to catch up. Not a huge issue though.
2) Virtually no variation in the rival family compounds. I can live with the bad guys and general public all looking the same but I think they could have at least made some of the compounds look a little different. Some are even identical to the Corleone compound. The stores are all about the same as well. Again, not a huge issue.
3) The font used in the game is so tiny that unless you are literally right on top of the screen you can barely read it. Using a scrolling feature and larger type would have made it more user-friendly. Of course, maybe I'm just going blind or something.
4) A lot of driving around. Drive here, now drive over there. Oops you got gunned down, drive over there again. Maybe if I didn't smash into everything in my path at top speed, it wouldn't be such a pain. Maybe I AM going blind. The Don of NY has apparently turned into Miss Daisy and is in need of a chauffeur.

Well, that about wraps it up. Great game. Definitely a must-have for any fans of the film but non-fans will enjoy it as well. Very violent and even some f-bombs being dropped here and there so certainly not for kids. Rent to try it out because it is a bit pricey but you'll get hooked so you'll end up buying.

Finally a good game from a movie

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 7 / 7
Date: March 27, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Yes Finally the gaming world has made a good game from a movie
This compares to the gameplay of the Grand Theft Auto games
You basically reenact the entire movie going through all of the classic moments
From the horse head in the bed to Micheal coming out of the bathroom and blasting away
You play as your own character in the game not Micheal you build up your rank in the family such as Capo , Underboss, then eventually to the Don of NY
Some missions are timed like in the GTA series but they are not impossible to beat
This game also kind of compares to the freedom fighters game when you are in action shooting at other mobsters
You also can take opposite family businesss in this game shooting your way in the restarunt of barber shop then you need to shake down or beat down the peron running the shop
Also in this game you can bribe police or people gaurding spots you wish to get into you give them some cash they turn there back on the situation

This game is a must for a Godfather fan and if you like ganster games of the GTA games you will love this game this is highly recomended

I was unsure if I should get this game when I asked the guy and he told me its GTA but Iam sure glad I bought it it is well worth $40

Go out and get it what r u waiting for?

crazy fun!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 6 / 6
Date: March 25, 2006
Author: Amazon User

First of all, when this game says "Rated M for Mature... 17 and up" they mean it. People getting shot in the face, people talking like sailors, etc.

The fact that Sonny, Fredo, Tom Hagan, and the Don all look like and sound like James Cann, John Cazale, Robert Duval, and Brando just adds to the amazingness of the game. The fact that Micheal does NOT look or sound like Pacino is almost jarring after the appearance of the other actors. I guess Pacino is too cool to be in a video game. It's especailly distracting as it kinda wrecks the possibilities of GF II or III games.

Well, everything else I would say has been said by others.

Oh! I almost forgot! Luca Brasi is in the game and played by Lenny Montana!!!! He is your mentor and teaches you how to play!

Take em to the matresses!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 6 / 6
Date: March 27, 2006
Author: Amazon User

I suppose my opinion of this game is a little skewed. Like a majority of men out there, I am a huge fan of the Godfather movies, and I have even read the book. There's no going wrong with the superb acting and amazing direction of the first two films.

I hyped this game up in my head, expecting ONLY the best Godfather experience, and I was not disappointed! For all of you who wondered "who planted the gun", or "who helped michael flee the restaurant".. your questions are creatively answered through gameplay.

It is an insult to call this game a "copy" of Grand Theft Auto. People need to wake up and realize that GTA has created a new genre of gaming. It has become a concept, a mold for fantastic gaming. One can make the case that the entire GTA game was a rip-off of Godfather itself.

Godfather is chocked FULL of details and adventures. Designing your character to a T, finding different ways to negotiate, developing your character into a tougher mafioso... these are all things that make this game wonderful. Not to forget the great references to key parts of the movie.

I REALLY loved this game, I was not disappointed at all! Ive already spent a solid 20 hours playing this game, and it hasn't been a week yet. I've completed about 89% of the missions, yet only 35% of the game. That should tell you how much there really is to do in this amazing game.

Hope this review helped!
Bill,
Detroit

GOOD

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 8 / 12
Date: April 19, 2006
Author: Amazon User

i don't know about anybody else but i straight up love this game thought it was good beat it the other day great missions mob hit, guns selection but expensive like what and taking over businesses and the fact that they got the real voices for some of the characters made the game went up a bit more in my book...

Since where in the making movies in to games thing now i think "GOODFELLAS" would make for a good game what do u think?

Great Game

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 4 / 4
Date: March 30, 2006
Author: Amazon User

I bought this game the first day it came out and haven stopped playing it, only to eat, sleep a little, shower, and to of course write this review. This is a great game and is to me addicting. It is like Grand Theft Auto games too. And the music in the game gets old too.
This game is a great game for anyone who can take some gore and violence.

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

"Don't Ever Go Against the Family"

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 8 / 15
Date: March 26, 2006
Author: Amazon User

I bought this game four days ago and I haven't spent much time not playing it. That is always a sign of a game that is worth buying. I have sold all of my Xbox games (with the exception of Halo 2) because I lose interest in them pretty fast, but I think I will be keeping the Godfather around for awhile.

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.

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