The Godfather: the Game is based on the 1972 cinematic masterpiece directed by Francis Ford Coppola, which is based on the classic novel by Mario Puzo.
The world of the film is convincingly recreated here, with cities and people taken straight from its setting. Some of the cutscenes even feature the original actors (James Caan and Robert Duvall reprise their roles as Sonny and Tom). Most of the characters are well-done, but the developers absolutely massacred the translation of Michael Corleone, as he looks and sounds nothing like young Pacino.
The core shooting and fighting action is lots of fun. You can choose from a wide assortment of guns, including tommy guns, shotguns, and pistols--all upgradeable. Melee combat is also endlessly entertaining. Brutal "execution style" kills allow you to finish enemies with a variety of different weapons, each with its own satisfying death animation.
The driving action, however, is not fun at all. Almost all the cars handle horribly, and some of them travel at seemingly 300 miles per hour. Enemy cars ram you more like homing missiles than like automobiles. The driving action is utterly unrealistic, and has the effect of pulling you out of the experience rather than enhancing it.
The Godfather has further detractors. As a straight port, the 360 version looks pretty much like an Xbox game. Also, there are some rare, but frustrating glitches in the game (for example, some execution styles don’t register even if you’ve done them correctly).
Finally, the game’s attempt to tie itself into the story of the film fails to succeed, as the narrative is quite derivative compared to its inspiration. In some cases, EA even changed the events of the film just to insert a playable portion (for example, Paulie escapes and runs out of the car instead of being shot inside it so you can chase and gun him down).
I would also recommend that if you are interested in becoming Don of NYC, you should follow a game guide as you play the game because at certain points, it will become very difficult or impossible to achieve some of the percentage points necessary to attain the rank.
In conclusion, The Godfather: The Game isn't an offer you can’t refuse, but the core action is fun enough that those who like the film/book or are interested in the franchise should give it a shot.
