The Godfather: The Game – Review

Based on the 1972 movie of the same name, The Godfather for the Xbox 360 is, at its core, a GTA-styled third-person free-roaming game, where you play as a young gangster in-the-making, taken under the wing of the mob family Corleone. For any fans of the iconic movie, this game really is a must-have purchase, but what exactly can it offer to those gamers who have absolutely no idea what the ‘horse’s head in the bed’ reference relates to? Thumb Bandits is happy to provide the answer to this question—and more.

One of the first things you’ll notice when playing The Godfather is how beautifully presented it is. The environments are huge and the game’s narrative follows the plot of the movie fairly accurately at all times. It’s set in New York during the 1940s, and covers neighborhoods such as Brooklyn, Hell’s Kitchen, Little Italy, Midtown, and even Jersey. The areas are graphically lovely and the Xbox 360 is definitely the best platform to play the title on. One slight issue with the graphics, however, is that occasionally there are some very obvious pop-ups where buildings suddenly appear out of nothing off in the distance. This is fairly unforgivable considering the obvious and extensive power of the Xbox 360, but then this version does feature a few additions that count as plus points over other formats. For example, the characters appear roughed-up when they get into scraps with other characters, and the facial damage inflicted (or sustained) certainly does look authentic. The 360 edition of The Godfather also features a wealth of achievements and leaderboards that aren’t found in other versions of the game. The ability to customize your character, from their physical appearance to their clothing and accessories is also brilliant, especially when you see them in-game.

Essentially The Godfather is very similar to Rockstar’s Grand Theft Auto. You are granted a free-roaming sandbox style city environment, where you can hijack cars, kick the living hell out of random passers by and, of course, struggle to avoid ‘the heat’ (the police). Some of the most fun aspects to the gameplay are bribing the cops, extorting money from local businesses, cracking down on various rackets, robbing banks and, should you choose to, making friends. Ultimately you need to gain respect and work your way up the infamous Corleone family ladder, using as much melee fighting, firearm attacks, and more, to do so. You’ll also get the chance to use the gangster’s favourite gun of choice: the legendary Tommy gun—and this simply can’t be beaten.

The sound in The Godfather is very atmospheric. Just like the movie, there are similarly classical styled songs playing in the background and the actual sound effects are good too. The voice acting is solid and there are accompanying subtitles should you require them. There’s really nothing to compare to shooting at people whilst The Godfather theme plays out in the background.

Female gamers shouldn’t expect too much from this particular title. There’s no chance of playing as a female mobster, of course, as the world of The Godfather is a testosterone-fueled domain of egoistic machismo and murder. This is perhaps understandable as the game is so closely based on the movie, so the best you can expect here is to see that not all the women are whores—just some of them. There’s a few mob wives included in the mix that actually seem to command some respect, so at least that’s something more than nothing.

As far as movie tie-ins go, The Godfather ranks as a pleasant surprise, but not just because most movie-inspired videogames aren’t normally that great. What you have here is a solid, expansive title that would most likely make it on its own without The Godfather badge. The GTA feel of the game works well and the numerous missions and side-missions keep it interesting and challenging. This is definitely a game for those who love Don Corleone, or those new to the mafia and their compellingly evil ways.

Review by Tracy