An offer you shouldn't refuse

If you are a fan of movies, then The Godfather has to be one of your favorites. Really, I think it's law. The Godfather is my favorite movie of all time so when I heard that there was going to be a game based on the original film, I was excited. Then when I heard that original actors were lending their voice talent to the game, I was ecstatic. So how did it turn out. It's a good game. It has been accused of being a GTA clone, and this is not entirely untrue. However, the shooting engine is better than almost any other game I've played. It is much easier and intuitive to hone in on your targets than in GTA, in my opinion. The storyline is pretty deep, being based off of Coppola's 1972 mega-hit, and you are sucked into this world that he and Mario Puzo created. You create your own gangster, and start out as a low level enforcer within the Corleone empire. As you complete side missions and orders from the family, you move up in the ranks with your ultimate goal to become Don of New York. The voice acting is, for the most part excellent. James Caan and Robert Duvall have most of the game dialog from the original cast. In some cases, sound clips from the actual film are used, in others, sound-alike voice actors are used as some of the original cast has died since the original film. The notable exception is Michael Corleone. Apparently, they could not get permission to use Al Pacino's likeness for the game, so Michael is very generic an unimpressive, in my opinion. Don Corleone's voice is done by a voice double, with the exception of a few instances, where the sample was taken from the film. Brando had recorded his dialog before he died, but it was deemed unusable. The voice double is passable, for the most part. In your missions, you generally have one of several goals, depending on your orders. Most of the side missions are collecting protection money from business owners. This can be done with reason, or violence/intimidation. When the heat goes on, you need to bribe cops to leave you alone. Other missions are taken straight from the film or are variations thereof. For example, you get to help plant the horse's head in Jack Woltz's bed. Fun stuff. Despite some silly missions (having to get Don Corleone to the hospital in a timed mission with Fredo whining in your ear comes to mind), all are fun, despite a lack of real variety. I highly recommend this game even if you are not a fan of the original film. And if you aren't a fan of the original film, you should be.