Retro Game Review: The Godfather

Hello Enthusiasts,

Today I will be reviewing The Godfather: The Game, which originally came out for the PS2, XBOX, and the PC, with updated editions coming out for later consoles.

The game itself follows your character as he takes over New York City from rival gangs. Along the way, you become the unnamed member of the family that completed the unseen tasks from the film of the same title. Who hid the gun behind the toilet for Michael? You did. Who put the horses head in the bed of that jerk in Hollywood? That was also you. I liked how this game tied in with the film, though a few things are changed for the players benefit.

Some positives for this game first. It has a great upgrading system, I really noticed a lot of the new boosts and some new abilities (like stealing a parked car not earning any heat). There's also an intimidation system when taking over shops that, while it's not the best, is still creative and enjoyable. This system goes off of "everyone has a weakness", so you won't be able to extort a shop for all it's worth if you don't find the one thing that will break that person down. Sometimes you will punch them and they fold, while other times you will have to kill a civilian to get the shop owner on your side. The gun play is decent, with an auto-aim feature when you aim with your weapon (though the game does offer the option to not use the auto-aim). The game also has a balancing system where each gang will build a vendetta against you if you focus on them too hard. This will mean that you either need to bomb one of their locations or pay off an FBI agent to put pressure on the other family, making them forget about their vendetta.

This game isn't all positives though, there are a few downsides. The graphics and character designers (for everyone but the main characters from the movie) are pretty bad, to the point where I remember noticing it when the game had just been released, so it's not like I'm just too used to the insane graphics we see today. Some of the facial expressions were laughable they were so bad, going from an angry face to a worried on in a single frame's difference. The driving in the game is also pretty stiff, though that is more a product of the time. This one is definitely a game that you'll want to play while abusing the handbrake. The dialogue is generally spot on, but there are some points where it can get to be a little too on-the-nose, feeling like it's spoon-feeding exposition.

Overall, I liked this game, though it has it's flaws. I beat it several times because I enjoyed taking over New York so much, and some of the clothing that can be purchased with in-game currency really looks nice (and increases your respect), so it was fun to design different characters. I would suggest picking this one up, though I would grab the updated edition if possible, it does add a lot.

I give The Godfather: The Game a 7.5 out of 10.

Sincerely,

The Bored Enthusiast