
	Platform Playstation 3 Genre Action Publisher Electronic Arts Developer EA LA ESRB M (Mature) Released March 20, 2007

- Playing in the shadows of the events of the film was a great choice - A huge cityscape to explore - Extras include clips from the original film - Solid shooting, fighting, and driving controls and Sixaxis melee is optional - If you've played a Grand Theft Auto game, it's easy to get right into the action

- With the extra development time over it's Xbox 360 counterpart, there isn't that much extra content to warrant a repurchase - City is almost too big for its own good - Cookie cutter interior areas - Will scream "Me Too!" to diehard GTA fans

Review: The Godfather: Blackhand Edition (Wii) Review: The Godfather (PS2) Review: The Godfather: Mob Wars (PSP)
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The Godfather: The Don's Edition

Score: 8.0 / 10

Based upon the movie, which was based upon the novel by Mario Puzo, published way back in 1972, The Godfather: The Game recaps the main events of the film with your character acting in the background of all those instantly recognizable scenes from the film (and more). Sneaking around the palatial mansion of Hollywood producer Woltz to deliver a (dripping) package; the meeting between Sollozo, Michael Corleone and the police Captain that ended with a bang and brains splattered on walls; repaying Paulie's disloyalty; watching Luca Brasi take his dying breaths (something I always thought he deserved -- he had his own

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baby thrown into a furnace!); and going to the mattresses in a bloody gang war; if it was part of the film it seems to be jammed into the game. (It doesn't stick to the source material at all costs, there are some liberties taken.) If you're a fan, it's pretty fun stuff, even if the main story arch is over so damn quick.

In the spirit of the sandbox Grand Theft

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Auto games, the world of The Godfather is a sprawling 1940's New York, with plenty of expanded opportunities to explore – the PS3 includes a few more things to do and places to visit. There are businesses to extort, rackets to discover, "jobs" to complete, different outfits to buy, cops to bribe, hoods to plug, warehouses to demolish, friends to make, banks to rob, and vehicles to hijack. It's all in the name of working yourself up the Family ladder, to gain respect (experience points put toward five different character attributes, like Shooting), and, ultimately, becoming the Don.

The Godfather includes both melee combat and gunplay, and both are implemented in such a way as to make it both easy to use and satisfying when you pull off the more complicated moves, like heaving your opponent against walls. Like the Wii version, Don’s Edition implements some (completely optional) motion control via the Sixaxis control for the hand-to-hand encounters, but like the 360 controls, aiming with a gun still makes use of the thumbsticks and buttons.

The assortment of weapons should satisfy everyone. Besides the old standbys like the Tommy gun, snub nose pistol, Magnum, and garrote, you'll also have access to Molotov cocktails, flaming 2x4s, dynamite, and explosives powerful enough to wipe out pretty much anything. Some of these items can be upgraded by finding black market contacts which are scattered all over the city. And while these items are all useful in taking out opposing Family members, one should not overlook the more straightforward approach: running them over with your car. For more precision strikes though, nothing beats paying off the cops, contracting some muscle to help, and approaching possible targets on the sneak.

There is a constant stream of both vehicle and pedestrian traffic throughout the city. There are 14 different vehicles, from quick, sporty coupes to lumbering delivery trucks, but in a city so big, you would think there would have been more variety.

The same can be said of most of the interior areas which all seem to be cut from the same cloth but because you move from exterior to interior with absolutely no loading, it's a trade-off that's almost forgivable.

Vehicles look like they were pulled directly from a Dick Tracy comic book. Bold, solid colors without the same kind of grittiness found throughout the rest of the game certainly makes the cars and trucks easier to see, but it just doesn't match-up. There is noticeable pop-up when driving around and if you stand around long enough you'll see other weird pops and glitches; however Don’s Edition is probably the best looking rendition of the game, only slightly edging out the 360 version, which was released some months ago.

One misstep that could be addressed in future Godfather games -- a sequel is all but assured, check our Q&A -- is a robust soundtrack. Music from the late 1940's and early 1950s might not be as catchy to modern ears as the latest Shakira or Jessica Simpson or whatever the hell teenagers are listening to these days, but it would help establish time and place. Period cars and clothing is one thing, backing it up with appropriate music would have been nice. What music there is seems to be pulled directly from The Godfather soundtrack and although it's haunting it does get a little tired.

As a game, and more accurately, as a game based on a movie, The Godfather: The Don’s Edition turns out to be relatively good; on its own merits, not just because its set in the Godfather universe. It’s part of the "thug in a sandbox" action genre, so if you don't mind playing a criminal and can accept a few minor bugs here and there, The Godfather: The Don’s Edition is a solid sandbox title.

- Omni

(May 17, 2007)