Godfather the Game

After playing "Mafia" I couldn't wait for The Godfather game to come out. The screen shots and videos looked a lot like Mafia but with all of my favorite Godfather characters. I basically loved the missions and interacting with the original characters and story line but I have to admit there were some huge dissapointments. My first dissapointment was how the developers used (and over-used) the same exterior and interior spaces, I would see the same buildings and sets so many times that I would get confused as far as what part of the city I was in. The draw distance is also very low; buildings, cars and people appear out of no where as you are walking and driving, this lack of continuity really takes away from getting into the game. Driving is a huge hassle because many of the streets are so narrow that you either get stuck behind slow drivers or crash into them to push them out of the way. I also had problem with game play; the game advertised that you can be as mean or nice as you want but there is really no way to play this game without putting a lot of hurt on shop owners. I mean it's a given that you'll kill or hurt other gangsters but there are way too many beatings of civilians in the game. One thing I like about Mafia was that all throughout the game the character was getting drawn deeper and deeper into the gang but there was always a sense of "is this right?". Even the ending of Mafia showed that the gang life doesn't always end happily. In this sense the Godfather movies are much more like the game Mafia then like the game The Godfather. As far as the character models go they were pretty good, even better than Mafia, I just wish Pacino had given permission for his likeness because the Michael Corleone model doesn't look or sound anything like him, and that really sucks because he was really the main character of all 3 movies.

If you're a big Godfather fan and want to interact with some of the movies characters then go ahead and buy this game. But if you're really looking for a gangster style shooter with a great story and better city graphics then buy Mafia.
Godfather the Game - xbox