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Godfather, The

EMAIL PRINT pc

5.5 User Score:

Mixed or average reviews

Based on 32 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

Based on 90 votes
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Game Info

Publisher: Electronic Arts

Developer: EA Redwood Shores

Genre(s): Action, Adventure

Players: 1

ESRB Rating: M (Mature)

Release Date: March 20, 2006

Summary

The book by Mario Puzo and classic film by Paramount Pictures serve as inspiration for The Godfather, as gamers join the Corleone family and earn respect through loyalty and fear as they rise through the ranks to become Don in a living 1945-1955 New York. Gamers create their own mob character in the game, putting themselves into the action while reliving classic moments from the fiction and experiencing original missions alongside memorable characters from the film. After a life of small-time jobs and petty thefts the player is accepted into the Corleone family, America's most famous criminal organization. It is up to the player to carry out orders, earn respect and make New York City their own. Featuring non-linear action-adventure gameplay, The Godfather offers gamers countless choices for solving the family’s problems with brutal violence, skillful diplomacy, or a cunning mixture of both. From mob hits and bank heists to drive-bys and extortion, step deep inside the world of The Godfather where intimidation and negotiation are your tickets to the top. Players use their powers of loyalty and fear to earn respect through interactions with characters in the world. Decisions made by the player in the game have lasting consequences, just as it was in the mob underworld featured in The Godfather fiction. James Caan, Robert Duvall, and the late Marlon Brando provided voice acting and likenesses for the game. [Electronic Arts]

Also On Metacritic

FILM: The Godfather The Godfather: Part II The Godfather: Part III

Cheat Codes & Hints: Cheat Code Central GameSpot Hints & Cheats

Also On The Web: GamerFeed Preview Games Domain Preview GameSpot Preview GameSpy Preview IGN Preview IGO Preview Official Game Site

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

Cheat Code Central

The Godfather is not a perfect game but it's a hell of a lot of fun. There's nothing particularly frustrating about it so the challenges won't be insurmountable to casual gamers. Hardcores can immerse themselves in the mob world and enjoy the game as an interactive movie.

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AceGamez

I can't see many people disliking this classic gangster romp, which delivers the authentic mob feeling we've been after ever since "GTA III."

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IC-Games

The game will shock, however it should entertain, and if you don’t take it too seriously it’ll probably end up being one of the better releases this year.

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BonusStage

Yes, the game’s main collection of 20-plus story missions last roughly 10 hours, but after that you’ll be spending at least two or three times as many hours striving for 100% game completion and the ultimate ascension to Don of NYC.

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Pelit (Finland)

Starts off strong with fun missions that follow the story of the movies nicely. However, towards the end the quality and amount of plot-related missions goes down and the optional missions start to repeat themselves. It is still a fun GTA clone, just not what it could have been. [April 2006]

The Onion (A.V. Club)

Once you get past the fact that the film's somber gravity will in no way translate to the console, The Godfather: The Game is as good a moral perversion as any.

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XGP Gaming

Bottom line, those who do not care about graphics (when comparing old gen to new gen), and want to save money, I recommend picking up the Xbox/PS2 version of the game. It’s a game no one who enjoys a good mafia theme should miss.

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GameSpot

The Godfather is a satisfying, lengthy adventure, and more importantly, it remains faithful to the classic film while managing to create a compelling story of its own.

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Games Radar (in-house)

The action is bloody and satisfying, the story plays out like exceptionally well-written fan-fiction and the spirit of the movie and its characters are intact.

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ActionTrip

The type of gameplay has been seen a millions times before. Its sole advantage is that it relies on an extremely powerful narrative, backed up by a serious cast and admirable music. It's all about car chases, street shootouts, controlling diverse rackets and respecting fellow family members.

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2404.org

This game does nothing to besmirch the Godfather’s impressive legacy – in fact, its use of the license is arguably its greatest strength.

GameZone

While the gameplay may have some problems, EA certainly cut no corners while making this game an authentic Godfather experience.

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The New York Times

The game's attempt to create a vast, thriving city is undercut by a lack of variety. The Godfather's New York apparently has only a single architect: when you've seen one nightclub or butcher shop, you know how all the others will look. And while the game focuses heavily on driving, there are only seven models of cars.

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IGN

Despite obvious areas in need of improvement, I had a blast playing The Godfather. Taking over businesses and rackets became an obsession. About ruling the other families? The process of taking them over is unique, tough and hugely rewarding.

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Play.tm

Fans of The Godfather will be pleased to hear that the game based on the film hasn't trodden down the same path as disasters such as "Enter The Matrix"; but isn't quite up there with consensual videogame classics such as the Nintendo 64's "GoldenEye."

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PC Gamer

It's unfortunate that this game occasionally decides to shoot you in the face rather than hand you a cannoli. [May 2006, p.52]

Total Video Games

The emphasis on driving, the lack of scope in the side-quests, and the subsequent compulsion to complete the main mission, are definite weak spots in the game, the result being that players will all to easily get bogged down in the general repetitiveness of the experience.

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Yahoo! Games

The game itself is an uneven mishmash of fighting, driving, and shooting. Call it Grand Theft Goodfellas; if someone took Rockstar Games' popular Grand Theft Auto series, moved its setting to New York, and then sent it via the Wayback machine to post-World War II New York, the result would be The Godfather.

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Sydney Morning Herald

Adapting one of Hollywood's masterpieces was brave, but it's a pity the game designers lacked the courage of their convictions, choosing to shoehorn Grand Theft Auto into the mafia setting.

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PC Gamer UK

Lacking both the playful irony and delight in detail of the GTAs, The Godfather is a simple brute of a game. In one sense, it's a missed opportunity; in another it's a regrettable betrayal of a masterful and much-loved film. [May 2006, p.78]

Play Magazine

The fighting in all its forms proves to be a sticking point, and Godfather suffers accordingly. [May 2006, p.49]

PC Format

Diverting mob brutality, but nothing like the films, and downright ugly. [May 2006, p.95]

Computer Games Online RO

The game is full of bugs which will crash the game in certain situations, like being followed by the Police and not taking the exact route during Michael’s escape from the restaurant.

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games(TM)

EA has turned it into a story about gain. Whereas the motive of violence was once to illustrate Michael’s downward spiral, here it is merely a tool with which to boost your bank balance. [May 2006, p.118]

VideoGamer

It just doesn't have the scope to match Rockstar's efforts though, and the driving sections aren't thrilling enough to get the pulse really racing.

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GameSpy

You can make the argument that a videogame needs more action, but instead of building up any suspense that leads to action, the game beats you over the head with the action to the point of desensitization. That might work for a generic mob game, but when you slap The Godfather label on it, that raises the standards a bit.

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Jolt Online Gaming UK

A huge, lazy and sometimes glitchy disappointment of a game. The character progression really doesn’t provide a strong enough excuse to keep playing after the initial joy of the combat has dissipated, and the number of times you find yourself going through the same old motions during missions smacks of padding of a magnitude normally associated with the corpulent Don.

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Times Online

Though The Godfather is competent, it is also bland, despite the voices of James Caan and Robert Duvall, and you rarely feel a sense of power.

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PC Zone UK

I wanted so badly to be enjoying myself, with all the effort that had gone into the characters and likenesses, but I wasn't allowed to. And now I am cross.

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Gamer 2.0

It really is baffling that EA kept The Godfather as it is. What with all the repetition involved in finishing the game, you’d have thought someone would have piped in: “Uh, you know, it gets kinda boring repeating the same mechanics over and over”.

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Computer Games Magazine

Unsophisticated mission design and racketeering repetition make it less ideal for non-fans. [July 2006, p.57]

Edge Magazine

For such a costly flagship title to provide neither the promised statement of mainstream grown-up appeal nor even polished, lesser disposable thrills is a landmark failure. [May 2006, p.92]

What Our Users Said

The average user rating for this game is 5.5 (out of 10) based on 90 User Votes

Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Karl G gave it an8:
Making a game based of a movie (or a movie based of a game) usually winds up bad. I was surprised this didn't. +Pros: Exciting story, great acting, customizeable characters, sound, music and much more. -Cons: Maybe a bit complicated controls, Cars feel REALLY fast To sum it up, I think it's a great game, definitely worth to be played.

Nicolas W gave it a10:
I dont know what you guys are complaining about. If u just use the default controls then it works fine. With the 256mb nviddia geforce, the graphics are the best i have seen so far. I have not seen the movies and so do not know the similarity. People are complaining about how you cant get out of the car?? What the hell are you talking baout. All you have to do is press a button. If you cant then either you have a very slow computer or bad hand eye coordination. Because i hvae never had anyproblem whatsoever. The movies in between the action, are thirlling. The story line is great and it cannot at all be compared to GTA. GTA is modern gangsters and yuou dont have all the fun of taking over stores, becoming a don. THIS GAME DEFINITLY DOES NOT EVEN COMPARE TO GTA...

Aeschylus One gave it a9:
The atmosphere. The cutscenes. The custom characters. If you're a fan of the series, the intro should make your heart melt. Sure, it's not Brando's voice, but the face is mapped right down the smallest wrinkle. You see the characters. You recognize the faces. This game. This game...it's a beauteeful ting. It's like GTA, but looks better than the last three due to amazing character/car models. The environments are a little drab, but this ain't exactly Rome we're talking about here. Gameplay is pretty much a carbon copy of GTA. You could basically say this is GTA for the early 20th century. The only difference is that this game has better voice acting and, you guessed it, Marlon Brando's face. HOOOAH! The controls aren't so bad. The targeting system is fine. If you have troubles with the mouse, up the sensitivity. Driving cars is akin to the GTA series, but the car models have a little more shine to them. The soundtrack. Oh, man. The soundtrack should be commended for bringing out the pearls from the 30-40s, and mixing it with the theme songs we've all come to love. Don't look at the negative reviews. Especially if you're a fan of the series. You know you want to play it, and you should because it's WORTH it. Great game. Fuggidabouit.

Tiago D. gave it an8:
Ok.. when i first saw the game trailler i thought to my self: "i must have it". I am a complete fan of The Godfather series. i have the books, including a first edition of 1972 (!), all the movies.. etc! First: the story.. well it's ok.. some details that dont match the original story... but.. thats fine! Secon: grafic issues: what a crappy game... the cars, the scenarios... it's all the same... you travel along the city and it seems that someone is "copy-past" along the scenario. the only good things are the main characters faces and voices... that's a 10!! but everything else is crapy! third: controls: for gods sake: BUY THE DAMM GAMES AND THEN COME TO SPEAK ABOUT THEM!!!

E Scar gave it a6:
Well the story is the best story of all time and it is smootly blended into a 1940 New York. but the controls are terrible. I just can't get out the damn car. Got completely stuck over here so any body got tips I will appreciate it.

Cesco gave it an8:
The controls are terrible! Please someone makes a patch to fix the mouse controls! If it weren't for the controls I would have given it 10! On the G-Force 7 256mb the godfather's graphics are great!

JJ E. gave it a9:
Don't listen to all those idiots saying bad things about the game this is is very good, the aiming system is better than most, graphically its very good and detailed, the fighting controls are easy to use and very amazing, I love this game so MUCH! and if you have problems with the controls buy a gamepad for crying out loud then you won't have any problems cuz it will be like playin it on PS2 or Xbox.

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Godfather, The

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