After playing PC games for years and loving Mafia on PC, I was extremely disappointed with Mafia on xbox. Naturally, I had to try The Godfather, but my expectations were low. It only took about 20 minutes of playing before I was completely absorbed in this game. While I think there are some things that could have been improved, I am very impressed with the overall game. There is a very nice blend of story missions and free-roam extortion. Despite several walkthroughs for the game stating that the developers obviously intended the story missions to be done first or the extortion to be done first, the game is set up so you can do what you want when you want. This level of freedom is one of the things that makes this a wonderful game (not to mention addictive).

The extortion is fun, as is blowing up businesses to end mob wars and robbing banks. The storyline is a little short, but not horribly short, and it is fun. The missions are not simply random but follow the movie, so whether you've seen the movie or not, there will actually be a bit of a story to the game. Also, the weapon upgrades make for an interesting addition to the game. I am glad that the game is entirely playable without any of the upgrades, and yet all the upgrades can be purchased by the end of the game, so you won't be limited to one or two. The whole game comes together as a great package that provides weeks of entertainment.

There are a few downsides to the game, but I admit I am being very picky. There could have been more story missions (although I know this is limited because they followed the movie). You get unlimited ammunition once you become Don of NYC, but there is nothing left to do at that point in the game. There should be something left to do once you get that unlocked. The gun upgrades are a bit odd. While I'm not too worried about how historically accurate they are, a fully automatic pistol is really out of place, and can cause more problems than it solves. My biggest problem with the upgrades, though, was how ugly they were. The non-upgraded weapons look nice, but the upgraded weapons look like they were thrown together in a matter of minutes. Also, since I am a long time fan of Mafia, I would like to be able to steal different cars and keep a collection in a garage... but that would just be a fun extra that really wouldn't add much to the game.

So while I do think some areas of the game could have been polished up a bit, the game as a whole is an awesome experience. I would recommend it to anyone.