The Godfather is a classic film. No doubt about it. And I explained how doing a game based upon it would be a tough task when I laid the hammer down on the Xbox version a few months ago. The game's got great ideas, don't get me wrong. But taking over business rackets seems a bit too easy, and the game doesn't expand into the real dangerous territory once you've seemingly conquered New York. I do give EA credit, though- at least they tried and didn't take the easy way out like other developers did.

And so they try again with the Xbox 360 version, which arrives on shelves this week. The good news is that the game's got some improvements, and isn't just a blatantly lazy port of the current-gen release. However, it's still got some issues left unaddressed, meaning that the game still doesn't reign over the Grand Theft Auto-genre as much as the development team wanted it to. It's like the guy who's pushing to be Don right away, instead of realizing that he has a long way to go before he's even close to garnering the respect the Don deserves. But he's still got muscle to fear.

The game puts you in the shoes of a nameless thug who's grown up hard. He saw his father get brutally murdered as a child, and there to comfort him is Don Corleone, once again voiced by the late Marlon Brando. Corleone informs the kid that one day, he'll be able to get revenge on his father's death. Several years later, his mother informs Corleone that he's fallen in with the wrong crowd, and Luca Brazi, one of his noble and feared henchmen, takes you under his wing. Soon, you're enrolled in a 12-step program of sorts on how to be a great criminal, intimidating people to earn Respect and completing tasks that range from extortion on local businesses to taking over rackets to bribing cops to keep the heat off of you.

Needless to say, a shift takes place in the story, and you're given a more pivotal role in the Corleone clan, soon being introduced to a number of higher-ups, including Sonny Corleone (voiced by James Caan) and a few others. It's here you begin building your powerful empire, taking over more businesses through intimidation and putting your Respect level on the rise as you complete hits and tasks for the family. But as you grow in power, so do the forces surrounding you, and you'll find yourself in gunfights and car chases that will result in someone sleeping with the fishes. Several people, in fact.

A big problem I had with the original game is the fact that what was taken from the movie had this eerie feeling of not being able to keep up with the emotional tone of the film content. Characters aren't as well represented from the film, including Michael Corleone (Al Pacino's too busy starring in Scarface, so he has a fill-in that seems out of place) and a few others. Many of the big faces are here, but the game misses some opportunities to make the player identify more with the character they've created. There are hints at a romance but you never feel its impact. Unfortunately, that problem still lingers in this next-gen version, and as a result, you don't feel as deeply connected with the family as you should.

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