When it was announced that the 360 version of The Godfather was delayed and would appear several months later, we were a little disappointed. Then we played the game on other formats and weren’t so bothered. After all, with games like Just Cause and Saints Row on the way, The Godfather was looking dated already.

There was a little piece of us that hoped that the extra time in development would offer 360 owners a hugely improved game over every other version. However, the game is essentially the same as before and follows the plot of the movie pretty closely – taking poetic licence where necessary – but EA has added a few little tweaks here and there to make it tighter and give you a few more options.

Obviously this is the best-looking version out there and the explosion effects are particularly nice. However, don’t expect to be blown away by it at every turn, as the visuals are often bland enough to expose their last-gen origins. New missions have also been added, although not enough that you’ll get that many more hours out of it.

The most welcome arrival is the ability to recruit other mobsters to join you on missions. They can’t follow you everywhere but when they can they’ll jump right into a fight and often save you valuable bullets and health. They are also particularly handy if you’re in a car, as you can order them to shoot at people from the windows.

It’s nice to see that EA hasn’t just churned out a spruced-up carbon copy of the PS2 and Xbox version and if you’re tired of Just Cause and Saints Row then this will provide a worthy distraction while you wait for the eventual release of GTA IV – and there is plenty to make it worthy of recommendation. However, apart from a few fancy visual effects, there’s little to say that this is a next-gen title and for that reason it’s something of a letdown, especially as we had to wait another six months for it.

Simon Griffin