Historically, video games that are adaptations of films can be pretty poor.

By trying to shoehorn an essentially visual experience into a completely different interactive experience, the developer can underestimate the potential of a game and the result tends to be dull and linear.

Usually the more impressive the film, the more troubling the adaptation, which is why it is refreshing to see Electronic Arts' latest title, The Godfather: The Game, avoid those pitfalls and come up with something rather more original.

For those not familiar with Mario Puzo's book, or more likely Francis Ford Coppola's film, The Godfather charts the fortunes of an Italian-American mafia family.

But rather than play any of the known characters in the film the gamer takes on the role of one of the underlings. And instead of playing out the events you see on-screen, you are always working just out of shot.

Without trying to spoil the plot, the significant missions you undertake are those which are not detailed in the film, or at the least are only referenced. Ever wondered who was responsible for the infamous horse head incident? Find out in the game.

Elaborate brawls

The title itself plays out very much in the style of a Grand Theft Auto game. That is not to say that the majority of the game is about stealing cars, but the mechanics of play are similar.

After some time spent establishing yourself, you are free to roam about as you please and take part in various activities.

Most missions take place on foot, and involve beating up or killing certain members of the community.

Thankfully, the game features a nice set of controls that makes fighting all the easier. Whilst targeting and shooting people is very simple, the brawling is more elaborate, with a variety of kicks, punches and other moves possible. It is, of course, rated 18.

Graphically the game delivers in part, especially when it comes to interacting with other people.

When you do encounter characters from the film they are all instantly recognisable, and for the most part sound great too. Even the late Marlon Brando contributed to the project before his death.

Driven to distraction

But while the parts of the game that are normally poor are great, the bits you would think would be good, are not so promising.

For one thing, the driving model in the game is downright poor, with a steering system that simultaneously makes the cars twitchy and simplistic.

In addition, there seems to be a lot of recycling of scenery. Whilst the environments are particularly drab, and appropriately so, most of the buildings you will actually want to visit are all suspiciously similar, as are the characters that inhabit them.

Whilst the story is immersive, it is let down by other aspects. If you think how different the regions in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas feel, for example, you will understand what I mean.

Overall the game is still good. Crucially there is enough here to make it a worthwhile look. For fans of The Godfather, it will provide an interesting insight, especially with the various unlockable movie clips and so on.

Even though, plot-wise at least, it is a fine example of how to convert a film into a game, it is not going to live up to the legendary reputation of its cinematic cousin.