The Godfather Comes Mob-handed to PSP

Listen up wiseguy, we're going to make you an offer you can't refuse: read the rest of this article and we'll agree not to make any more puns based around The Godfather universe.

Refuse this personal favour, and, erm, we'll weep.

Based on Mario Puzo's The Godfather novel and the subsequent Paramount Pictures film, The Godfather Mob Wars is – believe it or not – all about going up in the world. Because after a life of cheap criminal antics, illegally downloading MP3s and so forth, you've been accepted into America's most famous criminal organization, the Mafia.

Little does post-War New York know what's going to hit it. By carrying out orders and earning respect, you can rise through the ranks to eventually become a Don yourself. (Must... not... pun.)

Mob hits, bank heists and extortion are on the menu, and the police, businessmen, racket bosses and rival mobsters (the Tattaglia, Cuneo, Barzini and Stracci families from the novel) are mere appetisers at your table.

Just like Al Pacino in the movies, you'll have to choose between brutal violence and skilful diplomacy to best progress. Loyalty and fear are your best weapons and the ones that will earn you the most respect, and therefore power. But we're told the choices affect how the action plays out, so you'll have to choose carefully if you want to see a happier ending than The Godfather III.

As you'd expect, there are some gruesome-sounding actions in the mix, too. The so-called BlackHand Control combat system will enable you to punch, kick, grab, and even choke someone with a stranglehold.

But to pacify the censors, you can also use pressure point targeting, which enables you to get a less-than-lethal lock on your opponent so they're able to give you valuable information. (Okay, nothing to do with the censors – it's really that stiffs can't talk.)

Feeling squeamish? Maybe you're not made for a life in the front line of the family business? Well, as an alternative to all this blood and guts, the PSP exclusive Mob Wars mode will also give you the option to instead engage in strategy-based a turf war as you take over New York one territory at a time.

As well as original missions, the game also boasts scenarios lifted from the films, enabling you to interact with its classic characters. Actors lending their voices include (a recording, we presume of) the late Marlon Brando as Don Vito Corleone, James Caan as Sonny Corleone, and Robert Duvall as Tom Hagen.

We weren't convinced by the home console version of the game, but as ever we'll take the PSP version of The Godfather Mob Wars on its own merits. There's no firm date yet, but EA has previously hinted it will be out before the end of 2006.

See, no more puns. Strictly a matter of business.

Thanks to Owain Bennaallack