I think that begs the question of whether this is really a movie adaptation. The events that the game is based on are (I assume) all in the book by Mario Puzo. If it doesn't use any actual footage from the movie, doesn't that make it a book adaptation?

Casey -- yes, you're right to reproach me for covering over the fact that the film itself was an adaptation. I was trying to use the example as an instructive one for other films.

I don't feel nearly as strongly about this as I do about the game made for Fight Club. It completely and utterly missed the point, sort of like the recent Pearl Harbor film. Sure the Godfather game is a stinker, as will the Scarface game, but hey, that's how it works. Coppola's film won't be damaged by the game, and neither will Fight Club the film or the novel. I just feel bad for the poor fools who are going to lose out $50 on those big budget wastes, as I go back to better games like Lumines and God of War.

As the game was first introduced with a digital Brando uttering one of the film's famous lines in the film's famous lighting style (more or less), and as several of the actors have been announced as doing voice work for the game... I think we can safely think of this game as an adaptation of the movie.

Casey, I see your point, but if you look at the way in which the game was made, clearly this is based on the film (which in turn was based on the book).

While the film was based on the book, the actors likenesses, spoken dialogue, costuming, lighting, and directing style are all lifted from the film. The very essence of what separates the written word from film or video games as a medium was lifted from the film, rather than from the book.

So clearly, this is a film adaptation. And probably a bad one.

I have to take Coppola's words with a grain of salt though. He seems to forget that the syle of play he is describing is not how the game should be played in order to follow the film; rather it is a reflection of the player as they see themselves in that context. What would they do given the current situation?

Personally, I couldn't care less about this Godfather game. I have no interest in the game, and I really didn't like the film all that much. I was far more offended (as I stated earlier) by the game based on Fight Club which placed all the emphasis on street fighting, something which is completely done and over with by the middle of the film... because the fights themselves were only a backdrop to the larger issues. And the character models (especially Meat Loaf's) were TERRIBLE.

As the game was first introduced with a digital Brando uttering one of the film's famous lines in the film's famous lighting style (more or less), and as several of the actors have been announced as doing voice work for the game... I think we can safely think of this game as an adaptation of the movie.