Electronic Arts brings the brutal sand box world of the popular Mario Puzo inspired game to the PlayStation 3, and while the game isn’t as next-generation as we’d hoped, it does manage to deliver a bloody and oftentimes obscenely violent open-ended experience that PS3 owners will appreciate – if they haven’t already played the previously released The Godfather games.

The Don’s Edition is a gritty violent journey through the early days of the Corlene organized crime in New York City as depicted in Mario Puzo’s popular story and the movies inspired by it. It should come as no surprise that the trademark crimes of the mob are at the center of this game and that violence is a marquee feature. You’ll find yourself committing acts of extortion, collecting protection money, engaging in high speed shoot-outs, bribing public officials, fulfilling contracts and more in Little Italy and beyond, rising through the ranks of Corlene family as a result.

Players begin the game as a nobody – an extra in normal circumstances – who witnesses his father’s execution at the hands of a rival family. The young boy vows revenge, and with some pleading from his mother to the iconic Marlon Brando character Don Corlene, the boy-turned-man finds himself rescued by the oafish Luca Brasi ..

It is at this point in the game that players are introduced to the “life,” starting from the very bottom of the hierarchy, learning the art of collecting protection money. As you convince these business owners to come under your protection, you earn a monthly income and increase your standing in the family. During the course of the game you’ll tackle the main plot which is intertwined from key moments in the film (like when Don Corlene is shot and is rushed to the hospital); along with a ton of side quests that will further cement your standing in the family.

While The Don’s Edition is familiar ground for fans that have bought and played the Xbox 360 version of The Godfather game, this game does offers some extra content along with light support for the PS3’s SIXAXIS controller. While this support is more of a gratuitous novelty than an integral part of the game, it is nonetheless interesting. The game uses the SIXAXIS controller for some novel fight features: by getting close to a wall or an object and then motioning the controller towards it you can slam a victim into it to reduce their health. There’s also some quick and deadly moves like one that lets you quickly kill a grappled opponent by turning the controller clockwise. While these and other moves are interesting, they aren’t as integral to the gameplay as you’d expect. While you can knock your intended targets around a little more interactively, the SIXAXIS way of doing things is no better than simply beating them with a bat or kicking them in the groin..

While there have been some substantial improvements made to the game’s visual aesthetics since the game’s release on the Xbox 360, the PS3 version of the game isn’t as high definition as we’d hoped. The key improvement is the reworking of interiors, which have been spruced up substantially. These interiors are now populated with more objects and improved textures which lend to creating an improved atmosphere. The rest of the world in The Godfather game for the PS3 is pretty familiar, and while it looks good, much of it and its inhabitants look last generation. This tends to happen when companies find themselves using assets recycled from previous games that are so similar that it doesn’t make much since to reinvent the wheel. Mind you, support for high definition resolutions keeps the game for looking absolutely awful but we expected the game to look a lot better than it does.