History VideoGame / TheGodfather

Due to conflicts with the copyright owners of The Godfather series, EA, and the Puzo family (the estate of Mario Puzo, author of the novel that the movie is based on), the game has been declared to be non-canon to ''Film/TheGodfather'' universe, mainly to distance itself due to the poor sales of the first game and the lackluster reviews that the sequel received, as well as public controversy with the exclusion of Creator/FrancisFordCoppola in the development of the game.

* TheComputerIsACheatingBastard: The enemies can be this in the original UsefulNotes/PlayStation2, Xbox and even the PC versions of the first game. Half of the time, you have no cover whatsoever.

* DoNotRunWithAGun: Accuracy will go down if you move and fire and you can't run in Free Aim mode, but otherwise you still can run with a gun out if you like.

* BackAlleyDoctor: You respawn at these in the first game.

* LegitimateBusinessmensSocialClub: All the families' mobsters are particularly conspicuous around their fronts.

** The second game has pretty odd naming conventions. The Browning Auto-5 shotgun is called the "Schofield Semi-auto", an interesting choice of name given that Schofield is a famous line of revolvers. The Level 3 pistol looks like a Beretta M1951 and is called the "Delta M1911", which is kind of funny given that the Level 2 version is a suppressed Colt [=M1911A1=] going under the name "Silenced Pitol". A Smith and Wesson Model 629 appears as the ".44 Magnum Force". The AK-47 goes [[AvertedTrope under its actual name]], though it has a drum magazine modeled after the RPD light machine gun.

* {{AKA47}}: Applies to most guns.

* OneManArmy - In the first game, you will run up at least 250 kills just taking over Little Italy, and with four more areas to cover, over 1000 is expected. In the second you have a BadassCrew, but even with or without them you can still regularly take on several times your number and win.
* OptionalSexualEncounter - You get respect points for "negotiation".
* PapaWolf - Averted; contract killing the other Dons' sons doesn't make the eventual encounter with them tougher.
* ParkingPayback - One of the mini side missions/favors has you [[DisproportionateRetribution destroying]] the vehicle of such a parker.

* PrettyLittleHeadshots - Subverted.

* RailingKill - The Watch Your Step Execution Style is this.
* RankScalesWithAsskicking - As Don (of NYC), your character is practically MadeOfIron. Higher-ranking enemy mobsters are also more powerful.

* RegeneratingHealth - In the first game, taking damage for the first time results in a part of your health bar turning a lighter color. This will regenerate if you avoid taking further damage, otherwise continuing to be hit will cause the portion of the bar to turn black, necessitating a HealingPotion to restore it. The sequel made it a full regeneration system, but keeps the health potions for when you really need an instant pickup.
* TheRemnant - You'll still have some enemy mobsters to deal with even after the game counts their family as crushed.

* RevolversAreForAmateurs - Invoked in the first game, where your first gun is a snubnose.
* RevolversAreJustBetter - Subverted in the first game. The starting .38 snubnose is appropriately weak; even with the level 3 upgrade it isn't much good if you can't reliably score headshots. The pistol is the more versatile of the handguns. It doesn't do as much damage as the magnum but it reloads faster and carries more rounds. Its upgrade has an incredibly fast rate of fire. Also, the magnum is the strongest, on par with the shotgun, but it has slower reload and once both [[MagikarpPower are fully upgraded the shotgun has much more ammo.]] \\

* RewardingVandalism - It helps when extorting shopkeepers. You get a token sum from cash registers and some crates in missions have moneybags hidden. Plus you can deny enemies their cover.
%%* RoaringRampageOfRevenge - The whole of the first game is one.

* RubberBandAI - When you are being pursued, your pursuers are always faster than you, regardless of how fast your car is. And they're always driving the slowest, most basic car.
* SacrificialLamb: Every death scenes from a character who originates from the game are this.

** [[spoiler: Monk's death is not that different, he goes insane later on, rats the Corleones, joins the Cuneos, and got killed by Aldo.]]Much like his sister, he was never mentioned again, and the story just goes on.

* ShortRangeShotgun - Averted to the extent that you do wish it was not. Of course, once you get the level 3 on your side...

* SortingAlgorithmOfEvil - The recommended order is Tattaglia, Stracci, Cuneo then Barzini. You don't have to follow, though.
* SortingAlgorithmOfWeaponEffectiveness - While you can get the full selection of weaponry quite early, upgrades to the better weapons are available later and cost more.

* StormingTheCastle - Taking over enemy warehouses, hubs and eventually compounds.

* SuddenSequelDeathSyndrome - [[spoiler: Aldo is killed by a sniper in Cuba at the beginning of the second game.]]

* TeleportingKeycardSquad - Picking up the cash left by racket truck guards triggers the spawning of pursuers if the part of NYC you're in isn't Corleone ground yet. Same goes for robbing mob couriers. The only way to prevent them from ''chasing'' you is if you don't kill the courier, but instead take his briefcase full of five [=Gs=] (by shooting his shoulder, as suggested), & he runs away w/o you collecting any vendetta.

* TooDumbToLive

* UnexplainedRecovery - In the second game, all enemy Made Men must die in a specific manner-kill them with any other method and they'll just show up again later.

* VideogameCaringPotential - The game attempts to invoke this trope in several ways, such as civilians begging you not to kill them or genuinely being nice to you.
* VideogameCrueltyPotential - With the exception of your girlfriend and fellow Corleones, you can hurt or kill everyone in the whole city in a wide variety of ways, such as throwing them off a roof or even ''into an oven''. Then there's the extortions. While killing the shopkeeper is highly discouraged (as you'll have to wait a while before trying to extort the business again), and you have to be careful not to push them too far so they don't try to fight back, you still have access to quite a few methods to "convince" them to sell out to you. Each shopkeeper even has a specific thing that particularly irks them, such as damaging their store, killing customers in front of them or threatening/shooting them with your gun.

* VideogameCrueltyPunishment - Getting your Heat too high will negate the temporary immunity from police pursuit you can get from bribing cops. A certain level of Vendetta will make enemy mobsters open fire when they see you/your vehicle and maxing it out will start a MobWar. Abusing a shopkeeper or racket boss too much will make them fight back, while killing them leads to either losing the opportunity to convert them, if they're currently on an enemy family's side, or losing the income from them if they're in the Corleone camp.

* ViolenceIsTheOnlyOption - Averted. Sort of. The game manual actually recommends bribing cops instead of shooting at them.
** Getting sufficent respect (accomplished by many varied ways) means shopkeepers capitulate with little to no violence, often paying more than if you'd threatened them... but less than if you discover their weak spot while threatening them.

* WallOfWeapons - Found in purchased safehouses and compounds.
* WantedMeter - There's a "Heat" meter for cops and "Vendetta" for rival families.

* WhatHappenedToTheMouse - The Trojan disappears without a trace after you complete his last contract hit. If you pay attention to the court scene in ''Film/TheGodfatherPartII'', the Trojan briefly appears on a diagram of the Corleone family tree and is listed as jailed. In the second game, Frank Pentageli's fate is left out; [[AdaptationInducedPlotHole you'll have to refer to the film to find out.]]

* ATeamFiring - Your accuracy will go to hell fast if you fire sustained bursts.

* ArtificialStupidity - During any car chase, expect civilians to jump directly into the path of your car while supposedly attempting to leap out of the way.

* AscendedExtra - Al Neri, Willie Cicci, and Rocco Lampone were Corleone underlings who barely got any lines in the movie. Al Neri's name wasn't even mentioned. Though since Neri gets a much bigger role in the two sequels, it makes sense that he would be more important in a game made after them.
* AwesomeButImpractical - The unupgraded Tommy gun in the first game may be this. Some Execution Styles, like Traffic Accident, also call for more setup than the extra Respect you gain will pay off.
* {{BFG}} - The Dillinger and the Street Sweeper. Really all of the level 3 upgrades, except for the Saturday Night Special.

* BackStab - You can garrote people, but the main point is the stealth and the extra Respect, since it takes a while to strangle your victims. However, you can also use the garrote to snap their necks, which is accomplished much quicker.

* BadassLongcoat - Stronger, high-ranking gangsters in the first game wear long coats.
* BangBangBANG - Used and averted; The Magnum series is definitely loud, but the other guns are more subdued.

* BatterUp - Both games give you a baseball bat as an alternative to using your fists.
* BeefGate - If you have problems with a warehouse, you need to grind more.

* BigNo - Monk shouts one after [[spoiler: Frankie's death]] at the hands of Tattaglia goons.

* BlingBlingBang - The level 3 snubnose has gold and ivory on it, as does the level 3 Magnum.

* BottomlessMagazines - The BraggingRightsReward for becoming Don of NYC. You still have to reload, unfortunately.
* BraggingRightsReward - In some versions, becoming Don of NYC gives you BottomlessMagazines. Unfortunately by then there's not much use for it.

* CherryTapping - You can take down the Barzini Compounds with only a level 3 character and level 1 snubnose. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zUZ71j-a1UY Behold]].

* ComesGreatResponsibility - Tom Hagen tells you as much after your promotion to Capo in the first game.

* ContractualBossImmunity - Averted; though stronger than the {{mook}}s, the Dons in either game aren't especially hard to take down. There's no taking multiple headshots or full magazines of tommygun fire the way many other games' supposedly-human bosses do.
* ConvectionSchmonvection - One of the Execution Styles requires you to toss an enemy into a oven and cook him alive. You can stand right next to one of these and not take damage.

* DoNotRunWithAGun - Accuracy will go down if you move and fire and you can't run in Free Aim mode, but otherwise you still can run with a gun out if you like.

* DragonInChief - Aldo and Dominic sit on the line between this and TheDragon-normal to Michael.
* TheDreaded: The Straccis, considered the most violent family in New York. You are cautioned not to trust them and in the training video, you're told not to enter New Jersey(their home base) without a crew.

* DudeWheresMyRespect - In cutscenes, your former bosses will still call you "kid" and treat you like an underling, though this ends after you become Don. Also, civilians and Corleone mooks will grow to recognize and respect you. Played particularly straight in the second though, where both Michael and others belittle you even when you've proven yourself capable of mowing down whole enemy Families.

** Not really a civil war per se, but... if you fight against mobsters nearby other rival mobsters, the two mobster crews will attack one another, depending on how close they are, and how you play your cards.

* EtTuBrute: As in the movie, Paulie and Tessio betray the Family. And then there are the original storylines written for the game where betrayal is heavily involved.

* EvilIsPetty - You are warned against it, but there's not much really stopping you from attacking civilians.

* EverythingTryingToKillYou - It's possible to get the police and all four Families out for your blood, and if you harass shopkeepers too much they'll attack you.

* EvilVersusEvil - Your character Aldo can be a right bastard at times, but neither the cops nor the other four[[note]]actually five in the Wii version, which includes a Chicago-based family that only appears in some hitlist missions[[/note]] families have any moral high ground.

* ExtremityExtremist - Both Aldo and Dominic exclusively use their fists in melee combat (unless you've got a baseball bat equipped).
* FinishingMove - Some of the Execution Styles involve these.

* GameBreakingInjury - Shooting anyone in the knees twice almost always kills him/her.

* GameplayAndStorySegregation - After [[spoiler: Sonny's death]] Don Vito calls a truce with the other four families, saying that unless pushed he will not be the one to break it. [[ConflictBall Doesn't make a bit of difference, guys.]]

%%* ImplacableMan - You as Aldo.
* ImmuneToBullets - The more important {{NPC}}s, such as Monk and Sonny Corleone [[spoiler: until the plot calls for their deaths]].

* InformedEquipment - averted. In the second game body armor is worn visibly over clothes, getting the ammo increase upgrade gives Dominic and crew literal ammo belts...

* InterrogationByVandalism - One possible tactic for extorting shopkeepers is to smash up their store until they cave.
* InvincibleMinorMinion - These sometimes show up.
* ItsPersonal - It already was since the Barzini Don [[YouKilledMyFather killed Aldo's father]], but it goes even further after [[spoiler: Frankie's death]] at the hands of Tattaglia goons.

* KillItWithFire - In addition to the oven execution (named "Over Cooked") listed under ConvectionSchmonvection, there's an execution (entitled "Sicilian Candle") that involves lighting your enemy on fire and watching him burn to death.

* KneelBeforeZod - You can make people do this, usually by {{kneecapping}} them.

* LegitimateBusinessmensSocialClub - All the families' mobsters are particularly conspicuous around their fronts.

* MentorOccupationalHazard - Luca Brasi acts as your mentor in the start.

* MookChivalry - Averted. The members of the other four families don't know or care about fighting one-on-one like gentlemen, though oftentimes if they get close enough they'll put the guns away and fight you with their fists, especially if you're unarmed.
* MooksButNoBosses - Present in both games. Even important enemy characters go down like ordinary mooks when you actually face them.
* MoonLogicPuzzle - Most plotline missions have money bags lying around. They aren't hidden {{Mind Screw}}ingly-well enough to be GuideDangIt, but most will still miss them.
* MoreDakka - The Tommy gun acts like this from the start and weapon upgrades generally increase the rate of fire.
* MurderByCremation - One of the possible finishing moves involves throwing the enemy into an open oven.

* NeckSnap - Appears in some of the Execution Styles.

* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed - Although the former President of Cuba is never named, for some reason, the anti-Castro rebels have a "B" as their symbol, presumably for [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fulgencio_Batista Batista]].
* NoCommunitiesWereHarmed - The first game takes place in an accurate rendition of New York and New Jersey. The sequel is set in Queens, Miami and Havana, but all the names of the areas were changed to ones such as "Astoria" and "Deco Beach" for no obvious reason.

* NoNameGiven - The Trojan. In the second film, a character with this nickname appears on the family chart as "Angelo Granelli".
* NoOSHACompliance - Various places have conveniently low railings to knock people over for the Watch Your Step Execution Style.
* NominalImportance - Thoroughly averted; Every last NPC has a name.

* CollapsingLair

* CoolShades
* CopyAndPasteEnvironments
* CoupDeGrace - Several Execution Styles has you get in close to a weakened enemy and take him out this way.
* CrateExpectations - Crates can be smashed to reveal things like ammo, money, or health pickups.
* CriticalExistenceFailure

* CrowdPanic
* CustomUniform

* DiedInYourArmsTonight: [[spoiler: Frankie]]

* DiscOneNuke - The lack of BrokenBridge means you can get a lot done before doing any more plot missions. The sequel has BrokenBridge preventing you from getting the best henchmen and weapons early on, but you can still earn the cash needed to fully upgrade yourself not far from the start.

* EnemyCivilWar: Not really a civil war per se, but... if you fight against mobsters nearby other rival mobsters, the two mobster crews will attack one another, depending on how close they are, and how you play your cards.

* EnemyMine - Three families' mobsters cooperate to [[spoiler: kill Sonny]]. Also, you can bribe cops to help you fight other mobsters.

* EveryCarIsAPinto: Cars that take enough damage catch fire, which means they're about to go up like a bomb. This can be incredibly annoying. . . or used to your advantage.
* EveryManHasHisPrice[=/=]ScrewTheRulesIHaveMoney - Bribing the {{Dirty Cop}}s is very useful.
* EverythingFades

* EvilIsEasy - ZigZaggingTrope.

* ExplodingBarrels... Ahem, Crates.

* FriendlyFireproof

* GameplayAllyImmortality

* GoryDiscretionShot - Given to Rocco's killing of [[spoiler: Woltz's horse]].

* HandCannon - The Magnum. The sequel takes it to ridiculous lengths: You start with .357, upgrade to .44, then hit .50 and a real cash-purchased extra gives you .700.
* HealingPotion

* ImplacableMan - You as Aldo.

* InUniverseGameClock

* InsurmountableWaistHeightFence

* KillTheOnesYouLove: [[spoiler: Monk]]

* KleptomaniacHero

* LawOfChromaticSuperiority - Averted. Your black-clad Corleone comrades start out in the worst position, and it's the green Barzinis, not the red Cuneos, who are considered the strongest.

* TheLawOfConservationOfDetail - Subverted; There are some places that appear different on the map, many a locked door... Quite a few are {{Red Herring}}s.

* MolotovCocktail

* NintendoHard - Approaches this, due to the severe damage you can take quite often. In the first game, the enemies often spawn with shotguns, and if you go outside Corleone territory early into the game, you'll get killed in a hurry.

* NoHoldsBarredBeatdown

* RoaringRampageOfRevenge - The whole of the first game is one.

** Getting sufficent respect (accomplished by many varied ways) means shopkeepers capitulate with little to no violence, often paying more than if you'd threatened them.
*** But less than if you discover their weak spot while threatening them.

* WifeBasherBasher: Possible sidequest in ''2''.

* AcceptableBreaksFromReality: The game would get quite boring if every time Aldo wanted to kill a member of another family he had to get permission, as hits have to get formal approval. Especially before he becomes a made man and kills even a lowly soldier, a big no-no in the Mafia.

* AnachronismStew: Not really that bad, but a lot of the events in ''II'' would make much more sense if it were set in 1961 instead of 1959, and the NPC chatter is all over the era, making it sort of a MisterSandmanSequence for TheSixties.

* ArmedBlag - You can attack racket trucks.

* AuthorityEqualsAsskicking - As Don (of NYC), your character is practically MadeOfIron. Higher-ranking enemy mobsters are also more powerful.

* CharacterCustomization / RPGElements

* NamedWeapons

* NothingIsScarier

* NoticeThis

* OneBulletClips

* PersonalMook

* PragmaticVillainy: The game encourages the use of negotiations and bribes before violence.
** Although effective violence (discovering weak spots) is more profitable than negotiation. front owners will give up to 20% more each and racket/warehouse owners will also give more, with the added advantage of not having to pay them anything to take over.

* RedHerring

* RescueIntroduction: Frankie.
* RescueRomance: Frankie again.
* TheResenter - [[spoiler: Monk]].

* {{Spinventory}}
* StealthBasedMission

* StuffBlowingUp

* TakeYourTime

* ThereWasADoor
* ThiefBag
* TimeBomb
* TimedMission

* TheUnreveal - The Trojan's name.

* UnskippableCutScene - Far too many, unfortunately.

* VillainCred

* WelcomeToCorneria

* WideOpenSandbox

* YouALLLookFamiliar

* YouKilledMyFather - The Barzini's Don ordered the hit on Aldo's father. When you get yours back as part of the baptism executions, he even recognises that it would have been you.