I always feel a bit ashamed of the fact that "The Godfather" is my favorite movie. As somebody who writes about movies, I feel like it is my duty to have some incredibly highbrow and complicated theory as to why some minor Bergman film or rock-em-sock-em Sonny Chiba flick is, in reality, the greatest achievement in the history of cinema. It has become so culturally acceptable for somebody to say that "The Godfather" is the greatest film of all-time that the inevitable reaction from people after I tell them that, yes, I too worship at the altar of the Corleone family is for them look at me with exasperation and say, "I mean your favorite movie besides 'The Godfather.'"

It is because I am so enamored with all things Corleone that I had absolutely no problem when EA Games announced they were turning the movie into a game. Among "Godfather" fans, I believe I was in the minority in this view. When I first heard about the news, I told my dad, since he is the biggest "Godfather" fan I know. I thought he would be excited about the opportunity to bust some heads in a virtual New York City; he was not. "Oh sure," he said, "and while we're at it, why don't I just turn the Mona Lisa into a computer game?" I was poised to ask him more about his revolutionary idea for turning a stationary piece of artwork into a first-person shooter, but before I could get to it, he hung up. Apparently, the idea of turning his favorite movie into a video game had rattled him.

For some reason, the idea of a "Godfather" game stuck in my dad's craw. My dad takes pleasure in finding a way to get me good and riled about utterly meaningless issues, and he certainly tried his best to see the inherent absurdity of turning the greatest movie of all-time into a videogame designed to arouse the bloodlust of 12-year-olds. He trotted out interviews with director Francis Ford Coppola and star Al Pacino where both men came out against the project.

Although I usually find myself agreeing with pretty much anything Al Pacino says (or, more specifically, anything an Al Pacino character says), I took it all with a grain of salt. I'm not sure if it was a generational thing, but I was surprisingly nonplussed: I think I was just so psyched to play the game.

Also, the fact that Coppola came out against the game was of comfort to me: Whenever the guy who directed "Jack" tells you that something is a bad idea, it is, in fact, a very good idea. (Speaking of Coppola, the funniest part of this whole saga about whether the game should have been made was Coppola's incredulousness that EA Games "never asked me if I thought it was a good idea." I love it that Francis is still living in a world where he thinks anybody still gives a damn about what he thinks. It must be nice to be completely and thoroughly deluded.)

The game was released last week and I bought it for Playstation 2. I got around to playing it very quickly, which is to say, I skipped my afternoon power lectures for two straight days in order to play it. At my side was my friend Andy, an expert on both the Corleone family and video games. As a result of these two joint passions, he is currently on academic probation. Naturally, he was delighted to take two days off to help me explore the game.

The first thing we noticed when you play the game is that it just feels like "The Godfather." The music is right (you can never get tired of the "Godfather" theme), and all of the cars and buildings look right. The only thing that doesn't seem quite in line is the lighting — I guess it was impossible to replicate Gordon Willis' dark, shadow-filled cinematography with pixels. It's a minor distraction, but it is a distraction, since all the scenes look like they are taking place at high noon.

The next great thing, of course, are the characters, which have nothing at all to do with anything EA Games did. The characters would still be great if we were playing on an Atari. The gang's all here — although some get more time than others. Michael, for example, is relegated largely to the background since Pacino did not allow his voice or his likeness to be used for the game (To me, this seems very subjective. How do you define your "likeness?" Is it just physical, or does it extend to the essence of your soul? Technically, any short white guy with black hair could be Al Pacino's likeness. If the folks who really made the game wanted to be safe from lawsuit, they should have made Michael black).

We get a lot of James Caan as Sonny and Robert Duvall as Tom Hagen since both men lent their voices to the game. Caan supposedly embraced the project and thought it was a great idea, but then again, I think James Caan would star in a snuff film if he could get a couple grand out of it. Caan and Duvall's participation has been a major selling point for EA as they try to win over skeptics, which struck Andy as incredibly humorous ("You mean Caan and Duvall were available? Talk about luck!")

For those who buy the "Special Edition" version of the game (which I, regrettably, did), you will be treated to some unintentionally hilarious footage of Caan in full-on "Lecherous Uncle" mode. He's like a copy of Jack Nicholson, only uncool and vaguely disturbing. He seems like the kind of guy who would have a lot of porn just lying around his house. Duvall is good, as usual, although I was upset that the game was not entirely faithful by allowing us to see his toupee shift around from scene the way it did in the movie.

The game is like "Grand Theft Auto" in that it is your job to drive around and create mayhem. Neither Andy nor I had a problem with this, but both of us wished that we could have a bit more interaction with the characters in the game. A real game for "Godfather" fans would let you directly impact the story, like having a mission where you have to firebomb the clinic where Kay is going to have her abortion. Nothing you really do as a character really affects the story as we know it, although it is satisfying that you can smack Fredo around a little bit.

In the end, I think the game is going to appeal to "Godfather" fans. It certainly appealed to this one. Plus, no Andy Garcia or Sophia Coppola, which was nice. In fact, I'd like to see some more classic movies turned into videogames. What about "Citizen Kane"? You would have to drive across town in less than five minutes to stop Rosebud from being incinerated.

Are you telling me you wouldn't be on board for a videogame of "The Apartment" where you have to rub out Mrs. Sheldrake? Or what about "Jerry Maguire: The Game" where you lose the number one pick the night before the draft and have to respond by going down to Texas and torching the Cushman family compound. You're telling me you wouldn't be jacked up for that? Then maybe you would get to do a "Dance Revolution" style dance-off to "Free Fallin'" and "Secret Garden." Anything's possible — it's a brave new world, baby, and we're just living in it.

Ray Gustini is a freshman majoring in political science and history. He can be reached for question or comment at [email protected].