LEAVE THE CANNOLI - TRY THE GAME.

Byline: Redmond Carolipio Staff Writer

Just when you think you're out, ``The Godfather'' pulls you back in.

For the very jaded fanboy, this body of work from Electronic Arts could be written off as another free-roaming experience that offers you the chance to control the city, like ``True Crime,'' ``Grand Theft Auto'' or any other life-on-the-streets game that came before it.

But the true power of ``The Godfather'' lies in its reverence for a story and world that have already been created. As the mobsters might say, the game shows it respect. And let's face it - if you're making a game about a legendary movie and the guy on the cover is dead, respect should be automatic.

One way the game earns points is by not putting the player in the shoes of the stars. You could easily have been asked to ``be'' one of the core characters, like Michael or Sonny Corleone, or even Don Corleone himself. Marlon Brando reprises his role as the famous don; he recorded his dialogue and allowed EA to use his likeness before he died.

But while portraying a star would have been intriguing, it also would have felt like a cheesy copout at the end - fans already know what happens to these characters, so there's no mystery. Instead, you start out as a nameless street thug recruited by Luca Brasi to help do the Corleone family's dirty work. You take over businesses, attack rival families and serve as an enforcer. The better you do, the more you move up the family food chain. You even have the chance to become don yourself.

But perhaps the most powerful aspect of the experience is how the player is transformed into the ultimate in-the-shadows power player. Remember the scene where Michael goes to the bathroom, grabs the gun from behind the toilet and kills Sollozzo? Well, you're the reason the gun got there - it's one of your missions.

The game's list of tasks is loaded with things that make the player feel like an integral part of the Corleone family without actually being named outright. You interact with everyone from Clemenza (``Leave the gun, take the cannoli'') to Tom Hagen, the Corleone attorney played by Robert Duvall, reprising his movie role for the game. Other missions include sneaking the horse's head into the bedroom of the movie producer, taking an active part in whacking rival dons during the famed ``baptism'' scene, and tracking down the gunmen who cut down Sonny Corleone (voiced by James Caan) at the tollbooth. Instead of ``playing'' the sequences, your nameless mobster is living them.

You have plenty of 1945-55 era weapons to play with, like tommy guns and Molotov cocktails, as well as dynamite bombs to blow up rival businesses. There's also a funky hand-to-hand combat system, where you can grab and smack around enemies - even toss them around the room.

Unfortunately, the game's nonlinear, mission-based structure calls for lots of playing time, which means more chances to see the flaws.

While the game's depiction of old New York is visually appealing, you'll also notice how many of the buildings are laid out the same way inside. The churches and compounds in Jersey look almost identical to the ones in Brooklyn. There are also some camera issues during gunfights: There are too many instances of the player getting shot by a random off-screen enemy.

The driving mechanics also feel a little sloppy, as inexperienced ``game drivers'' will slam into things with regularity.

``The Godfather'' promised to make an offer that gamers couldn't refuse. While I say it's possible to refuse it - it's a good, but far from revolutionary title - it certainly demands some respect.

It beats sleeping with the fishes.

THE GODFATHER - Three stars

Rated: M for Mature.

Platform: PS2, Xbox, PC, Xbox 360 (in July).

In a nutshell: Don't fuhgedd-about-it! Ya gotta play this game.

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Photo:

no caption (``The Godfather'')