10 Best Visceral Video Games - Ranked

7. The Godfather

Across the 2000s you saw everybody and their granny trying to get in on "the GTA buzz", with EA clearly thinking that if they were going to try their hand, it should be with one of the most highly-respected movie franchises of all time.

Truly, this then resulted in a groundswell of fear surrounding how EA and Visceral might mess up a playable crime epic, and though The Godfather had none of the pathos and slow-build payoff of the movie(s), it was a damn fine open-world crime game. Built around extorting various gangs and establishments to accrue wealth and power, a neat interrogation mechanic peppered the otherwise standard shooting and driving.

Like the various high-end Bond games EA published, The Godfather benefitted from an exorbitant budget, recruiting all the members of the movie's cast that were still alive - alongside Marlon Brando actually recording new lines as Vito Corleone, in what would be his final performance.

Through interrogations you could recruit businesses to pay up what they were owed - or wipe them out entirely - building your empire one bread shop at a time. Combined with such a gorgeously rendered old school New York setting, The Godfather - despite its budget and stature - is almost a forgotten gem.