As the prodigal son of a legendary crime family, Dominic Corleone, you are the new don of New York City, battling for control of a fractured empire. Godfather II isn’t your typical sandbox of muggings and joyrides overlaid with directionless freedom. It’s a hybrid of action, strategy, and role-playing rolled into one polyester-suited package in which every decision is part of a larger picture.

The game isn’t a retelling of the film so much as an intersection. In fact, the game begins in the middle of the original plot, during the Cuban New Year’s Eve party, circa 1958. It’s a smart move on EA’s part. Not only does Godfather II avoid the stigma of movie-based games, it gives players the chance to experience some of the film’s events in a personal light, because success in this city doesn’t come easily. You need to outwit your opponents, manage a family of miscreants, and get your hands dirty in the mire of human filth. As the elevator pitch for Godfather II goes, “Act like a mobster, think like a don.”

Godfather II has a core plot, but you won’t trudge through the usual glut of pizza delivery missions. Instead, it’s all about building an empire. The city has fallen apart into the hands of three rival families, and you’re going to take it back one business at a time. With the Don’s View, you can see which business are fronts for shadier dealings, which families own them, and how many guards you need to muscle through to get inside. Take over a business, and you get a cut of the profits to fund future ventures and hire your own guards to protect your investments. More money equals more hired guns for taking over more businesses, and so on. Sounds like a solid business plan to me.

You can’t just waltz in and expect a proprietor to hand over the keys though. You’ll need to shake him down first. Grab him by the lapels and bang him against the wall like a rag-doll, or give him a few kicks to the groin until he sees the logic behind your “protection.” Some proprietors will take a more creative approach, but hey, that’s why you’re the don. You might try smashing up the joint or giving him a little fresh air from the edge of a rooftop. The closer you push him to the breaking point, the more money he’ll offer for your services. Just don’t push too far. Dead men can’t pay the bills.

Holding monopolies of certain rackets yields bonuses for combat, bulletproof vests, and multipliers on income, but gangsters aren’t known for their forgiveness. Rival families have the same resources that you do. If they see a moment of weakness, like a business left unguarded because you couldn’t scrape together the money for a guard’s weekly paycheck, they’ll run in with guns blazing or slowly push the blade in from behind. Each family has a distinct style. While one prefers the direct approach with shotguns and baseball bats, another will take its time, bombing your businesses to lighten your bankroll.