Review by: Brian Rowe

In this reimagining of Coppola’s seminal film, New York, Florida, and Cuba are brimming with lucrative businesses, and everyone wants a piece of the action. As a new Don in the Corleone family, it’s your job to “persuade” the owners to buy your protective services instead of the other three families. Of course, the sales pitches require a little brawn and perhaps a glance through the barrel of a .357, and after the transaction, a solid crew of trustworthy soldiers to protect your assets. With perseverance, you’ll be swimming in cash and on your way to wiping out your rivals for good. Just remember that a vast empire doesn’t necessarily make you untouchable. Sometimes, it only makes you a bigger target.

It’s through this play of shifting territories and rival families, that give almost as good as they get, that The Godfather II (GFII) tries to distinguish itself from other open-world tales of guns and gangsters. Billed as a blend of action and strategy, GFII trades pizza-delivery quests for brutal shakedowns to increase your income, establishing crime rings to reap benefits like cheaper guards and bulletproof vests, and purchasing upgrades for yourself and your crew. You can do favors for the citizenry and corrupt officials for cash, blind eyes, and tips for taking out made men. GFII has a buffet of underhanded options at your disposal, but in light of my previous warning, more isn’t necessarily better.

Your ultimate goal is to take over each city with the help of your crew so that you can invade the compounds of rival families. Supporting this clearly-defined goal is an intricate relationship of favors, finances, upgrades, and little touches like witnesses who will point you out to the cops, but the web is too complex for its own good. In fact, I’m reluctant to point out every detail, lest I pull out a few diagrams and a laser pointer. When playing as the developers intended, you should pour over your income and expenditures with an accountant’s eye, position crew members in key positions of defense while you perform side-missions for favors, and watch the ebb and flow of other families’ movements with tactical consideration.

I usually pull out the biggest gun I have and saunter in to the nearest joint. It’s quick and dirty, but it works. The problem is that the A.I. expects you to waste time assisting jilted ex-lovers and robbing banks, even though you can sweep the cities by barging in a business with one crew member while the other two are busy cleaning out another, and still make more than enough money to hire guards and buy a few upgrades for your character. I began with the cautious approach, but not even halfway through, I limited favors to those that gave me the kill-conditions to permanently rid the city of rival made men, and ensure smoother battles at the compounds.