Review: The Godfather II

godfather-2I love The Godfather. I have practially memorized the movies, especially the first one and have been known to watch the first two back to back. I enjoyed the first game in this series back on the PS2, so I was looking forward to playing the sequel, especially with the Don’s View I had read so much about.

Godfather II is an open-world game, like Grand Theft Auto. The difference is that in addition to a few story missions, the bulk of the game is spent taking businesses over from rival families and defending your own turf from them. You can do this by either going yourself and killing all the guards and then threatening the store owner until he gives in. There is a little bar that shows how far you have pushed him and if you push him too far, he stops being meek and starts fighting back. Then you have no choice but to kill him and wait a bit for the business to re-open. Then you get to do it all again! (Protip: Don’t overdo it. It’s a pain in the ass.) The other method involves the Don’s View, which allows you to send some of your family to take over or bomb a business. The game is even enough of a stand-up guy to let you know if your attack will likely succeed or fail based on number of wiseguys you send.

Bombing a business is usually easier, just send your guys to do it and it usually works. The reason to bomb a place has to do with Crime Rings. All businesses have a bonus attached to them and if you control all of a certain type, gambling for instance, you get a bonus, such as bullet-proof vests, brass knuckles or cheaper guards. By bombing a family who has a Crime Ring, you take away that bonus, which is a good time to attack and take it from them! This is about as far as the strategy goes in the game, but its a neat little addition and makes you feel like you are really in control of the family. The other aspect that does this is your ability to promote your gang and add new skills, like a medic or a bruiser. If you want to promote someone and your family is full, simply mark someone for death and whack him! Then a spot will free up and he can join the Corleone family. These guys can then tag along and do a decent job of helping you take over the city. Or cities, as this game spans New York, Miami and Havana and follows the plot of the movie, but changes quite a bit to allow for your character, Dominic, to be involved.

Honestly, I enjoyed this game quite a bit. It’s nothing groundbreaking, but the Don’s view is a nice touch and adds a nice layer of complexity to an otherwise simple game. There are safes around the city to find and new weapon upgrades, but I didn’t really mess with them and they are for completists only. The voice acting is pretty decent, with Robert Duvall returning to voice Tom Hagen, the family lawyer and consigliere. If you enjoy open-world games, then give this one a shot for sure. I enjoyed it more than I did Grand Theft Auto IV, to be honest, but not as much as Saints Row 2. There is nothing really bad I can think of to say about the game. It’s a good game, just nothing in it brings it to a higher level of greatness.

GamerSushi Grade:

D

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Written by

Age: 34 PSN ID: Starkiller81. I've played games since before I can remember, starting with my dad's Atari and I haven't stopped yet. Keep them coming and I will keep playing them.

6 thoughts on “Review: The Godfather II”

  1. Nice review, fair score but for me it was great first time i put it in. I was instantly hooked, executions were my favourite thing but it’s really repetetive. I played it, completed it too quickly for my liking and have never touched it again, it’s a shame too, it was a good game.

  2. Nice review Anthony. Seems interesting enough. I thought there was an online mode though, or did you just not cover it?

  3. [quote comment=”7147″]Nice review Anthony. Seems interesting enough. I thought there was an online mode though, or did you just not cover it?[/quote]

    There is, but I didn’t mess with it. Played it once, didn’t care for it.

  4. [quote comment=”7160″]Online open-worlds remind me of wow. Just another reason not to play them.[/quote]

    It’s not anything like WOW. It’s not even online-openworld. The single player is open world, the multiplayer is online and has arenas, like most games.

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