The Godfather II

"Finally a game that does the GTA style correctly"

It seems that the Godfather II has flown under the radar or people simply had no interest in it... I simply cannot believe that a game this great seems to have fallen so short as far as the amount of buzz the forums, reviews and the like. As I write this, there is only one review available, so here is another opinion on the game for your pleasure.

Story (10)

The story is amazing, there is a lot that you can see coming and a lot that you don't, the game does a good job of throwing curve balls at you and kicking you while your down. There are a lot of elements that you simply cannot control and they tend to bump up the difficulty which makes the game very interesting. You will find yourself in a multitude of sticky situations, most of the time you are given the ability to bribe various guards and city officials to make things work in your favor. Using these bribes helps take the stress off of some of the games harder moments. The story lets your create your own path from a one man army to the Don of your very own family, you will ruthlessly take out any and all who step in your path, and they will do their best to make sure you don't have an easy time doing it. Will you rise to the top, or quickly get knocked to the bottom?

Gameplay (10)

This is where the game excels above and beyond. You are thrown into the city of New York where you must prove your worth and defend your turf. ;) You will begin by attacking small businesses or "Rackets", extorting and beating the owners, robbing the safe, and then defending it as your own with hired guards. This may seem boring, but each new business has its own adventure to it, each one is defended differently, has different supplies within, different ways to enter, they may have more than one safe, and the owner may even stand up to your beatings and extortion a little more or less than expected. Each racket owner will react differently to different types of attacks, if you push the right buttons you will get a hefty 25% increase from extorting them. If you push them over the edge, they wont pay you at all! You may also face extra attackers when trying to take over a racket, so be prepared to take on a small army, or disable communications before hand! Once you own all rackets of a similar type you will gain a special monopoly bonus. These bonuses range from double income, cheaper guards, body armor, burning bullets, and much more! But be warned, once you own a monopoly you will face an onslaught of attacks from Families who wont sit idly by as you take over their territory. They will either attack you in force or bomb you so you don't receive your bonuses. This doesnt even begin to scratch the surface. Just remember, anything you can do, your enemies can do as well. Be sure to beef up your family members with any money you have, they will be your life blood when it comes to attacking and defending, you are only as strong as your weakest link.

Graphics and Sound (8)

I grouped these together because they both seem to be on the same level. The sounds aren't really noticeable aside from some great musical scores and random rants and raves from your crew and pedestrians. The graphics are pretty good, they arent top of the line, but you cant expect every game to have pristine visuals. There are a few issues with texture clipping and slow rendering, and some in game slowdowns when you are running about, usually only in New York or around the Air Port in Florida, some times this gets frustrating... Needless to say, the graphics are a step up from the norm, but they arent on par with most of todays games. The Don View menu is beautifully rendered though, and you will be spending most of your time there.

The good!

This game boasts an amazingly fun time! Theres so much to do and so much to think about. You have to plan every move in advance, and you have to keep on your toes. Targeting key businesses and disrupting your enemies monopolies is key for victory. You can spend alot of time picking the best men for your family and upgrading them to the max, outfitting them with the best weaponry, and even design their wardrobe! Be sure to enjoy your time playing, exploration is key!

The bad!

The game is short. I beat it in less than 10 hours with 1000/1000 Achievements. I enjoyed running around and gathering all of the items and hunting down all of the achievements but the game is far to short for my liking. Once you get to a certain point and you own select monopolies, the enemy really doesn't do much to you, you can easily fend off any attack and you rarely get bombed in the latter parts of the game. The game is built on a great concept but it could have been expanded on much further, they could have easily added another 60 rackets, 4 or 5 more Enemy Family and you could still breeze through it. The game seems very hard at times but its simple and easy to change the tides of battle in your favor.

Overall

Im sad to see that this game isn't receiving the attention it deserves. Its truly one of the best games ive ever played. I would like to see some great DLC including new Enemies, new areas to conquer, and perhaps some more professions and a larger family! This is a great base for a game and it could be improved very much if they make use of the DLC system for more than multiplayer maps and over powered weapons. Im sure ill be playing this game for months to come. I recommend that you rent this game first, as you will be able to beat it in one rental session, and then purchase it if you feel its worth the money.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 04/27/09

Game Release: The Godfather II (US, 04/07/09)