It may very well be every man’s dream to live in Francis Ford Coppola fictional world of The Godfather. Who wouldn’t love to join up with Luca Brazzi on a hit and become pals with Michael Corleone before he becomes the next Don? If that doesn’t make your hair stand up, then maybe going toe-to-toe with Marlon Brando’s Don Vito Corleone, the Godfather himself, is enough to get your pulse racing. As you can see, the potential for expanding this beloved franchise is endless, but one has to wonder at what costs? Is there room for new stories in a world that revolves around crime and family? The short answer: yes, The Godfather II is an entertaining title with a few shortcomings. The original Godfather video game didn’t do too much to entertain myself as a gamer.
When every game on the market was trying to cash in on the sandbox genre, I determined to step away and let the genre run its course due to the over-saturation. The Godfather was a casualty of this splurge of sandbox crime titles and it didn’t have much going for it at the time besides the license. Now, ready for a second go-around, Electronic Arts has changed up the premise of the title and departs from the film’s story to give players a fresh look at the world of Michael Corleone as he rises to power. Starting off in Cuba in 1959, players will customize their very own Dominic with a few facial features, hairdos, and clothing to standout from the crowd. I went with the green argyle sweater with a clean look, but there a handful of options to create Dominic to your liking.
When the game starts off, Aldo, the main character from the first Godfather video game, is killed off by a sniper as Michael, Fredo and Dominic attempt to flee Cuba after their plans of establishing a crime syndicate in the country fails. You’ll soon find yourself with the world at your fingertips as Michael hands over New York City for you to control. Creating an empire, you’ll learn the tricks of the trade via running out or killing opposing criminal families and creating rackets all around the city. This aspect, the expanding of your empire, is the heart of The Godfather II and is what will have you coming back for more. The basic concept of The Godfather II is to become a successful Don. To do this, you’ll be hiring guards, finding crew members, upgrading crew members, conning businesses to pay for your protection, running rackets such as prostitution rings, robbing banks, and most importantly, running other criminal families out of the city.
