The Godfather II

By Gavin Greene

Plot

Rather than attempt the impossible and directly retell the masterpiece “The Godfather, Part II,” EA’s next installment in its sandbox crime series serves up story centerpieces (like the penthouse-patio scene were Hyman Roth divides Cuba amongst the high-powered families) to roughly situate “Godfather II” amidst a loose context within the timeline of the film and novels. The player controls Dominic, a fully customizable member of the Corleone family that was promoted to the Don of the American side – specifically New York City – of the family after Aldo Trapani’s, the playable lead in the original ‘Godfather’ game, death at the hands of a sniper.

Trapani’s death, however, also causes some bad after-effects: two of the crime regimes connected to the Corleone’s – lead by Tony and Carmine Rosato – renege and form their own rival families within Dominic’s turf. In response, the player must recruit an underling crime soldier in order to claim some of the Rosato’s newly acquired assets (they are later able to recruit two additional soldiers after that, for various tasks.) Accumulating rackets proves to be a specialty for Dominic; his skill eventually expanding his empire across the States to Florida, where he will continue to acquire wealth and power under the Corleone name.

The bulk of the story surrounds those populating and ruling the seedy underbelly of whatever city you’re attempting to take for yourself. The inevitable favor-currying and assassination sub-plots will carry across 3 additional families that need to sleep with the fishes, and allows for plenty of cameos from fan-favorite characters from the film trilogy, as well as the necessary moments of gangster violence in all its glory. For the most part, the story makes a smart move in not even trying to follow the films too closely, instead tossing in enough conversation and references to the original plot to keep cinema fans happy, while keeping it mostly open for players to muddle about the universe in the way that best suits them. Forgiving the odd flubbed line or suspiciously modern-sounding colloquialism, the writing is sharp and fits the game’s timeline exceptionally well. Oddly enough, it’s the characters from the film that often have the most out-of-place moments in the script, those created solely for the game appearing far more slick and human by comparison, Dominic especially.

It may not win an Oscar, but the script for ‘Godfather II’ strings along the various racketeering and assassination missions with enough flair and class to sit, in the same room at least, with its cinematic cousins.

Gameplay

The genre-title of “Sandbox Adventure” inevitably circles around to Grand Theft Auto comparisons, and for at least a part of the ‘Godfather II’ experience, this rings true. The majority of story missions and side quests take place in an open-world environment and usually require at least two of the following: driving, shooting, and hand-to-hand combat; the exact specifics used to fulfill mission requirements being up to the player’s preference. As you begin to acquire underling members to your crime family, you can pick men from several specialties: from those that can handle the front lines of a fire fight, to safe-crackers opening stores of extra cash, to demolition experts equipped with bombs and wire-cutters for fences. Everyone Dominic can put in charge of a firefight, including himself, is upgradeable with cash and baubles collected in game, providing a real sense of momentum to your amassing army. Victory is ascertained by taking over enough of a rival families’ rackets to open up their headquarters for Dominic and his team to attack and take over. Once control over a headquarters is gained, (through several firefights, naturally), the player will have the option of killing the head of the hostage family or freeing him of his power and letting him live. In the short run, these classes of underlings add a new layer of strategy to the open-world action of the meat of the game, but those that have been with the sandbox adventure genre since “Grand Theft Auto” perfected it may find less and less originality in the missions as the game flows on.

Returning from the first ‘Godfather’ game is the Blackhand move-set, where players grab a victim and move in close for kneeing, kicking, and head-butting information or submission out of them. The developers tout the mechanic as being in its ‘2.0’ form, with smoother controls and a more intuitive close-combat interface, and this is one case of the developer not suffering from overpromising-syndrome. What was a clever way to finish thugs off in the first “Godfather” has become an indispensable method of offing foes in “Godfather II,” with responsive button cues leading to many moments of appropriate sensations of crime-lord power (especially when using a controller outfitted with a rumble feature.) It’s not completely necessary, however, and those just wanting to kill their rival family members with a shotgun to the head won’t find enough in the Blackhand move set to motivate a more savoring approach to death-dealing. Gun fights now also come with an auto-lock or manual aiming system, opening up the difficulty for a wider audience.

But it’s this lenient approach to difficulty that may make the game feel too easy to those accomplished in the art of making things dead, especially given the relative competency of your underling squad (outside of firefights).  

The biggest new feature to the game is the “Don’s View” map, where players are taken to an aerial view of the entire city, with all of the owned businesses and family-headquarters laid out and color-coordinated. From here Dominic can order family members to expand and attack specific rackets or mass up at a headquarters and defend it. When ordering soldiers, the player can accompany them on their mission as Dominic, or continue to control via “Don’s View.” It’s here that “Godfather II” gets its own flavor, the real time threats of multiple rival families all vying for your businesses gives the feature a necessary feeling of urgency, and slowly seeing the other families’ rackets shift to your control (or your own rackets slowly being taken over) carries a hearty emotional weight. Controlling entire rackets of one variety nets you solid benefits (owning all the chop shops equips armor to all of your vehicles, for instance.) The feature is stream-lined enough for casual players to control, but still puts up enough challenge for experienced players to find it appealing. “Don’s View” was smartly put in the center of many of the game’s advertisements, as it’s its major distinguishing feature, and its major design success.

On the multiplayer front, 4 gameplay modes and 6 maps are available for matches of up to 16 players, the usual versions Deathmatch and King of the Hill making their anticipated appearance. Victories in online matches will yield in-game baubles like weapons, items, and cash that will be able to be spent in the single player campaign. The gem of the multiplayer is the ability to take “Don” control over one group of underlings, using a Don’s View of the map to place waypoints to guide their team-mates, mark targets on the opposing team, or activate nodes on the map that could either benefit your team or blow up in the other’s face. It can be hectic at times to keep your eyes on all the players’ actions, but those that can take it, this twist on intense multiplayer action definitely gives a new sense of satisifaction.

Presentation

By far the game’s weak spot, “Godfather II” lacks much of the polish expected from games in this generation. Most textures are bland for 2009 standards, and the city overall feels less lively and vibrant when compared to others in the genre. It’s all functional however, with bits of flair popping up throughout the game, like fire effects and the 3-D map of the “Don’s View.”

Move away from the technical side of things, and “Godfather II” looks a lot better. The décor and appearance of the 1950s is preserved and is well crafted, buoyed by a smart selection of licensed tracks and generationally appropriate instrumental numbers. The voice acting, for the most part, is solid, those appearing in the film first turning in the expected level of performance, while Dominic and those new to universe hold their own in most cases. You have a few characters that could have been cast better (Hyman Roth’s voice-actor being the prime example), but the overall voice-over performances reinforce the strength of the script and go a decent way to narrative absorption and character

Final Thoughts

The new strategy elements of “Don’s View,” and the changes made to the Blackhand system of close-combat, give “Godfather II” enough of an edge to make an impression on a genre that’s flooding the market. Having one of the cinema’s greatest films as its backdrop certainly does hurt, either. While the overall game may not pose the same level of challenge as some IP within the same category, the basic formula of run-gun fun, bolstered by strong writing chunks strung between missions, offers enough entertainment to certainly merit a purchase from those looking for a fun new way to take control of a city. Even those still reeling from the greatest of “Grand Theft Auto IV” could give this one a rent and enjoy a solid twenty hours of play out of it. 

Damn it feels good to be a gangster.

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