The Godfather II

We’re not fussed about why EA decided to morph this sequel from an open-world crime sandbox into an empire-building resource-management sim. What really matters is that the second videogame Godfather is better than its predecessor because of the change — though unfortunately, it peaks too early.

Shooting, taking cover, intimidations, executions, and recruiting a crew are all tutored in the opening sequence, admirably walking you through Godfather II’s unique gameplay. Sure, it’s a fairly straightforward third-person shooter on the surface, but it’s really all about property management, which is mostly accomplished through a top-down 3D map of the gameworld that’s dubbed the Don View.

From here you can manage your businesses, pay guards to defend your fronts, upgrade the skills of you and your crew, and more. All of these tasks are vital to running a smooth operation. For instance, taking over all of one business type nets you a bonus like half-price guards or bulletproof vests for your crew. Plus, the more businesses you control, the more money you make, allowing for health and combat upgrades.

Most of your street-level time is spent driving to and attacking fronts. As many as three underlings will help you out, and each has a special skill such as safecracking, arson, or healing. Once inside you’ll need to locate the shop owner, who you can then choke, hang over a ledge, or otherwise threaten in order to break their will. Take over all of a rival family’s businesses, and you’ll unlock their compound, which you can invade and blow up, permanently eliminating them.

You’ll repeat this process for each of the game’s five families, spanning three locales (New York, Florida, and Cuba). Along the way, civilians will ask for favors in exchange for intel on how to kill a family’s top guys. These favors are limited — burglary, assassination, and beatdowns are the most common — and we found it less tedious to simply storm a family’s compound and take ’em all out in one fell swoop. We did sadistically delight in finding the Don in the mansion, then trying out one of the game’s myriad executions, which include pulverizing someone with your fist and putting a gun in a guy’s mouth and pulling the trigger. Ouch!

Sore spots? Driving is painful — the 1960s rides handle like boats. In addition, you can only mantle over certain low walls, making on-foot movement occasionally frustrating. Worse, your A.I. crew won’t always do what you want, delaying getaways or unwittingly attracting the attention of the police when you’re trying to avoid their pursuit.

Multiplayer, on the other hand, is surprisingly enjoyable. Since you play as your campaign henchmen, the modes take advantage of their specific skills — for instance, Arson mode has arsonists lighting up fuel pumps and propane tanks around the level to score points while their teammates support them. Interestingly, the money you earn online carries back over to your single-player game, where you can spend it on upgrades and subsequently kick more ass, online and offline. And the executions are all active, too!

All told, though it deftly combines action, strategy, and resource management, Godfather II simply never evolves. Sure, your crew’s skills improve and your empire expands, but the core gameplay never changes from shoot/capture/ control. We’d love to see these ideas built out and matured in a third game — provided it has nothing to do with the third movie, that is!