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The Godfather II!

The legendary series has once again returned to the gaming universe for another chance to make your mark on the world, but will The Godfather II be able to please the Don, or will it be sleeping with the fishes?

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Final Impressions: The final impression is just that, our completed breakdown and overall thoughts on the game based off of our entire game playing time.

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Up And Coming: The Godfather II takes place in the modern half of the Godfather storyline in 1960. After the events of the movie trilogy, the Corleone family has grown and flourished to become one of the most powerful empires that reach from New York and Florida to Las Vegas.

You play as Dominic, a boss in the Corleone family with the go-ahead from the Don to start his own family and take over. You are tasked with recruiting loyal men, orchestrating attacks on rival families and racking in the cash along the way to taking over everything possible.

The storyline in The Godfather II is quite impressive and throws plenty of twists and turns at you as you progress through the game. The Godfather II is worth playing through for the story alone.

Jack-of-all-trades: In The Godfather II, family is everything. You will need to start your own family by enlisting small time crooks with specialty skills into your family.

Each member you recruit into your family will have a specific skill or area where he excels. Some men will be skilled in Demolition or Arson, and others are best suited to be Bruisers or Medics.

As you progress through the game you will be able to employ a variety of skilled individuals who will help you out in any situation you encounter.

The idea of recruiting several men who each have their own skill is done very well and adds a nice layer of depth to the simple task of deciding who is inducted into your family. You will often encounter a time or place where you will see that the skills of one of your crewmembers are needed.

The Shakedown: Among the many uses you will get out of your crew, you can also take them with you when you prepare to shake down a business for protection money or even take over a rival family's crime ring.

You have the ability to move throughout the open world and essentially take over the city one business at a time. You will be able to enter virtually any business and take it over as long as you "persuade" the owner well enough.

Taking over these businesses, called "fronts" scattered throughout the city will grant you bonuses to your income and will give you an honest source of income to fuel your empire.

If you are feeling daring though, you can also attack another family's crime ring and attempt to take what they have, and earn, from that ring.

Everything from Prostitution and Chop Shops to Adult Entertainment and Drug factories can be captured and controlled. Control every business in the crime ring (three Chop Shops, four Prostitution rings etc.) and you will be granted a bonus (armored cars, brass knuckles etc.).

However, if you can take it from them, they can take it back. At times other families will attempt to storm your crime rings and businesses and take back what you stole from them.

Taking over businesses as well as defending your turf tends to result in massive firefights with the attackers in which you and your team will engage the assailants in an attempt to keep your territories.

Think Like A Don: A massive aspect added into the latest installment in The Godfather franchise is the addition of the "Don's View" which allows you to manage and monitor your empire with ease.

In the Don's View you will be able to send guards to defend your businesses, order your family members to perform certain actions (take over a new business or attack one) or orchestrate massive moves against the other families looking to take you down.

In the Don's View you can also look at your businesses, upgrade your family members (as well as yourself) among other actions.

The Don's View is very enjoyable and adds plenty of depth to the game, allowing you complete control as to how you want to take over New York, Florida and Las Vegas.

Act Like A Mobster: The Godfather II (in case you haven't guess yet) is an open world game that allows you to go anywhere and essentially do anything you want in your bid for the city, but that does not mean this game is without it's flaws.

As you explore the city you are currently in you will be able to find many local businesses (ripe for take over!) and rival families all over the city, but The Godfather II does have a significant flaw in how linear it is.

From the moment you start the game you are effectively forced to move along and progress the story at some point or time. Other then taking over businesses and attacking crime rings, there is not much to do at all in The Godfather II.

You seldom have interaction with anyone besides story-essential characters and if you do interact with the populous you will get nothing but a one-liner.

The lack of varied side missions makes the game's storyline feel a bit like it is forced upon you and while you probably won't complain; it can be a little annoying.

What Are Those: The Godfather II also falls short in another area: the visuals. The graphics you will see showcased in The Godfather II leave much to be desired and it is easy to believe that the visuals could have looked much better then they do.

While the environments are moderately detailed and the cinematics are decent, the in-game graphics are much less agreeable.

You will see slightly misshapen citizens, undetailed character models as well as the occasional clipping issue in which you walk straight through somebody.

The audio featured in The Godfather II do impress though. Everything from the voiceovers and cinematics to the sounds your weapons make are very well done and help immerse you into the game.

Rent vs. Buy: The Godfather II has a lot going for it and innovates in quite a few ways but you cannot help but feel like this could have been a better game then it is.

The Don's View, recruiting members, taking over crime rings and businesses and other activities are very enjoyable and will keep you entertained for the entire length of the game, but the slight flaws such as lack of varied side missions and lackluster graphics take away from The Godfather II.

If you are a fan of open world games and are looking for something a little different from what's out there on the market today then The Godfather II is a definite buy, but if you are a graphics-snob or refuse to move along a semi-linear path, then maybe you would be better off simply renting this game and trying it out yourself.

Report Card

If you are a fan of open world games and are looking for something a little different from what's out there on the market today then The Godfather II is a definite buy, but if you are a graphics-snob or refuse to move along a semi-linear path, then maybe you would be better off simply renting this game and trying it out yourself. (Krakrabbit.com)

B


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