Chikt
04-13-2009, 09:48 AM
IN SUMMARY: The Godfather II is at least worth a rental, but I don't really see myself playing it a second time. It tries something new but doesn't really do much with it. Give it a try if you like games like Grand Theft Auto, but don't expect to get the same variety that other sandbox games offer.
I still remember fondly when I first played the original Godfather game on my XBOX. I absolutely loved the feel of it and it was actually my introduction to the Grand Theft Auto style of Gameplay - I went on to get San Andreas on the PC after I played the Godfather on the XBOX. When I heard that they were releasing a Godfather 2, I was both looking forward to it AND concerned about what they might do with it.
And what do I think? The Godfather 2 is by no measure a bad game. It's also not a GOOD game. It sees you playing as (who I believe to be) the same character from the original Godfather. All the families have gotten together down in Cuba to celebrate their newfound friendship and attempt to move into Cuba to start doing business. Of course, all hell breaks loose and you find yourself running back to New York with the Corleones latest don dead. So the Godfather names you the new Don and you set out taking over New York and hiring new made men.
Story wise, I just got confused from here, as the civil war in Cuba has for some reason made all the families worst enemies and plotting against eachother for an event that none of them were responsible for. But they, they ARE mobsters, so I guess they don't need much reason to kill one another.
The biggest change from the GTA formula is the "Dons View", a strategic map of the city. From here, you can order your men to take over different businesses that provide bonuses to your family, find made men from other families and kill them in the specific way required to finish them off once and for all, and manage the guards you have on the businesses you own. There's nothing really special about it as I had hoped it might add a layer of strategy - but as you get towards the end of the game and have 7 people in your family (you can only have 3 people with you at one time in the world) I found it easy enough to just have 4 of my family members on defensive duty while the rest of us went out picking off businesses.
Actually taking over a business starts out as an interesting mechanic, almost like dungeon-crawling as you enter the building and choose how to proceed - cutting off the buildings power to prevent them calling out for aid, blowing holes in walls to flank enemies, jumping through windows or finding a different route in. What you can and cannot achieve depends on the specialties of your made men with you at the time, so you can't get your demolitions guy to cut a hole in that flimsy metal fence because you apparently need an engineering degree to cut a hole in a fence, and to even attempt otherwise undermines all those people that spend so much time in school getting their fence-cutting degree.
Once you've blown up all the walls, kicked in all the doors, cut all the power, punched all the telephones, cut all the fences and shot everybody's face off, you come face to face with the actual owner of the business. To take over the business, you have to intimidate the owner into giving it to you. Now, after killing 20 men on my way here I'd think that the owner of said business might be just a tiny bit worried about their safety, but instead they stoicly deny you until you intimidate them. But don't intimidate them TOO much, or else they'll just tell you where to shove it and make you come back to try again later. It's like they WANT you to beat them up.
But wait! Just beating them up isn't enough if you want to get the most out of them - the different owners are all intimidated more by different things, and will give you more if you intimidate them the right way. So waving your gun around in somebody's face or even shooting them in the kneecaps might not be as effective as grabbing their shirt, drycleaning being as expensive as it is.
Half way through the game the mechanic of taking over businesses, sending defenders, killing off rival family members - it all gets very old, and I found myself struggling to come up with a reason to continue playing. The story becomes more convoluted as your family is attacked and you blame the family that you just made friends with, and proceed to blow up one of their warehouses and start a war - only to be surprised when the Godfather comes down on you for it.
Mind you, the Godfather later decides that they should all die anyway.
Finally, after all the families are wiped out, you're sent out to kill a guy, drive home, get named the Godfather, and live happily ever after. Well, as happily ever after as a mobster can.
The whole story, like the gameplay, is convoluted and reasonless and I found myself wanting to focus more on the gameplay than the story, as tried and repetetive as it was.
In the end, the Godfather 2 tries to be something different, but simplifies itself down to being run and gun, third person gameplay with no real depth. It's long, which is usually a bad thing - but there's very little here to keep your attention for as long as the game actually goes for.
I still remember fondly when I first played the original Godfather game on my XBOX. I absolutely loved the feel of it and it was actually my introduction to the Grand Theft Auto style of Gameplay - I went on to get San Andreas on the PC after I played the Godfather on the XBOX. When I heard that they were releasing a Godfather 2, I was both looking forward to it AND concerned about what they might do with it.
And what do I think? The Godfather 2 is by no measure a bad game. It's also not a GOOD game. It sees you playing as (who I believe to be) the same character from the original Godfather. All the families have gotten together down in Cuba to celebrate their newfound friendship and attempt to move into Cuba to start doing business. Of course, all hell breaks loose and you find yourself running back to New York with the Corleones latest don dead. So the Godfather names you the new Don and you set out taking over New York and hiring new made men.
Story wise, I just got confused from here, as the civil war in Cuba has for some reason made all the families worst enemies and plotting against eachother for an event that none of them were responsible for. But they, they ARE mobsters, so I guess they don't need much reason to kill one another.
The biggest change from the GTA formula is the "Dons View", a strategic map of the city. From here, you can order your men to take over different businesses that provide bonuses to your family, find made men from other families and kill them in the specific way required to finish them off once and for all, and manage the guards you have on the businesses you own. There's nothing really special about it as I had hoped it might add a layer of strategy - but as you get towards the end of the game and have 7 people in your family (you can only have 3 people with you at one time in the world) I found it easy enough to just have 4 of my family members on defensive duty while the rest of us went out picking off businesses.
Actually taking over a business starts out as an interesting mechanic, almost like dungeon-crawling as you enter the building and choose how to proceed - cutting off the buildings power to prevent them calling out for aid, blowing holes in walls to flank enemies, jumping through windows or finding a different route in. What you can and cannot achieve depends on the specialties of your made men with you at the time, so you can't get your demolitions guy to cut a hole in that flimsy metal fence because you apparently need an engineering degree to cut a hole in a fence, and to even attempt otherwise undermines all those people that spend so much time in school getting their fence-cutting degree.
Once you've blown up all the walls, kicked in all the doors, cut all the power, punched all the telephones, cut all the fences and shot everybody's face off, you come face to face with the actual owner of the business. To take over the business, you have to intimidate the owner into giving it to you. Now, after killing 20 men on my way here I'd think that the owner of said business might be just a tiny bit worried about their safety, but instead they stoicly deny you until you intimidate them. But don't intimidate them TOO much, or else they'll just tell you where to shove it and make you come back to try again later. It's like they WANT you to beat them up.
But wait! Just beating them up isn't enough if you want to get the most out of them - the different owners are all intimidated more by different things, and will give you more if you intimidate them the right way. So waving your gun around in somebody's face or even shooting them in the kneecaps might not be as effective as grabbing their shirt, drycleaning being as expensive as it is.
Half way through the game the mechanic of taking over businesses, sending defenders, killing off rival family members - it all gets very old, and I found myself struggling to come up with a reason to continue playing. The story becomes more convoluted as your family is attacked and you blame the family that you just made friends with, and proceed to blow up one of their warehouses and start a war - only to be surprised when the Godfather comes down on you for it.
Mind you, the Godfather later decides that they should all die anyway.
Finally, after all the families are wiped out, you're sent out to kill a guy, drive home, get named the Godfather, and live happily ever after. Well, as happily ever after as a mobster can.
The whole story, like the gameplay, is convoluted and reasonless and I found myself wanting to focus more on the gameplay than the story, as tried and repetetive as it was.
In the end, the Godfather 2 tries to be something different, but simplifies itself down to being run and gun, third person gameplay with no real depth. It's long, which is usually a bad thing - but there's very little here to keep your attention for as long as the game actually goes for.