The Godfather II - Xbox 360.

[Dezm0nd]

This game shouldn't be as fun as what it is. The controls aren't great and the graphics feel unpolished but EA have a magic trick up their sleeve which is primed and ready to go.

"Act like a mobster, think like a Don" really sums up the game even though the little tag line is a bit cheesey.

This game is saved by "The Dons View" game feature which is, in short, Mafia Boss Manager. Pressing start reveals a textureless city of which you're currently in and notifies you which families are controlling which rackets at the current time.

Starting off you're told to take over some of these rackets from the only family in the area and it's alot of fun, selecting a racket of your choice, you must take yourself and a made man to make that racket yours.

Simply walking into the building isn't the most creative way to do things, so I decided to try and sneak round the back and find a way in. I was greeted by a red icon which a dynamite stick only to find out my one made man, was an arsonist and couldn't fulfill my needs to break in. Back to basics it is, then.

Bowling through the front door with a tommy gun reveals how many guards from the opposing family are in here. Taking them out then leaves you to find a boss of the racket, once found it's your job to intimidate him/her.

You have plenty of choice here and finding their weakness is your key to more moolah.

So far, I have taken over 2 prostitution rackets, creating a "ring". This gave me a bonus of Brass Knuckles. Time to do some damage.

On my way to taking the final racket available to me, I am informed that they've counter attacked me on the opposite side of the city! Time to active Mafia Boss Manager 2009 mode and send some cronies over.

I had already planted 4 guards there, costing me X amount of my daily income. This wasn't enough. I was forced to send my arsonist to defend my whore house for me, whilst I carried on sneaking into an underground drug factory.


I'm sorry if this is a bit hard to understand, i'm not the best at telling what I played via text, but the game really is fun for a rental and the 4 out of 10 from Eurogamer seems a bit harsh.

Sure it's not the best game in the world, but it's certainly worth a look at if you're slightly interested in the whole get up of being your very own Tony Soprano.

[ezee ryder]

Yeah I got this on PS3 yesterday and I was surprised with it actually, plays pretty well. Nice mix of strategy (little of that though) and open world action.

It is not as open or entertaining as GTA or Saint's Row but a worth a look if you're into Godfather or like your sandbox games.

[Skull Commander]

Did any of you two gents play the first one? How does this compare? Also does it still have the fight night alike combat, and can you still rough up and put the squeeze on local shopkeepers?

[ezee ryder]

Yeah I played the first one, it doesn't do a whole lot different apart from the minor strategic element. The combat is pretty much the same too, you rough up the shopkeepers in the same way.

[Asholay]

It's got some similar elements to the first game, but is far better.

The "Don's View" is a superb addition, and allows you to do so much, from allocating guards to various places you own, to upgrading either your own, or your 'made-men's' abilities. It also has tons of stats, info on safes you've cracked, executions done, etc - so it's really helpful in that respect.

The addition of skilled family members - such as arsonist, bruiser, safecracker, etc is a great touch, and it makes you carefully plan who you want to hire as your made-men. It also opens up various ways of playing, as you progress through the game, i.e. you can use a mechanic type guy to cut fences into places, or to damage fuse-boxes. You start with just being allowed one 'gang' member - but you can get more later on (up to 3), and upgrade them to Capo, Underbosse, Concilierge, or whatever.

Unlike the first game, you don't find yourself just going round 100 of the same businesses repeating the same actions to take them over. There are a few sets of businesses which, as Desmond says, give you a cheeky bonus - be it body armour, brass knuckles, or whatever, when you own all of them (you can lose this if someone takes over one part of that 'ring' however) and there are only a few 'fronts' in the game, which serve just as bonus cash generation when you take them over.

Another great touch is when you attack places, some of the defenders may try to telephone for back-up, which you can prevent by killing them quickly. The driving could certainly be improved, but to be honest - you rarely have to drive.

4/10 should at minimum be 7/10, maybe even 8/10

Give this game a chance if you're in two minds about it - you won't be disappointed!