Be the Don

Published April 13, 2009

Hiding in the shadows of lust and greed, corruption and power, is the vast criminal underworld of EA's The Godfather® II. It is run by men who demand respect and claim honor, but are not bound by common morality. They are Dons, kings of criminality, and what they want they take, by merciless force if necessary.

What was that you said about Michael Corleone?

You play as Dominic, the newly appointed Don of New York, handpicked by Michael Corleone. It's up to you to keep the family strong, and to keep it profitable by monopolizing Crime Rings and using fronts to launder your illicit revenue.

Open World Mafia
The Godfather II continues the open-world, non-linear trend of its predecessor. From the moment you escape Cuba and take root in New York, you're let free in the city to build your criminal empire as you see fit. The game even extends beyond the borders of the Big Apple, taking you to Florida and eventually back to Cuba as well.

You must curry favor with the community as well, performing shady deeds to earn respect, and more importantly, money and favors.

Building the foundation for your family largely comes down to taking aim at a rival family's Crime Rings and fronts. By storming a business and eliminating enemy guards, you can then pressure the operator to fall under your family's "protection." This of course includes a healthy kickback from the business's profits, but the benefits don't stop there.

If you manage to establish control of all the businesses in a single Crime Ring such as diamond smuggling, you'll earn a special benefit for your trouble, such as bulletproof vests. Every money-laundering front you control also earns you a five percent profit bump for all your illegal revenue.

Focus on the wheel. Let your Made Men do the shooting.

Don's View
Naturally, rival bosses won't take kindly to a newcomer muscling in on their territory. Nor are the enemy families likely to strike back in predictable ways, so you're going to need the tools to manage threats from all angles. Enter the game's most expansive new feature, the Don's View. This city-wide map allows you to manage your actions globally, rather than at street level.

It's from the Don's View that you can manage each of your businesses and Made Men, check on rival families, call in favors, locate mission objectives, and track all of your game stats. Use the Don's View to manage the number of guards protecting each business, or send out Made Men to protect against a rival family's attack or even launch an assault of their own, both without your active assistance.

Made Men
While your own position as Don is of course crucial, you're running a Family here, not a solo operation. Recruiting, managing and utilizing Made Men is a major point of emphasis if you hope to succeed in the long run.

Made Men are not only substantially tougher and more lethal than your average guard, they're specialists. They are safecrackers, arsonists, bruisers, medics, and engineers. Each of these specialties brings some much-desired advantages during missions.

The Don's View is a powerful new tool.

For example, a demolitions expert can blow holes in walls, creating impromptu entrance points. They can even level entire buildings, knocking a business out of commission for a day. Similarly, medics can revive downed comrades in battle, arsonists can light fuel canisters afire, bruisers can perform stealth kills, and engineers can cut the power to buildings, ensuring enemy guards can't call for backup.

Making intelligent use of your Made Men's specialties can turn a bloody standoff into an easy victory in a heartbeat. As you progress through the story, you'll find yourself able to add more Made Men and promote those you already have to loftier positions such as Capo or Underboss. With each promotion comes the opportunity to add an additional specialty to your Made Man of choice.

Currying Favor
Establishing Dominic's family as the preeminent power in each city isn't just a matter of taking over rival family businesses. You must curry favor with the community as well, performing shady deeds to earn respect, and more importantly, money and favors.

Favors in particular can help swing the balance of power your way. Perform favors for citizens to help learn the location and kill requirements for a rival boss's Made Man. Track him down and eliminate him properly, and they'll be permanently removed from the enemy family. This, in turn, will dial down the number of assaults on your own businesses as well as make storming and bombing that family's compound much easier.

You and the crew.

Made Men Online
In a welcome twist to multiplayer, The Godfather II allows you to take the Made Men you've recruited offline and play as them over Xbox LIVE®. Bring an Arsonist online to play Fire Starter, and put your fiery talents to use setting all manner of objects ablaze. He who starts the most fires wins. Other modes include Team Deathmatch, Assault (bomb the enemy's base), and Safecracker (capture safes to earn points).

Honor points are earned when playing multiplayer matches, which you can then use to upgrade your characters, including purchasing higher-tier weapon licenses for use in the game's story mode. You can even place wagers over Xbox LIVE to earn money for your offline Family.

EA's The Godfather II uses its predecessor as a natural springboard, keeping all that worked so well the first time, while layering on much appreciated new features such as the Don's View and brand-new cities.

You'll need discipline, moxie, and a set of brass cojones to reign supreme. Do you have what it takes?

Article by Ryan Treit