The GodFather 2 Impression

[JuniorDan]

The Don view does add another layer to the game and if abused can make the game way too easy and the game doesn't seem that difficult to begin with.

You beat me to it....I was about to say I now have 6 made men that been lvl up to medium status you can say. I am now sending them out in teams of 3 to take over business and fronts. I am now flying through these maps now. Sometimes I will go solo on side missions and let my two 3 man teams go out on there own. When I complete my task I may or may not assist any of whom seemed to be taking to long, or if the rival Don sent reinforcements of his own made men.
There are incentives to owning all of a particular front such as Bulletproof vest, Double daily income, Incendiary bullets and the list goes on. The rival Dons will just Bomb your businesses at this point, especially if they are low on made men. Haveing just one of the businesses out of commission will render the perk useless until it is repaired (there is a perk for quick repairs too).

[hepcat]

i ran over to target this morning as they're having a sale on "buy 1, get 1 half off" on some 360 games...and Godfather 2 is listed.  I had hoped to get online with a copy and cause you all great jealousness a la juniordan.  unfortunately, i was thwarted by their observance of the street date.   

[Caine]

i had the same line from a best buy guy, except he tried to be my friend and said how he had also heard of people playing it.  figures though, you finally find a copy on the shelf and get stuck with a power tripping manager who thinks the world will end if you get a game two days early.

[JuniorDan]

i ran over to target this morning as they're having a sale on "buy 1, get 1 half off" on some 360 games...and Godfather 2 is listed.  I had hoped to get online with a copy and cause you all great jealousness a la juniordan.  unfortunately, i was thwarted by their observance of the street date.   

Why cant I get confirmation on this sale you talk of at Target? Its not online or the Sunday paper. I would love to get Halo Wars and H.AW.K.S for $90.
I wish they would answer the DAMN phone.

[hepcat]

d'oh, sorry!  i misread the ad on cheapassgamer.com.  It's actually Toys R Us who is having the buy 1 get 1 for half off sale on a select few titles.

PS3
 Prince of Persia
 Street Fighter IV
 Eat Lead
 Call of Duty: WaW
 The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena
 Wheelman

360
 Halo Wars
 Rock Band 2 (Game Only)
 Gears of War 2
 WWE Legends of Wrestlemania
 Resident Evil 5
 Guitar Hero: Metallica
 The Godfather II
 Left 4 Dead
 Fear 2

Wii
 Hannah Montana: The Movie
 Sonic and the Black Knight
 Shaun White Snowboarding: Road Trip
 Rayman Raving Rabbids: TV Party
 SimAnimals
 MadWorld

[Maggot]

Much worse than the first godfather game which wasn't even that good, graphics looks like sims 2 with more AA, missions range from kind of interesting to the jesus christ this shit again? missions, driving feels very very bad, story is pretty much not there.... Well dont know much more to say other than it sucks.

Gta 4 and Saints row 2 easily beats this in every way possible, the management side to it is interesting until you realize it doesnt have any depth at all. Rent it first.

[CeeKay]

OK, I'm planning on going with the PC version if my Gamestop gets one in, and if they don't it'll be the 360 version then.  I'm not counting on the MP portion to be anything big si I won't feel any loss not being able to play it on XBL.

I'm going to hold off on getting GF2 for now in the far fetched hope that it might eventually make it to the Wii. I guess that's an indicator of how much more I enjoyed the Wii version.

if it ever comes out on the Wii (and I pick up another one after selling my first) I'd probably end up grabbing it again as long as the reviews said they didn't mess up the controls.

[Ridah]

Where are all the reviews for this game anyhow? It comes out on Tuesday and I can't find a single review for it.

[CeeKay]

Where are all the reviews for this game anyhow? It comes out on Tuesday and I can't find a single review for it.

probably embargoed.  I'm not going to read too much into it; heck, KD couldn't post the Guitar Hero Metallica review until 6pm on the day it came out and that's one was a pretty major release.

[metallicorphan]

i certainly wouldnt mind getting this,i loved the first and i loved the open world old New york City,i saw the OXM report on the american 360 dashbaord and the graphics looked very bland,but then again some of the graphics in the first game werent great

For the Godfather movie lovers. Unlike part 1 This is Not part of the Movie.
The Godfather II game goes beyond the film's story by setting players in the world of organized crime in 1960's Florida, Cuba and New York.

in the first game,you were responsible for setting up some of the scenes that happen in the film...if you remember,it was you who put the horses head in the bed.......is this not how this one plays out then?...do you not take Freddie fishing?,LOL

[hepcat]

Much worse than the first godfather game which wasn't even that good,

au contraire...many of us loved the first one.

[ATB]

Much worse than the first godfather game which wasn't even that good,

au contraire...many of us loved the first one.

I'm using the word love here, about the first one.

[Eightball]

Much worse than the first godfather game which wasn't even that good,

au contraire...many of us loved the first one.

Agreed.  It was probably my favorite game from that year.

[Maggot]

Where are all the reviews for this game anyhow? It comes out on Tuesday and I can't find a single review for it.

probably embargoed.  I'm not going to read too much into it; heck, KD couldn't post the Guitar Hero Metallica review until 6pm on the day it came out and that's one was a pretty major release.

Yeah the embargo is 7th april.

[Maggot]

and now reviews are here. Eurogamer 4/10.

[ATB]

and now reviews are here. Eurogamer 4/10.

Don't forget that they use Celsius.

Two other european outfits have rated it 61 and 79.

[Knightshade Dragon]

I'm not finding it to be that bad.  Repetitive?  Sure.  4/10?  A little harsh.

[Maggot]

Yeah 4/10 is harsh but i would now give it anymore than 6/10. It's really not good at all imo.

[ATB]

Yeah 4/10 is harsh but i would now give it anymore than 6/10. It's really not good at all imo.

I'll buy your copy cheap.

[Owain]

Yeah 4/10 is harsh but i would now give it anymore than 6/10. It's really not good at all imo.

I'm just curious, if you disliked the first one so much then why even play the second one without any reviews being out?

[jztemple2]

I've played for an hour of game time and I can stay that if you liked the first one, you'll like the second one for some of the same reasons. You're running a business, you take over the other guy's locations, you defend your own. The Don's View is a nice idea, once you have played for awhile and the tutorials have introduced you to many of the features. After an hour the game is still introducing new concepts to me. There's more depth to the game that you might think.

Graphics are a bit ugly, especially after playing Far Cry 2 for awhile. They are serviceable. I'm in New York right now, which is very small compared to GF1, but I think this is due to it being part of the learning phase.

The manual is appalling small, but I guess that's the trend nowadays. If I like the game I might have to invest in the guide. Is there a decent online source for the game yet? I'm not looking for cheats or walkthroughs, just maybe some discussion about money making. Honestly though, it's pretty straight forward on what to do.

[metallicorphan]

The manual is appalling small, but I guess that's the trend nowadays.

well its an EA game isnt it,they pretty much dont do manuals....last EA game i got LOTR:C it had about 4 pages for the manual,and that included all the photosynphesis warnings and warranty's etc

and i actually wouldnt mind getting the guide for this,i got the guide for the first one and it was well done...nice map of NYC as well came with it

[jztemple2]

Holy smokes, I tried MP. You talk about one shot one kill!!! Shotguns and sniper rifles are deadly at their respective ranges. It's all rather run and gun, but with weapons so deadly there is some motivation to ambush if possible.

[Maggot]

Yeah 4/10 is harsh but i would now give it anymore than 6/10. It's really not good at all imo.

I'm just curious, if you disliked the first one so much then why even play the second one without any reviews being out?

Because i got it for free ? 

But i actually never said i disliked the first i just said it wasnt that good.

[Ridah]

How is the framerate? I don't need the most detailed graphics ever so long as the framerate is rock-solid.

[jztemple2]

How is the framerate? I don't need the most detailed graphics ever so long as the framerate is rock-solid.

Haven't seen any issues,  but then the draw distances aren't very long.

[Owain]

Yeah 4/10 is harsh but i would now give it anymore than 6/10. It's really not good at all imo.

I'm just curious, if you disliked the first one so much then why even play the second one without any reviews being out?

Because i got it for free ? 

But i actually never said i disliked the first i just said it wasnt that good.

LOL.. for free I would try out the sequel as well, no matter how much I disliked the first one.

How is the framerate? I don't need the most detailed graphics ever so long as the framerate is rock-solid.

Haven't seen any issues,  but then the draw distances aren't very long.

Having completed the game at around 22 hours,  I never had any framerate issues at all.

[Knightshade Dragon]

How is the framerate? I don't need the most detailed graphics ever so long as the framerate is rock-solid.

Haven't seen any issues,  but then the draw distances aren't very long.

There are...oddities.  When things pop in they sort of shimmer white for a second.  It's not natural and somewhat distracting.  I'm gonna dog the game for a few things in my review -
Graphic shimmer nonsense
Repeating voices from the NPCs including your made men
Mission variety lacks by the time you get to the end
Missions make no damned sense - bomb my business and get 10k in cash, but I lose my bonus until that item is rebuilt?  How about no.  I stopped doing non-key missions as I just won't bomb my own places anymore. 
Multiplayer = snipefest.

[JuniorDan]

Gamespot can now longer be trusted with their reviews IMHO. I no longer  have confidence in their reviews. There have been quit a few games in the last 3 months in which they have just about buried that was no where as bad as they made it out to be.

[Ridah]

Gamespot can now longer be trusted with their reviews IMHO. I no longer  have confidence in their reviews. There have been quit a few games in the last 3 months in which they have just about buried that was no where as bad as they made it out to be.

I don't think the gaming community has trusted GameStop for a while now 

[jztemple2]

I only got in about three hours, but while I'm not turned off by the game, it doesn't feel that much like *fun*. The mainline missions haven't been as entertaining as say the ones in Saints Row 2. However, it's early in the game and I haven't even gotten to Miami, so maybe things will pick up.

[jztemple2]

Question, where do I get ammo for my tommy gun in New York? I run out all the time and I haven't seen an AmmuNation store anywhere 

[Owain]

Question, where do I get ammo for my tommy gun in New York? I run out all the time and I haven't seen an AmmuNation store anywhere 

There are no ammo stores.  It is all stored for free in your safe house, scavenged from those who were trying to kill you, or some of the businesses will have a weapons cache in them.

[jztemple2]

Question, where do I get ammo for my tommy gun in New York? I run out all the time and I haven't seen an AmmuNation store anywhere 

There are no ammo stores.  It is all stored for free in your safe house, scavenged from those who were trying to kill you, or some of the businesses will have a weapons cache in them.

Yup, as I completed missions there are more weapons available. I've now completed the New York portion, took 3:41. Actually had more fun with it this afternoon than I thought I would. There are some bugs; I find people with the key over their heads from whom I get missions which unlock the kill method of an enemy, but after doing their job I get a message about the contract being unable to be fulfilled. That's understandable, I had already unlocked all the kill methods, but it was odd that the key symbol kept showing up. Then there is the bug where I can get cash missions to rob a safe, except that I've already robbed that safe and so I can't fulfill the mission. Maybe this all works better in Miami.

Also I was never able to kill one of the henchmen...

Spoiler for Hiden:

The kill method was to use a pistol, but every time I used a pistol the guy would just go back to recovering, not permanently dead. Maybe it's because I'm supposed to "execute" him with the pistol, but I couldn't figure out how to do that.

Still, it was lots of fun and there was plenty to do. And once I figured out how to use my weapons better I did darn good in all my attacks.

[Pharaoh]

To Execute people with weapons, first shoot them in the knees. When they fall down and seem dazed, walk up and press R stick in to execute with the equipped weapon.

[Maggot]

Gamespot can now longer be trusted with their reviews IMHO. I no longer  have confidence in their reviews. There have been quit a few games in the last 3 months in which they have just about buried that was no where as bad as they made it out to be.

I don't think the gaming community has trusted GameStop for a while now 

A little hars on the game but yeah i dont think anyone for the last many years have trusted gamespot. I really wonder why so many people still visit their site when the quality with their reviews have dropped that much.

But well i agree more with them than the ones giving it 8.

[CeeKay]

Gamespot can now longer be trusted with their reviews IMHO. I no longer  have confidence in their reviews. There have been quit a few games in the last 3 months in which they have just about buried that was no where as bad as they made it out to be.

I don't think the gaming community has trusted GameStop for a while now 

yeah, their stores are kinda shady.  I bet they have sweatshops operating out of the back room....

[Jumangi]

Gamespot can now longer be trusted with their reviews IMHO. I no longer  have confidence in their reviews. There have been quit a few games in the last 3 months in which they have just about buried that was no where as bad as they made it out to be.

Gamespot aren't the only ones down on the game.

[ATB]

Gamespot can now longer be trusted with their reviews IMHO. I no longer  have confidence in their reviews. There have been quit a few games in the last 3 months in which they have just about buried that was no where as bad as they made it out to be.

Gamespot aren't the only ones down on the game.

Well on gamerankings, if you take away the 4.5 from GS it's averaging mid 70s.

As for GS in particular, they pretty much lost everything with the Gerstmann dismissal.

[Caine]

after close to 3 hours in last night (ready to move on from nyc) i can safely say that there is no way this will be seen as anything but a let-down by everybody who loved the first one.  

the things they added don't really make up what they dumbed down.

gun fights no longer have the threat as you find so many more health bottles.  at one point, i had three of them in the same room during a front takeover.  however, i didn't need it as all i had to do was wait for my health to recover.  what use is a medic when you have magical healing wolverine powers?  

i have enough money to upgrade myself and all of my family as far as you can, which btw, there are only about 20 or so, down from the first game's 50.  again, though, you don't level them up through reputation, but by buying them.  hell, you can sit on your ass in nyc after you get the other family out of the way and just let the money roll in.  you do get a lot from favors, but they are so damn repetitive that after you've killed/beat up/robbed your umpteenth target, you'll hate doing them ever again.  and you can't even skip the stupidly limited dialogue.  sure, you can do special favors for officials, but they are exactly the same as the normal ones.  at least you only have to do them once as you can buy them too.  

sure, the graphics look nicer than in gf1, and the environmental details make the city come alive in a way the old corridor-with-alleys never could, but it's so damn small it feels like gta 3, except with a smaller map.  nyc?  doesn't look like it or feel like it to me.  i really thought it would be a larger map than this, but miami's map doesn't look all that much bigger.  this of course, limits the number of business to control.  where gf1 had what, 100 plus rackets, warehouses, and hubs, nyc has what, 10?  and they are either fronts or rackets, not both.  at least not the kind you can control.  they added a minor aspect in the form of crime rings, but the limited number of crime rings means you have a small variety of businesses.  

don control is a mix of useful and missed opportunities.  why can't i see where the made men hang out so i can go there instead of going there randomly in the hopes there's somebody hanging out?  i'm the freaking don, so these guys should come to me.  and when i find one, why can't i dismiss a lower ranked guy without killing him?  dumb.  

all of the stuff which i enjoyed in gf1 is dumbed down here.  safe-cracking?  oh, now i got a guy, he'll do it.  robbing banks?  i hit the first one and was able to run away until the cops got bored and left.  payout was small though, so maybe the bigger ones will be tougher to crack.  there was a wall i could have blown up (well, my demo guy, that is) and come into the safe, but i didn't see that when i scouted the place.  really though, i never could hit a bank and do well so early on, nor would i have been able to take out a compound within 3 hours of starting in gf1.  here, it's more like a training ground, but i miss the satisfaction i had when i finally took out a family before.  it was hard, had dozens of well armed defenders, and it was all for naught if you didn't bomb the joint at the end.  now it just feels like a slightly larger business.  

there's a few things i like:  how they deal with cops and witnesses.  if you get away from the incident scene, you can drive right past them.  you can intimidate the witnesses to be quiet too, which is also cool or have a strong man do it.  the environment detail gets a nod even though the engine isn't quite capable of pulling it off.  god i wish they could have had some help from the other sandbox games in that regard.  nyc was a let down when i saw the map.  miami just killed my hope it would get better.  

i am really annoyed that i took this out of my rental queue in lieu of buying it.  one of my anticipated games of 2009 just fell off the wagon and all i can say is thank god EA decided to push this back two months, because damn, what a mess it could have been then.  

5/10 so far.  gf1 was a 9 in my book, second only to gta4 for this gen's sandbox games.