| The Godfather II | |
|---|---|
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| Developer(s) | EA Redwood Shores |
| Publisher(s) | Electronic Arts |
| Producer(s) | Joel Wade |
| Designer(s) |
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| Programmer(s) | Colin Boswell |
| Artist(s) |
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| Composer(s) | Christopher Lennertz |
| Series | The Godfather |
| Platform(s) | |
| Release | |
| Genre(s) | Action-adventure |
| Mode(s) | Single-player, multiplayer |
The Godfather II is a 2009 action-adventure game developed by EA Redwood Shores and published by Electronic Arts. It was released for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360 in April. Based on the 1974 film The Godfather Part II, it is the sequel to the 2006 game The Godfather, which was based on the 1972 film of the same name. Like the first game, The Godfather II follows a non-canon character, Dominic, who is initially the protégé and underboss of the original game's protagonist, Aldo Trapani. After Aldo is killed, Dominic is placed in charge of the Corleone family's operations in New York City and tasked with expanding the Corleone empire by taking out their rivals. Unlike the first game, which was primarily set in New York, the story also spans Miami and Havana.
Like its predecessor, The Godfather II tells an original story, which intersects with the narrative of the film on multiple occasions. However, the game changes the film's plot more so than the first game did: none of the material concerning the rise of Vito Corleone is present in the game, and the events of the film are presented in a different order. Additionally, whereas in the first game, most of Aldo's actions took the form of events which happened off-screen in the first film, in The Godfather II, Dominic has a more central role, appearing in numerous scenes in which he was not present in the film; for example, he is with Frank Pentangeli during his attempted assassination, he accompanies Tom Hagen to see Pat Geary after the prostitute is found dead, and he kills Hyman Roth and Fredo Corleone. Unlike the first game, which featured many of the film's actors reprising their roles, only Robert Duvall returned as Tom Hagen, while the rest of the cast comprises entirely new actors.
The Godfather II received mixed reviews across all platforms. Common criticisms included graphical glitches, technical bugs, poor AI, and an unimaginative open world design. Many critics also felt the game deviated too much from both the plot and tone of the film, and that it was too easy and too short. It was a commercial failure, selling less than 400,000 units worldwide across all platforms. Its poor critical and commercial performance led EA to scrap plans for an adaptation of the third Godfather film.