Speaking of your empire, The Godfather II takes an interesting twist to eliminating your rivals by working elements of strategy in with the guns blazing action that you expect from a crime tale. It would’ve made more sense to introduce Tom much earlier and have him provide this information as you start to build your empire and kill your rivals, because it just comes across as a weak and confusing plot device. This is compounded by the fact that Dominic acts as if he’s only met Tom once or twice, even though the player has seen Tom’s face dozens of times at this point. While I don’t have a problem with Hagen advising Dominic at all, his arrival in the middle of the story makes no sense, especially since the game constantly uses an image of Tom to provide information and hints on events going on as you make your moves against your rivals. The other issue, which is more significant, is the introduction of Tom Hagen as your consigliere, which happens around halfway through the game. The first is one of the most memorable moments in the second film, when Michael informs Fredo that he knows Fredo betrayed him.
I wasn’t too disturbed by much of the artistic license that was used in the title, but there were two elements that were used that just didn’t work well. Fredo also has a much larger role within the game than he ever had within the film, acting as a plot device throughout the story of the game and interacting with Michael and the rest of the Corleones thanks to saving him in Cuba. For example, the designers decide to make Dominic instrumental in breaking Frank Pentangeli during the Senate testimony on the Corleone family.
Obviously, there are some liberties taken from the film, as any fan of the movie would tell you (myself included). However, as you get to the runway, Aldo is shot and killed, prompting Michael to promote you into Aldo’s place. As Dominic, a soldier of Aldo Trapani (the protagonist of the first Godfather game who has risen to run all of the Corleone business in New York), you wind up leading Michael, Fredo and Aldo to the airport in an attempt to flee. Unfortunately, the business is never concluded because the Cuban Revolution forces everyone to flee the country. Forget Robert De Niro and the tales of a young Vito Corleone in New York – The Godfather II focuses on Michael Corleone, starting with the meeting of the families in Havana to divide up Hyman Roth’s empire.