Well, with the game being released for PC the same day as it came out for the Xbox 360 I thought that I would save 10 bucks so I bought the PC version of The Godfather II.

I hope that EA comes out with a patch soon, but so far, the PC version of the game does not seem to be compatible with any gamepad controller so if you get the PC version get ready to play it with mouse and keyboard (at least for now).

At first, the lack of a gamepad seemed to be rather annoying, but after an hour or so of game play I got used to the mouse and keyboard aspect of the game and now I actually find it very convenient. Controlling the town is the key to this game and there are several ways to go about doing that. It all starts with your family. At first you can only recruit one other member to the family, but as you progress through the missions that list expands and you even have to promote or "retire" some of your family members.

As the Don, you are responsible for running your crew smoothly. You can only have up to three additional members of your family follow you around at a time. However, you will soon find out that you can have idle family members actually be productive criminals. Your inactive crew members can be send to perform jobs on their own. Defending key businesses is my favorite work order for them, but depending on their profession you can have them perform certain acts. Talking about your soldier's professions, they can be skilled at safe cracking, arson, explosives, bruiser, engineer and medic. Some people can have skills in several areas. I actually had to "retire" one of my capos when a better prospect came along.

Money is the name of the game while violence is the main attraction. In organized crime you're not going to make much money without getting a little blood on your hands. In The Godfather II you have several options of going about making money ore from stopping a rival family from making money. If you want to shut a rival business down for a day you can send your explosive expert to bomb the place. While that does not make money for you it does stop your rivals from profiting from it either. Taking over a business is the ideal way for money making. Some businesses are more profitable then others. Side missions is another great way to make a quick buck as well as earn some favors. Finally, you can have a safe cracker with you (my medic is also my safe cracker) and you'll be surprised over how many safes you can stumble across. Finally, just because you were able to take over a business does not mean that a rival family can't do the same to you. Placing guards is a great way to protect your assets. Guards are not as strong as your Made Men, but they will at least slow down an invading force while you gather up your soldiers. And if you can have a monopoly over a business, you get a bonus associated with that business. For example, controlling all the drug businesses gives out a cash bonus. Cash can be used for either more guard purchases or for upgrading the stats and skills of your family members.