“These days, opportunity is everywhere.” Uttered during the opening cinematic to EA’s latest gangster game, the mere inclusion of such a fitting line was enough to raise a wry smile. No one, of course, understands the meaning of said words better than EA, who, with this second attempt at recreating the Godfather experience on the small screen, are looking to save face after the flawed original.

Their response, it seems, is to build on the first game’s greatest asset. While turf takeover and business micromanagement were merely experimented with in the original Godfather, for the sequel, the idea of extortion and racketeering has been turned up a notch. So much so, in fact, that at times Godfather II comes across as a strategy game in sandbox clothing.

So in spite of its mobster moniker and open world premise suggesting otherwise, Godfather II is, for all intents and purposes, a thinking man’s game. Or at least, that’s what it wants you to believe. It gets off on the right foot with ‘The Don’s View’ – an all-new 3D interface that details a panoramic view of the city below and its businesses within – opening up a wealth of options to any budding mob tacticians, such as the ability to take over rackets, bomb rival businesses and upgrade crew members. You see, The Godfather II isn’t just about stealing cars, taking out rival gangs and blowing up million dollar mansions – though there is that too it as well. Instead, it’s about being in control, deciding when and where to strike next, and staying level-headed when a rival family declares war.

It adds a great twist to a decaying genre and, in terms of its impeccable presentation and accessibility at least, The Don’s View is implemented incredibly well. The ability to employ a team of mobsters is also fairly exciting at first, even if the mechanic is thoroughly undercooked, with each one of your motley crew able to specialise in a number of different areas – be it demolition, medicine or lock picking. But when the inclusion of such a feature is simply to facilitate the player’s indolence, you know the game’s in trouble.

The problem with The Godfather II is that it’s actually nowhere near as clever as it thinks it is. Its strategy elements are weak and its mission design lacking in the depth and sophistication required to unleash the potential of its micromanagement accomplice. Instead, the entire game follows the same cyclical pattern of travelling to X, beating up Y and taking control of Z, and if you can’t be bothered to do it yourself (which honestly, we wouldn’t blame you for), you can even order one of your crew to do it for you. We accept that missions in any sandbox game may start to dither after a while, but the tasks in Godfather II are so mundane from the very beginning that by the time you reach Miami, the second of the game’s three cities, you’re ready to pack it all in.

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