If you’re publishing an open-world crime game, you need to bring the A-game. Last year, GTA IV set the new standard for how things should be done. Now, EA brings The Godfather II to the table, the follow up to 2006’s original, where you work your way through the ranks of the Corleone family. This time around, you get to build up your family influence in Cuba, New York, and Miami as the story progresses. Sadly, though, the game just doesn’t provide enough fun to make you want to get all the way to the end.

One of the big new features in The Godfather II is the Don’s View, where you get a 3D view of the cities and information on what crime rings you control and those controlled by rival families. You can set waypoints, call for an attack on a business, or send some of your made men to protect one of your own. It gives the game a quasi-RTS feel, which mixes up the action a bit. Throughout the story, which I enjoyed, you’ll have to utilize the Don’s View quite a bit as you take over everything in site.

While the controls, musical score, Don’s View, and story were good, there was also plenty in The Godfather II that didn’t live up the franchise name. The graphics aren’t very good at all, whether it be character models, cars, or environments; things look blocky and last-gen. Many of the gameplay elements feel tacked on, especially the Favors system (how do random people on the street know where made men of rival families will be at any given time?). One had me destroying one of my own businesses just to get information, which is just plain dumb. You’ll also have to switch back and forth between the regular view and the Don’s View frequently mid-mission in the later stages, which gets annoying. Lastly, the multiplayer feels unbalanced and I had a hard time finding many matches.

While The Godfather II showed a lot of promise with the solid controls and the introduction of the Don’s View, the implementation of the these systems ultimately hurt the game. If you’re a huge Godfather fan, it’s worth a rent, but just know going in that you’ll probably stop halfway through the game. Towards the end, I stopped caring about controlling every single business (which is required to finish the game). A bit more polish both in graphics and mission development could have made this a real winner.