It was the sequel they couldn't refuse. Sorry, but I had to do it.
You can't watch a Godfather movie or play one of the games without dropping a few lines or acting like a made man.
So here's the follow-up to one of the most surprising games of recent years.
The Godfather: The Game reached the original Xbox four years ago and knocked my socks off with its addictive gameplay, evocative music and seamless blend of cutscenes and action.
Some weren't convinced, feeling there was too much time wasted on long driving sequences and the game was too easy.
Raspberries to them.
It's one of my top 20 all-time games.
The movie sequel was critically acclaimed - it won six Academy Awards, including best picture - but I'm afraid the game follow-up doesn't reach those heights.
It's full of promise but ultimately comes up short in some key areas.
You play Dominic, promoted by Michael Corleone to be the new Don of New York, and the game starts with some scene-setting action in Cuba, where Mob representatives have gathered to discuss their plans for expansion.
The game quickly moves to the formula that was so successful in the first Godfather: take over rival businesses, eliminate key members of the other families, bomb compounds and rule the city.
Two new elements are introduced but fail to have the impact the game's developers would have hoped.
The first is a more structured ability to recruit your own family members - soldiers and capos and the like - with the idea you can spread your net wider by sending them off to guard businesses or take over a place.
But I've found this system frustrating.
For a start, your paisanos disappear behind you when you walk, and they are completely useless when you find yourself pinned down in a gunfight with some goombahs from a rival family.
You recruit a safebreaker and an arsonist to help you get around and complete missions, but that just means you miss the fun of laying dynamite yourself.
The other major introduction to the game is the "Don's View".
This is an overall view of the city, presented in three dimensions, which aims to give you a quick view of your businesses, the places you need to take over, the corrupt cops, the people needing favours and the banks susceptible to a heist.
It just doesn't quite work.
It's messy and sort of jerky.
In the original game, the map and waypoint system was fantastically simple; in the second, the attempt at style reduces the substance.
The sequel also appears too structured.
The Godfather: The Game had a great sandbox-style feel to it.
You could dip into a mission for a while and then go in search of crime rings to take over.
Technically, the sequel offers the same idea but it feels really different, like you've got no option but to follow the path set for you.
There's plenty to like here.
The graphics are obviously stepped up from the original, old favourites like the Tommy gun are in your arsenal and some of the missions are absorbing.
But I expected more.
And I'm so angry I could kneecap someone.
Godfather II
Electronic Arts
Xbox 360
Hayden Meikle
3 stars out of 5
