The Godfather II opens with your ascension to Don-hood thanks to Michael Corleone's endorsement. As such, you have control of la famiglia and can command your entire crew of Corleones as well as induct new talent as the game progresses. You'll need to judiciously use these criminal assets to grow the family business by seizing, incapacitating or destroying unfriendly rackets. To facilitate the process of leading the family and give you a suitably broad view of the areas in contention, The Godfather II debuts a new map that highlights various dens of iniquity as well as provides vital statistics on each, such as which criminal empire currently controls them and how big a force is employed in their defense. This map will eventually grow to encompass all three of The Godfather II's cities of operation, which include New York (naturally), Miami and even Havana, Cuba.

All of that information is of vital importance as all of the other lawless organizations will be vying for control of new rackets as well. So, while you are busily hacking away at a competitor's money-laundering racket, a rival operation may choose to strike at one of your gambling rackets or nullify one of your gun-running rackets with a bomb. It pays to know what your enemies are up to so that you can hit them where and when it hurts the most... crippling a foe is dependent on your ability to navigate and manipulate the landscape of crime.