4.5: It's nothing personal, it's just business.
You start the game by making your character: Dominic, look as you want, there are enough customization options to make him look like a funny skinny Chinese guy or a 40 year old mafioso-version of yourself (Assuming you're not a 40 year old mafioso).
Right after that, a cutscene taking place in Cuba introduces you to the game but the first thing you notice is that the characters don't sound or look like the ones in the movie (obviously) but while the voice acting or the modeling are not bad they could have been better.
After getting into the story the next thing you know is that you're escaping from Cuba with Michael and Aldo (the character from the first game), learning the basic movements and shooting everything between you and the airport. Controls are not complicated and they feel just right, is easy to get used to them BUT the lack of a jump button will get really noticeable later in the game.
When you play the introductory missions and learn everything you need to know about the game with some really informative cutscenes you will have that strange feeling of "been there, done that" and while brutally executing members from other families you'll remember how repetitive the first game was, but -at least for me- the rewards for having a crime ring and strategically defending what the other families want back in the "Don's view" make a huge difference.
During the game you'll have to deal with some minor glitches but nothing as bad as GameSpot's review want to make it look, having to walk around most obstacles is a pain in the a...lower back and finding the correct route in some big rackets is not too much fun but overall the game is good, and above all FUN, even if there's nothing to do after the story ends, starting a new game is not a bad idea.
Now let's compare "Godfather II" review with other reviews:
In Resident Evil 5 (8.5) your partner's (and the enemies) AI is just nonexistent, she will just run at your side and die by running into the huge guy with a chainsaw but no one remembered to mention that on the review.
In wheelman (6.0) a game with bad graphics, poor scenarios, horrible voice acting and not even half the depth of Godfather II, you can't jump either and on-foot gameplay is one of the worst I've ever seen, all of these mentioned on the review but somehow it got a 6.0.
You can compare the game with other 4.5 games like Pimp my Ride, Tenchu Z, Soldier of Fortune Payback or Guilty Gear 2, games that maybe deserve less than a 7 and you wont find anything in common between what make those bad and what "make" Godfather II bad (in the eyes of GameSpot's reviewers of course).
To conclude:
This is not a '10' game but not a 4.5 either. Decent graphics, fun addicting gameplay, enough violence, good storyline, good sounds, a lot of things to take care of, well designed scenarios, new features like the Don's view and the crew management, and a lot of other small things will make you forget about some minor glitches, the lack of a jump button and not so good AI that even if it's not the best is not something to worry about.
For me and I suppose for the normal people too, waiting 3 seconds for your crew to run around your car to get in is not something to worry about, they're not real remember? I don't think that is such an important issue to spend a third of the video-review talking about it.
Looks like EA forgot to -move some strings- around GameSpot and that's why they're getting such a low score, but "it's nothing personal, it's just business".