The Godfather: Extortion

[chitoryu12]

I just wanted to ask: How do you go about properly extorting a business? I mean from beginning to end. You have to deal with the guards outside, as well as the owner (More dangerous than you think. Aside from the normal attempts at punching you, they will sometimes grab up a gun and start shooting). How do you extort a business while avoiding the hazards of the job?

[Stark]

Clear the local streetcorners of any badguys. A Knight Rider Turn takes out most of the guys on the street outside the business. Ignore the shopkeeper until the place is secure, then do the intimidation thing. The only real danger is counterattacks from guys on the street you missed while you're intimidating, and in the Wii version the guys from the backroom business barging in through the internal door.

[chitoryu12]

Actually, the 360 version has some guys in the back in certain businesses. I was trying to take over a bakery owned by....whoever that family is that starts with a "B", and just as I was threatening the owner six goons came out and shot me in the back.

And one thing I've noticed is that whenever the guys outside start a gunfight, they rarely enter the store. This often causes the police to get involved, so it's good cover. That is, until you leave, which is when the stragglers start shooting, and the survivors are usually the ones with shotguns or submachine guns.

[Pablo Sanchez]

Actually, the 360 version has some guys in the back in certain businesses. I was trying to take over a bakery owned by....whoever that family is that starts with a "B", and just as I was threatening the owner six goons came out and shot me in the back.

Well, did you start with the "B" businesses? It's been a while, but if I recall correctly the Barzini soldiers will fuck you up in the early game. You should start with Tattaglia and work your way up to Barzini, it becomes a lot easier after you build the character.

In my experience the best way to intimidate the owner was to get close, grab, and pummel until you get the intimidation bar to the ideal position. In fact grabbing and pummeling was basically my only melee tactic, because it seemed so much easier and more effective than boxing it out.

[Stark]

I agree with that: closing to grapples is ludicrously effective. On the Wii version you can get a perk that shows you what the most effective intimidation is, so it doesn't take very long to get the best amount.

[2000AD]

I find that most businesses either have a street corner or a back alley I can hide around and use the 'wall cover' system. Gives you plenty of time to line up the head shots. That deals with the guards outside and any that rush out from inside.

You have to be careful of your venue as well. Some shops have a locked back door (like smoke shops) so you don't have to worry about extra guys, while some (like bakers) don't have a seperating door, so you need to keep an eye out.
Remember that you don't need to actually talk to the owner before you can intimidate them, you can just walk in there and start smashing stuff up and watch the gauge rise, if you're lucky then killing the guards will have done some of the work for you already.

[Typhonis 1]

Of course the bakery allows you to do a Well Done Kill.

[chitoryu12]

If I need a distraction, I'll get the cops to follow me to the business. A gunfight is inevitable.

My preferred move is to just grab the guy and start punching as hard as I can. Eventually I point a gun at him, and then I kneecap him. The problem is that he's usually close to death when that happens, and he'll rarely be close enough to the green for me to slap him around some more to pressure him without killing him. Unless it's the weakness, I won't do property damage until then.

[Ritterin Sophia]

If I need a distraction, I'll get the cops to follow me to the business. A gunfight is inevitable.

My preferred move is to just grab the guy and start punching as hard as I can. Eventually I point a gun at him, and then I kneecap him. The problem is that he's usually close to death when that happens, and he'll rarely be close enough to the green for me to slap him around some more to pressure him without killing him. Unless it's the weakness, I won't do property damage until then.

You know you can just point your gun at his head and the bar will go up, right?

[Stark]

I don't understand - you don't need to do all that to get the best extortion rate. Kneecapping? What the fuck? All you have to do is slap him round a bit and do whatever his weakness is (shove, hang, smash, threaten customers, etc). You shouldn't get ANYWHERE NEAR killing the business owner.

I mean, fucking kneecapping?

[chitoryu12]

I don't understand - you don't need to do all that to get the best extortion rate. Kneecapping? What the fuck? All you have to do is slap him round a bit and do whatever his weakness is (shove, hang, smash, threaten customers, etc). You shouldn't get ANYWHERE NEAR killing the business owner.

I prefer to get it over with as quickly as possible, so I just punch him, then shoot him, then smash things. I threaten innocents only as a last resort. Due to some strange mental disability of mine, I don't like killing innocent people in the games.

[Ritterin Sophia]

I don't understand - you don't need to do all that to get the best extortion rate. Kneecapping? What the fuck? All you have to do is slap him round a bit and do whatever his weakness is (shove, hang, smash, threaten customers, etc). You shouldn't get ANYWHERE NEAR killing the business owner.

I prefer to get it over with as quickly as possible, so I just punch him, then shoot him, then smash things. I threaten innocents only as a last resort. Due to some strange mental disability of mine, I don't like killing innocent people in the games.

You don't have to kill anyone just aim at the bastards head, dumbass. The bar will go up, and you won't have to inflict any physical pain whatsoever.

[Stark]

I prefer to get it over with as quickly as possible, so I just punch him, then shoot him, then smash things. I threaten innocents only as a last resort. Due to some strange mental disability of mine, I don't like killing innocent people in the games.

You know, nobody has mentioned killing customers BUT YOU. Indeed, killing customers is *always* negative. Punching AND shooting the shopkeeper is usually unnecessary. Extortion shouldn't take more than 15s regardless of how you do it, and actually coming near killing the shopkeeper is UTTERLY RETARDED.

I think it's fabulous that you say you want to do it fast, and you add extra steps that are unnecessary. Clearly, you're the better player, by taking longer and doing more damage to get the same result!

[2000AD]

Well for some business owners their weak spot is violence against them, but you can normally get that just by slapping them around a bit.
The only time I've kneecapped a store owner is when he started attacking me along with the other goons.

[Stark]

Yeah, his 'fast' method involves BOTH punching them AND shooting them. The shoving/leaning stuff is the quickest way to get through those possibilities, in my experience - but the Wii has that perk that shows you what it is faster, so there's no guesswork.

[weemadando]

When a shopkeep talks back too much or worse pisses me off while I'm taking out his guards he can usually consider his kneecaps gone.

But what shits me is this situation:
Car screams down street, veers across traffic onto the opposite footpath and slams into a brick wall pinning an enemy mobster against the wall (and killing him in game terms). My character gets out of the car calmly walks over to the next enemy (who is drawing his gun) and does one of the close-up signature kills. He then walks inside, kills the remaining guard (usually by double kneecapping, following by an execution). I then walk up to the shopkeep (I am at this point, completely unscathed, but would be coated rather liberally in blood from all the closeup gunfire) and what the fuck does he say:

"You don't scare me!"

Which is usually when the kneecapping happens.

I mean for fucks sake! I just killed 3 guys in 3 different, but equally horrible ways right in front of you and you are still willing to take that line with me? You don't deserve to walk. Fucker.

[chitoryu12]

One club owner even had the audacity to try and shoot me. While I was distracted with a minor gunfight, he picked up a fallen mobster's submachine gun and fired off a burst quite close to my head. I had a smidgen of health left, and if he hadn't been weak from the usual beatings and kneecappings or extremely close to giving in, I doubt I would have survived. As luck would have it, I managed to connect right with his arm.

I still wish the game mechanics would allow for the shopkeep to be "crippled" after the beating. If I shoot you in the knee with a point-blank shotgun blast, I don't expect you to quickly get back up and run away.

[loomer]

I've always just waltzed in, drawn a gun and shot the guard inside/outside through the window, knelt behind cover, and waited for the others to stream in. Then, if the shopkeep gives me any trouble, I shoot a customer and then smack him around a little. Works like a charm.

[chitoryu12]

I just wish there were more fucking customers in the building. Every place of business other than a restaurant, smoke shop, or club is practically deserted.

[2000AD]

I don't intentionally harm customers, they're just innocent people, they shouldn't have to pay for the actions of a criminal (me for extorting, the owner for breaking the Being Bloody Stupid Act of 1919)