As the first game put the player as the “lone wolf” figure within the Godfather Universe, the sequel allows you to think and act like the Don. You are now able control and grow your family. You will be building the family from the ground up, recruiting and investing in their skills and even promote them up through the ranks of the organization. You will be arming them, deciding who will be made men and then sending them out to do your bidding. With this new type of gameplay, you will find sometimes that you are not the one in the middle of the action as you once would be in GTA or Saints Row games, But in the background thinking of different ways to get your family bigger and stronger while weakening your enemies. It adds a different dimension to the gamplay mechanics that will doubtlessly be copied in many games of a similar nature in the future.

In order to stand out from the crowd and step out of Grand Theft Auto IV’s shadow, EA really had to bring some originality to the game and that’s what they have achieved with the ability to be the Don and this is where the Don’s View comes into play. This a new 3D representation of all three cities showing the status of all the crime rings, all the battles in progress, and the locations of your jobs and contacts. Through this view you will be able to decide which crime rings to go after, and how to weaken your rivals by bombing rival businesses, managing your own defenses for critical rackets, or even hunting down and killing rival Made men.

To best describe this game is to consider it a combination of an all out action game like GTA with elements of a real time strategy game. This is what sets its self apart from GTA and Saints Row 2. Having the ability to roam about and do what you like coupled with the ability to create, maintain, grow your own family and get them to do your dirty work.

This game greatly excites us and you will be crazy not to get excited yourself. EA Redwood Shores have learned from their past mistakes, added some great new gamplay additions, throw in the mix that it’s all centered on the Godfather universe with the original charters and most of the cast back. Godfather 2 could well be the game EA wanted the original to be. What we are really surprised about is the fact that it’s not only going to be able to stand up to GTA IV, it may even eclipse it in some ways. The game is to be released in the middle of February for Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 and from what we have seen so far, it’s shaping up to be one of the most exciting games of the year.