Godfather II golden

Shortly after it reported dismal holiday earnings last month, Electronic Arts finally dated Godfather II after a high-profile delay. The EA Redwood Shores-developed game will simultaneously launch on the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC on April 7 in North America and April 10 in Europe. It is rated M for Mature by the ESRB in the US, and bears an 18+ PEGI rating across the Atlantic.

Based on both Francis Ford Coppola's eponymous 1974 film and Mario Puzo's original Godfather novel, the Godfather II casts players as an associate of Don Michael Corleone on the eve of the Cuban Revolution. As the game progresses, players will themselves becoming bosses, organizing criminal enterprises, and building up their own army of thugs. As outlined in GameSpot's recent preview, when things get violent, the game shifts from a top-down strategic view to the street level, where Grand Theft Auto-style open-world armed havoc ensues.

EA is hoping to build on the success of the original Godfather, which sold nearly 1.5 million copies at US retailers, according to the NPD Group. The decently received game was released on the PC, Xbox, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 2 in 2006, and Wii and PlayStation 3 editions arrived the following year. Its success did not come without controversy, though. After it was roundly condemned by Coppola, Puzo's estate successfully sued EA over unpaid royalties, eventually winning at least $1 million.