The Godfather II

The Godfather (parts I through III) was a series of movies that set the benchmark for high-energy drama films which many argue has yet to be met, let alone exceeded. The often attempted yet rarely achieved genuine *cool* that emanated from that series, right from the very first which was made in 1972, is often emulated in an attempt to recapture the glory of those great movies and the many memorable sequences which made them up.

It's no surprise, then, that this nearly 40-year old movie property is being revisited via the videogame medium. Sure, many of today's audience won't have seen the movies in question and most that have would have seen them outside the context provided by the time in which they were released but they kick a lot of ass and are still relevant, dramatic and cool today.

The first (modern) game based on the movies, The Godfather, was well received, achieving an impressive average of around 75%, scoring 7.7 right here on NZGamer. There were several followup editions to the PS2 / Xbox / Xbox 360 and PC original, with the Blackhand Edition on Wii and Don's edition on PS3 upgraded for each console in turn, to take advantage of their relevant strengths.

The Godfather II is currently scheduled to release in February 2009 and will feature a number of improvements on the original:

• Set in Cuba, Florida and New York
  
• The Don's view - allowing players to participate in a realtime strategy-esque meta game where they must conquer the city's crime networks
  
• Contest the control of the city with other families who react to your moves and will do whatever it takes to achieve their objectives
  
• Blackhand 2.0 - an improvement on the original close-quarters combat system, now with combos and excecutions as well as numerous other improvements
  
• Send your cronies on missions
  
• Participate GTA-style in missions directly