The Godfather II allows players to both act like a mobster and think like a Don, by immersing them in a 1960’s organized crime world. As a Don, players can build a crew and grow their family in an effort to become the most powerful mob syndicate in America. Players will be able to choose how and when to use their Made men, either by commanding them directly in battle as part of their crew, or by sending them to do a job in another part of the world – bombing rival family rackets, attacking their businesses, or defending your own.

After being promoted by Michael Corleone to Don of New York, players expand to new cities, as they build up their families through extorting businesses, monopolizing illegal crime rings and defeating new families in an effort to become the most powerful mob family in America. To help players manage their empire, The Godfather II introduces “The Don’s View” – an innovative strategy meta-game that allows players to oversee the entire world as they grow the family business. Using the Don’s View, players will be able to build, defend and expand their crime rings, while keeping an eye on the movements and plans of the rival families. Players will also learn to master the business of organized crime by building a family of Made Men, hiring crew, handing out orders, and promoting their best men up the ranks.

Set in a open-world environment, The Godfather II expands on the popular gameplay mechanics of the first game and doubles down on the series’ signature BlackHand control scheme, which now features even more visceral hand-to-hand brutality at your fingertips, introducing a new combo system, pressure tactics and executions. In The Godfather II, players will fight alongside their hand-picked crew, who have their own skills and expertise. Each family member specializes in a specific field such as demolitions, arson, engineering, first-aid and more. As The Don you control the family, sending some of your men on missions while heading off into action with others. The combination of strategic organized crime gameplay and brutal BlackHand action sets The Godfather II apart from other open-world games.

The Godfather II premium upgrade packs will provide players with level-four weapons, an additional crew member equipped with four unique specialties, and two new multiplayer maps that will make their family stronger as they fight to become the most powerful mob syndicate in America. In addition, these upgrades will help as players take their advanced crew members online and compete to be the Don of Dons on the leaderboards. Players can experience all the premium upgrades for The Godfather II two weeks after launch worldwide on Xbox LIVE® Marketplace and the PlayStation Store on April 23, 2009.

The complete list of upgrade packs includes:

• The Pentangeli Map Pack: Download for the all-new Cuba multiplayer map and the Junkyard multiplayer map ($6.75 / 540 points).
• Level 4 Weapons Bundle: Download this collection to receive the Modern Dillinger, the .700 Magnum Impact, the Herzstopper, the MG-S1 Sniper Wolfe, and the Street Sweeper ($4.00 / 320 points).
• Jack of All Trades: Download Jimmy Lira – the Jack of All Trades to have this character in your family. Jimmy Lira starts out with the arsonist, engineer, medic, and safecracker specialties and comes equipped with a level 2 machine gun – the MP38 ($4.00 / 320 points).
• The Corleone Bundle (All of the above): Download the multiplayer map pack, the level 4 Weapons Bundle, and the Jack of All Trades (Jimmy Lira) crew member ( $10.00 / 800 points).

The new Don Control mode will be available as a free downloadable patch right when the game releases. Don Control takes the “Think Like a Don” strategic gameplay into an online environment and allows players to build a family, command them in battle and view the action from a bird’s eye view above.

Don Control introduces an additional layer of gameplay on top of the four multiplayer modes and six maps already available in the game and invites players to compete to see who is the ultimate Don of Dons. Players can now challenge one another in 16-player battles for their in-game currency from the single-player game. As a Don online, players can recruit others to join their family by giving them a cut of the profits. But if a player loses as Don, the in-game currency they wagered will be removed in their single-player campaign and their empire can come crumbling down.

Players who pre-order The Godfather II at participating retailers worldwide will receive an exclusive crew member, named Tommy Cipolla, to hire into their family. While the other soldiers at the start of the game come equipped with one specialty and level-one firearms, Tommy will be the only crew member to possess two specialties – arsonist and medic – as well as carry a level-two double-barreled shotgun. With Tommy in your family, players will have a strategic advantage in the game, using his advanced skills either directly in battle, or sending him to take over and defend rackets on his own.

The Godfather II, under development for Xbox 360, PS3, and PC, will now be available in stores on April 7th in North America and April 10th in Europe.