Godfather II announced!

Friday 8th August 2008 - 17:00

EA confirms sequel to movie licence smash, Microsoft believes gamers have 'given up on Wii Fit' and Legendary Xbox 360 screens

Fans of free-roaming crime capers should start polishing their Tommy Guns with glee. Electronic Arts today revealed the first details of The Godfather II videogame, the sequel to the 2007 multi-platinum hit. Inspired by the film and Mario Puzo's Corleone family drama, The Godfather II game goes beyond the film's story by setting players in the world of organised crime in 1960's Florida, Cuba and New York.

Set in an open-world environment, the game expands on the popular gameplay mechanics of the first title and doubles down on the series' signature BlackHand control scheme,. The BlackHand control system now promises even more 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 specialises 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 organised crime gameplay and brutal BlackHand action has us pretty much foaming at the mouth. It's a shame that a release on Xbox 360, PS3 and PC isn't scheduled until Feb 2009.

Meanwhile, David Gosen, the Microsoft exec who we quoted yesterday pledging more investment in content for European Xbox Live users, has once again gone on record - this time talking about the Wii Fit phenomenon. He argues that Wii Fit is little more than a gimmick, with the majority of gamers giving up after just one or two times playing it. In an interview with Develop magazine the Xbox VP said:

"We've seen some research that says 60 per cent of people who bought a Wii Fit play it once and don't play it again. So we have to get the balance right, because what we are doing is bringing new consumers into the market for the first time in their lives sometimes - and we have to treat them with respect. And at the end of the day that comes back down to creativity. We have to ensure that the peripheral strategy that anyone employs makes sense and delivers a truly game changing experience."