The Godfather II has guns, also a shipping date

There’s nothing more satisfying than protecting your family’s assets. Even if your family isn’t blood and your assets are crooked businesses. In videogame terms, “protection” usually indicates “killing.”

Killing is a fun pastime. That’s why we were elated to hear that EA and Redwood Shores’ The Godfather II is shipping quite soon. The game ships to American retailers on February 24 and across Europe on February 27.

Those hot for steamy, mobster action can pre-order the title at “participating retailers” and receive an “exclusive crew member.” His name is Tommy. He carries a double-barreled shotgun, likes to light things on fire, talks with a funny accent, and heals people when necessary. No word on what earns Tommy the title “medic,” but chances are he can’t cast Curaga. Also, white robe probably out of the picture.

According to Hamza, The Godfather II is looking good. He’s checked out the title several times and even wrote about the multiplayer. Check out his words if you’re on the fence and ready to dump more money after the holiday Triple-A bonanza.

REDWOOD CITY, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:ERTS) and Paramount Digital Entertainment today announced that The Godfather® II videogame will be shipping on February 24th in North America and on February 27th in Europe. 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.

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 takes the open-world genre in an entirely new direction. Part of the fascination with The Godfather fiction is the feeling of power that comes with being the Don of an organized crime family – and The Godfather II game puts the control in your hands. While at its heart The Godfather II remains an action game, it also features deep new strategic gameplay mechanics never before seen in an open-world game. The strategic elements to the game allow you to extend the fantasy of building and running your own organized crime family. This means that you have to build and invest in your family, manage your businesses, and reach out to corrupt officials – all of which is done through the revolutionary Don’s View. The Don’s View is a 3D representation of your criminal empire in all three cities; it allows you to coordinate your strategy, plan hits on rival Made men, attack enemy rackets, and much more. The Godfather II delivers the ultimate organized crime experience by allowing you to call the shots.

Developed at the EA Redwood Stores studio, The Godfather II will be coming to the Xbox 360® videogame and entertainment system, PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system, and PC. The Godfather II has been rated M for Mature by the ESRB and 18+ for PEGI.

For more information about The Godfather franchise, please visit http://godfather2.ea.com and/or the EA press website at http://info.ea.com.