Godfather II

Godfather II


Uitgever: EA GAMES
Ontwikkelaar: EA Redwood Shores
Genre: (RPG) Action
Release: 9 april 2009
Website: klik

Informatie:

27 juli, 2007. xboxworld:

Zoals je weet hebben grote uitgevers als Microsoft, Electronic Arts en hun concurrenten elk jaar reportages van kwartaalcijfers aan hun aandeelhouders. Ook zijn er jaarlijks ontmoetingen waar de aandeelhouders een overzicht krijgne van de ontwikkelingen in het bedrijf. Gisteren was het de beurt aan Electronic Arts om de investeerders op de hoogte te brengen van de ontwikkelingen. Daar kwamen twee nieuwe games uit voort; The Godfather 2 en een nieuw Marvel Comics vechtspel.

Het succes van Electronic Arts’ The Godfather, die vorig jaar uitkwam voor de Xbox 360, was geen verassing. Het gaat immers om een populaire franchise. De kwaliteit van het spel was echter matig en het spel werd dan ook niet op hoog niveau ontvangen door de pers. Ondanks het succes aan de toonbank is het voor Electronic Arts zo’n duur project geweest dat het eigenlijk wel nodig is om een nieuw deel te maken en zo uit de kosten te komen. Tijdens de ontmoeting van de investeerders werd duidelijk dat dit tweede deel momenteel in ontwikkeling is en zonder meer in de aankomende maanden, misschien volgen jaar, aangekondigd zal worden.



18 juni, 2008, IGN:
Godfather II will add a layer of real time strategy to its open world gameplay, according to Electronic Art's John Riccitiello's comments to an investors meeting yesterday.

"You can play this game both at the street level, much like a GTA-style game, but you can also play it top-down, almost like you're in an RTS, controlling the strategy of the boroughs so you can see what's going on..." said Riccitiello of the follow up to EA's movie adaptation which received a lukewarm response upon its release in 2006.

Other details are scarce, though it is being developed by EA Redwood Shores – currently at work on the promising horror game Dead Space – and it's believed it will be hitting multiple formats. "It's a game that I think we'll be talking a lot about this fall," said Riccitiello, so expect to hear more once the leaves start hitting the ground.

Spoiler

07 augustus, 2008, Xbox World 360 magazine:

Electronic Arts heeft in het nieuwste Xbox World 360 magazine de eerste details van The Godfather II onthuld. The Godfather II belooft minder een GTA-kloon te worden en houdt volgens het blad het midden tussen Scarface en Total War. De game is in principe nog steeds een sandbox-game, maar bevat ook elementen van RPG's, RTS' en zelfs bordspellen!

Tijdens de 'gewone' sandbox-gameplay speel je in één van de drie steden die het spel bevat, te weten Miami, New York en Havana, allen gezet in de jaren '60. Je speelt hier met je zelf gemaakte character. Daarvoor kun je kiezen uit één van de zes basischaracters, te weten de bruiser, demolitions expert, arsonist, medic, safe cracker en engineer, en deze aanvullen met twaalf verschillende persoonlijkheden, die vervolgens de mogelijkheden van je character beïnvloeden.

Je hoofddoel tijdens deze sandbox-gameplay is nog steeds het pesten en afpersen van winkeliers door de stad. Vliegen met helikopters en varen met boten, zoals we kennen van GTA, zal er helaas niet bij zijn.

Het RTS-element komt naar voren tijdens de Don's View. Vanuit de Don's View kun je makkelijk je al dan niet illegale zaakjes regelen en bekijken hoe jouw familie het doet ten opzichte van andere families.

Het bord-spel element is nog een beetje in nevelen gehuld, maar daar draait het in feite om het verdienen van bepaalde unieke items. Sloop je bijvoorbeeld een bedrijf van een rivaliserende familie, dan verdien je een kogelvrije wagen voor jouw familie. Je kunt ook de rivaliserende families op andere manieren dwars zitten. Plant bijvoorbeeld bewijs van een moord- of drugszaak in het gebouw van een andere familie, en één of meerdere leden van diens maffia worden opgepakt, zodat jij eventjes geen last van hen hebt.

Over een online multiplayer werd helaas nog niet gesproken.

The Godfather II moet in 2009 verschijnen voor de Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Nintendo Wii en PC.

previews:

15 augustus, 2008, Xbox World 360 magazine:

Spoiler

Show a little respect as EA build a mighty castle in their sandbox...
1 Comments"Organised crime excites me," quips a stony-faced Hunter Smith. It's one of the more surprising - slightly scary in fact - openings to a demo we've experienced recently, but it transpires the Godfather 2's producer is merely voicing a thought he reckons we've all probably had at some time or another. Put simply, whether you're talking about Michael Corleone, Al Capone or even shrink-obsessed Tony Soprano, Mafioso types and their various shady dealing are bloody cool.

"There's certainly a dark public fascination with mobsters; the idea that - even though he might run the rule over a sprawling criminal underworld - Tony Soprano's daughter could be
going to school with your kids. And this is kinda what Godfather II is all about," explains Hunter. "We see the films as a great
frame of reference, but we're trying to explore the fantasy behind the concept, and -
crucially - how we implement that fantasy into a videogame. We believe what we've come up with is truly unique."

Advertisement:
The Godfather, after all, is a puppet master - the mastermind at the pinnacle of his crime empire. The problem with EA's first title was by the time hero Aldo had made his way up from Italian street punk to mafia top dog, the game was all but over. This time round, you'll have the chance to become the actual Godfather himself right off the bat. "Our mantra is: act like a mobster, think like a Don," claims Smith. "We're determined to take all our perceived strengths from the first title and hike them up to the next level".

Godfather: Total War
Brave words, but trying to reconcile the action of the first game with pulling the strings as the head of your own crime syndicate is a daunting task. Naturally, comparisons between Godfather II and GTA IV are inevitable, but they're also way off the mark. In a daring move, Smith's team are challenging gamers to throw off their preconceptions about the sandbox genre. Forget Grand Theft Auto; this is Scarface meets Total War, RPG meets action, as the EA Redwood team decided to utterly gut and renovate what many mistakenly derided as little more than a flawed GTA clone.

In truth, The Godfather was much more than that; its brave and innovative racketeering and territory mechanics complemented solid scrapping and shooting. But this sequel is so much more. During the planning stages of Godfather II (the team commenced development straight after the first offering was shipped), Smith's team created a gigantic board game to research and examine the potential complexities of development.


It's not hard to see why. The truth is, we were completely baffled within about five minutes of the presentation's intro, such is the massive ambition of what Smith and his team are trying to achieve here. So, instead, we'll try and let the game do the talking for us...

Leaping into Godfather II at around the five hour mark, we're currently in control of a decent portion of Miami - one of two new cities in the game alongside good ol' New York. Our 'family' consists of a don (us), one underboss, three captains and four soldiers - a 1-1-3-4 formation guaranteed to put the willies up our gangster rivals. Each member has their own distinct personality, background and speciality - and all have the potential to rise through the organisation, should you decide they're doing enough to justify a promotion.

Meanwhile, our rival families - far from resting on their laurels - have been busy Bugsys. Smith is fiercely proud of the "emotional rather than rational, human-like" AI that'll motivate your in-game opponents. "For every action there's a reaction," he claims, hinting that learning how to manipulate the game's fairly complicated system of alliances (which could well consist of perk sharing) and betrayals between various factions will be key to gaining total control.

Oil be Back
Our first task: wrestle an oil refinery from the clutches of the Granados family - one of the five rival factions that'll populate the playable locations of Havana, Miami and New York (Sicily was considered as another, but got canned). Seizing control will not only give us a monopoly of all the businesses in the area, it'll grant one of eleven unique perks - in this case outfitting our entire organisation in bullet proof vests (an armoured car was the other mentioned). You'll actually play the game via two distinct viewpoints - a cool zoomed-out strategy, 'Don's View', from where you'll distribute your resources, check out the competition and plan your various machiavellian machinations, before zooming down into the more traditional sandbox world and getting your dangerous Italian hands dirty.


Instead of moseying on in through the front entrance, we take advantage of the engineer on our team to blow-torch through a chain link fence. Rather than run headlong into the thirty or so heavies guarding the joint, our bruiser shanks a guard while the sapper is dispatched to daisy-chain a bunch of colossal propane tanks - resulting in the mother of all kabooms and an evening of the odds in our favour. (It's also worth noting here that if one of your made men falls in battle, he won't necessarily buy the farm; you're able to revive him. If you don't make it in time, they'll simply end up in prison for a week.)

The refinery raid is also an apt time to test out Godfather II's refined shooting mechanics, now permanently set to free aim (though you can zoom in and lock-on). Pressure point targeting also returns, whether it's shooting a weapon from an enemy's hand, kneecapping him or putting a bullet straight through their forehead. Wading through the carnage, it's simply a matter of threatening the factory boss, finding his weak spot (this chap doesn't seem to like being tossed repeatedly to the floor) and making him promise to cut us in on a slice of the action.

Although the refinery will take a couple of days of game time to regenerate to full money-earning capacity, given that we've all but trashed it during our hostile takeover, the perk bonus it unlocks is more than worth the hassle. Bada bing!

Missions in Godfather II aren't always quite that unsubtle though. Case in point: the following scenario. Dominic needs to weaken a rival family in preparation for a particularly tricky raid, so after selecting three capos we head down to the local adult film studios where a prominent district attorney is hanging out. He's able to tweak some strings downtown, but only if our family performs a service in return - so it's off to a local diner to smash it up and plant some incriminating evidence. This is one of Godfather II's sabotage missions, and if you succeed you'll be given a 'sting' card, which lets you throw a member of an opposing family behind bars for a few turns.

Phone Home
Alas, the diner assignment doesn't prove quite as straightforward as anticipated. While Dominic and his goodfellas are laying down some sweet Sicilian smack, one of the Almeida grunts hightails it into a backroom and telephones for backup. Smith explains that, had we been a bit more savvy, we could have either attempted to smash the booth before the fight kicked off, or had our demolitions expert cut the telephone wires and electricity to the building before we'd waded in. It's yet another example of the importance of surrounding yourself with the right men in Godfather II - and, as well as that, remembering to use your brains as well as your brawn.

After performing a particularly grisly intimidation attack on the diner's owner - scalding the side of his face on a boiling oven hob - we get to work smashing the joint up and planting said false evidence. Even better, with the diner now under our control, the family gets an extortion bonus of 10% - meaning more money for the swelling coffers. Then, just as we're feeling pretty pleased with ourselves, the boys in blue show up and one brief chase later - getting enough distance to obstruct their line of sight - that precious sting card is ours.

Action Point
Spreading the action between three wildly different cities not only provides distinct visual stimulants; it also has a pretty drastic effect on the gameplay throughout, according to Hunter Smith. "The original Godfather was very stuffy, very claustrophobic," he recalls. "Miami, for instance, is much more sprawling." While the sequel remains relatively realistic, Smith also promises it'll be a lot more "fun" than its predecessor. He's also proud of the way the filmic narrative intertwines with the in-game missions this time round: "It's much more coherent," Smith assures us. Protecting and assisting the troubled Michael will be Dominic's main priority, but we're most looking forward to getting our hands around that slaphead traitor Fredo's neck, and dishing out some hurt.

Another casualty from the original game is the respect meter; now money is your only currency. You'll certainly need it too - splashing out on hordes of guards to protect your interests and keep rivals from re-taking them is key to establishing long-term control over the various rackets, as well as investing in new skills and firearms for your private armies. There's only one goal in Godfather II - absolute power, and that power comes through owning every property on the map. Simple as, according to Smith.

With all this talk of strategy it's easy to forget that, first and foremost, The Godfather II remains an open world drive 'n shoot. Or does it? While combat is more solid than Luca Brasi's tummy, driving, certainly from what we've had our eyes on, has taken a big back seat - save ferrying between locations and the odd police chase. With no boats, bikes or planes, isn't the traditional sandbox fan going to be ever so slightly bemused? "Maybe," reckons a bullish Smith, but then he's not too bothered about the competition. Mention Mafia 2 and all you get is a slight shrug and the dismissive repose: "We're different; we're doing our own thing". And that's that.

Noticed that we haven't really touched upon graphics or sound either yet? That's because, at this pre-alpha stage, there's really nothing much to report. Sixties Miami (the only location on show thus far) is certainly far removed from the grimy 40s aesthetic of the NY original - but, to be honest, it all looks more like a high-def Scarface than the achingly beautiful GTA IV at this moment in time. Still, with the same engine powering Godfather II as Dead Space, we're expecting big things down the line.

An atmospheric licensed soundtrack that's more swinging 60s than Sicilian dirge is also promised, but for now potential artists are being kept firmly under wraps. But, after everything we saw of Godfather II, perhaps the most exciting thought we took back from the demo was the sheer online potential; just imagine enormous multiplayer mash-ups featuring rival player-controlled factions.

Alas, while it's not something EA are willing to divulge at this time we're going to go out on an educated limb and predict a very close relationship between single and multiplayer within the game, involving unique perks, weapons, henchmen and outfits, which can only be earned in certain modes. DLC will also have a big part to play - especially since Smith reveals players splashed out crazy amounts of Microsoft Points on extra missions and weapons last time round.

IP freely
With The Godfather II not due for release until well into 2009, there's a long way to go on this particular development road, but the game is certainly further compelling evidence that EA have thrown off their licensed chains and are investing in hugely exciting IPs. That's not to say we don't have certain doubts about Godfather II. After all, embarking upon such a radical new direction might simply end up baffling and alienating its audience, consigning the game to the genre mish-mash scrapheap. Yet we've certainly seen enough to suggest Smith and co might just have something big, bad and oh-so-beautiful on their hands here - and we can't wait to get a pizza the action.

Screens:

Spoiler

[/

Filmpjes:

Spoiler

Trailers

[GT]42321[/GT]

[gt]38399[/gt]

Gameplay

[GT]45034[/GT]

[GT]45036[/GT]

[GT]45032[/GT]

Achievements:

Spoiler

MobFace 5
Create a mobster using MobFace.

Getting Made 5
Recruit your first soldier.

First Crime Ring 15
Control one crime ring.

Fortified Venue 5
Max out all guards at a venue.

It's Not Personal 20
Eliminate a rival family by successfully bombing their compound.

Contract Killer 15
Eliminate 5 made men with the appropriate kill condition.

Lockpicker 5
Crack five safes.

Enforcer 15
Complete 10 execution styles.

Bank Job 5
Heist your first bank.

Let Me Upgrade You 5
Upgrade one of your made men's skills or weapons.

Three Crime Rings 40
Control three crime rings.

Five Crime Rings 50
Control five crime rings.

Organized Crime 75
Control all crime rings.

Shakedown 25
Control all extortable businesses.

Executions In Style 75
Complete all execution styles.

Bag Man 20
Heist each bank once.

Safecracker 75
Crack all safes.

Torch The Joint 5
Send your men to bomb a venue from the Don's View.

Pulling The Strings 5
Send your men to attack a venue from the Don's View.

25 Massacred 10
Kill 25 mobsters.

100 Whacked 15
Kill 100 mobsters.

250 Iced 20
Kill 250 mobsters.

500 Empty Suits 25
Kill 500 mobsters.

750 Sleeping With The Fishes 30
Kill 750 mobsters.

BlackHand Brutality 10
Kill 25 mobsters only using BlackHand attacks.

Full Of Lead 10
Kill 150 mobsters only using firearms.

Gun Smuggler 10
Find a level 2 firearm upgrade.

Modified Firepower 20
Find a level 3 firearm upgrade.

Right Hand Man 10
Promote one of your made men to Capo.

Second In Command 15
Promote one of your made men to Underboss.

This Thing Of Ours 25
Recruit a full family tree.

Accept This As A Gift 30
Earn one of each favor.

Welcome To The Gun Show 30
Collect all level 2 and 3 firearm upgrades.




Secret Achievement 25
Continue playing to unlock this secret achievement.

Secret Achievement 25
Continue playing to unlock this secret achievement.

Secret Achievement 20
Continue playing to unlock this secret achievement.

Secret Achievement 30
Continue playing to unlock this secret achievement.

Secret Achievement 50
Continue playing to unlock this secret achievement.

Secret Achievement 50
Continue playing to unlock this secret achievement.

Secret Achievement 10
Continue playing to unlock this secret achievement.

Secret Achievement 75
Continue playing to unlock this secret achievement.

 

voor de mensen met het slechtere engels:

Nieuws | 18 juni 2008 - De baas van Electronic Arts, John Riccitiello, heeft tegenover investeerders van zijn bedrijf vrijuit gesproken over The Godfather 2. EA's Redwood Shores studio werkt momenteel aan de opvolger van The Godfather, het spel dat in 2006 uit werd gebracht.

Volgens Riccitiello zal The Godfather 2 op een 'straatniveau' gespeeld kunnen worden, zoals bijvoorbeeld in Grand Theft Auto, maar ook van bovenaf. Vanuit de lucht speel je het spel "meer als een RTS, om zo de verschillende wijken te controleren en om te zien wat er allemaal gebeurt."

Op welke platformen we de game kunnen verwachten is niet duidelijk, maar wij gokken dat de Wii, PC, PlayStation 3 en Xbox 360 in ieder geval van de partij zullen zijn. Verder werd door Riccitiello aangegeven dat mensen het deze herfst veel over The Godfather 2 zullen hebben. De vermoedelijke release-datum is dus ergens eind dit jaar.

 

Die gaat het heel erg zwaar krijgen als het om de concurrentie (Mafia 2, SR2) gaat, en mag hopen dat er na dit uitgemolken product nooit een deel 3 gaat komen. Schande voor de films!

 

Ik vond deel 1 erg vermakelijk, maar gebaseerd op de verkoopcijfers verbaast het me eigenlijk wel dat er een deel 2 komt. Zo'n hit was het toch niet...

 

daarom maken ze er juist een, ze hebben geld nodig

 

die 2 games komen dit jaar nog uit, dit spel waarsschijnlijk pas volgend jaar of later.
wel gaan mensen maffia II en godfather vergelijken.
maar het is niet OF OF

 

Dit wordt echt een fucking wrede game

De eerste is ook uber cool

 

Ik zeg juist dat deel 1 voor zover ik weet niet veel geld opbracht, dus daarom verbaast het me dat ze een deel 2 maken. De kans is nl. groot dat deel 2 ook niet zo supergoed verkoopt. Wel respect dan ook voor EA, die eindelijk eens niet alleen maar gaat voor simpel incashen maar ook hun mooie spellen, en de fans daarvan, weet te waarderen.

 

Mafia 2 schijnt volgens laatste berichten 2009 te komen hoor, maargoed ik zie al net zoals bij de vorige Godfather dat deze titel verbleekt tegenover een titel als Mafia (2). Vergelijk voor de gein maar eens deel 1 van de Godfather met de eerste Mafia, maargoed ik zal niet nog verder deze titel gaan bashen.

 

Vond de eerste verschrikkelijk :{

 

2009 is toch ook volgend jaar?
Maar bashen hoeft niet, het EA logo staat op het hoesje

 

Ik kijk wel naar deze game uit. Deel 1 heb ik met veel plezier helemaal uitgespeeld

 

Godfather 1 ook heel vaak gespeeld, er was opzich weinig te doen maar de missies en het sfeertje vond ik echt lekker. Maarja, wanneer hij ongeveer samen met de release van Maffia 2 komt, dan zal ik denk ik voor Maffia 2 gaan.

 

Ik vond de achievements erg goed in deel 1. Dat heeft er voor gezorgd dat ik de game een flinke tijd heb gespeeld. Mafia 1 heb ik nooit echt gespeeld dus zou niet weten welke ik dan moet kiezen. Maar lijkt me ook nogal stom als beide games tegelijk uitkomen.

 

ik wacht gewoon nog op gameplay van beide, en dan beoordeel ik pas. ik heb wel vertrouwen in allebei de games

 

Jaa, een vervolg op The Godfather

Godfather beviel mij altijd vanwege de goeie sfeer en verhaallijn

Hopelijk zit hier ook nog een online mode in verwerkt enzo, en wat zijmissies om het spel nog beter te maken

mvg Steel Dogg

 

RPG elementen:
RTS / Bordspel elementen:

 

Ben ik nou gek of is dit een beetje dezelfde stijl als FIFA Street 3 en die boksgame van EA.

 

Je bent gek denk ik.
Ik zie het meer als een minder mooie versie van GTA

Fifa Street 3:

Spoiler

FaceBreaker:

Spoiler

Gta:

Spoiler

 

Ben erg benieuwd! Hopelijk dat je nog wel steeds veel rond kan rijden en lopen a la GTA en de eerste godfather game.. dat RTS gebeuren ben ik namelijk nog niet zo zeker van.