If there was ever a movie or theme made for a particular genre, then I’d have to say The Godfather is that movie that is made for the sandbox genre.  Becoming the Don and controlling the mafia families was very enjoyable in the first Godfather game.  I had my doubts when it was announced but I ended up really enjoying it (minus the micro-transactions of course). 

Enter The Godfather II which seems to have made up for all the little shortcomings of the first.  The official website for The Godfather II just launched complete with Facebook apps and an exclusive Inner Circle.  The Inner Circle gets you in on some cool exclusive developer diaries, contests and more.  The developer diary has a cool card game that I must own.

“In the 1960’s, a mafia Don was only as strong as his family,” said Hunter Smith, Executive Producer of The Godfather II. “We found the hierarchical culture of organized crime intriguing. Running an organized crime family in a world defined by family loyalty is something that we felt could introduce a new strategic element to the genre. That is what the Don’s View is all about; laying out a strategy to pick off the competition one by one. The Don’s View is so unique, it could fundamentally change the rules of open-world games by blending action and strategy to create something entirely new.”

It’s a long way to before the release in February 2009, but that shouldn’t stop us geeks from diving into the crime world.  I know I don’t want to swim with any fish.  Do you?  Spike TV is set to debut the first gameplay footage of The Godfather II tonight at Midnight CST.  And in the spirit of the game, yes I’ve put a contract out on Executive Producer, Hunter Smith, to make him fork over that kick ass Godfather card game.  Any takers?