Electronic Arts today announced that The Godfather II has been officially scheduled for release in North America on April 7 (April 10 for Europe). The game is currently in development at EA Redwood Shores for Xbox 360, PS3 and PC.

The Godfather II puts players in the shoes of a Don in the Corleone family, letting them "carve out their own story of deception, betrayal, and conquest in a 1960s organized crime world." The story will interweave with key events from the film and the player will interact with major characters.

"The Godfather II is taking the open-world genre in an entirely new direction by combining the furious combat of acting like a mobster, with the strategic gameplay of thinking like a Don," says Hunter Smith, Executive Producer for The Godfather II. "As game makers, when we looked at what lies at the heart of the Godfather universe, we discovered a game focused around organized crime. The Corleones and all the other families schemed and fought to gain access and control of different territories, so that they could control the flow of money in those areas. This underlying battle cloaked secrecy is what The Godfather II and mafia life is all about, and we wanted players to be in control as a Don and make those strategic decisions to lead their families to success."

EA also said that consumers who pre-order The Godfather II (at participating retailers worldwide) will receive an exclusive crew member – Tommy Cipolla – to hire into their family.

The first Godfather video game was caught in a legal battle between the estate of author Mario Puzo and Paramount Pictures, but that lawsuit was just recently settled.