So despite being billed as the New York Comic Con, there sure are a heck of a lotta gaming companies here pimping their latest projects. During the mildly hectic Friday, Sarah, Coop, and I managed to sneak in some time with the latest Corleone console game, The Godfather II. After the time I spent with it, one thing was clear: combat is a big deal to the developers at EA Redwood Shores.

The Godfather films provide a gritty, violent look at mafia life. Translating that raw brutality to video games isn't an easy task, but EA sure is trying. Immediately upon picking up the controller, I was thrown into a fist fight while trying to send a message to some locals who weren't up to date on their protection payments. Utilizing the Left and Right triggers as my left and right hands, my vengeance was swift. Faces were being pummeled. Arms were being broken. Then, I noticed a button prompt to click the Right stick to "Execute." Sure, why not? My character then grabbed his opponent by the collar, and smashed his face in with quick hammering blows. It all happened so fast, I thought I missed something, so naturally I had to try it again on the next guy. This time I managed to get that same prompt while my opponent was down on his knees. From there, a few devastating knees to the face put him down for good.

Of course, there are plenty of weapons to take rivals down as well. Once I figured out how to arm myself (a weapons wheel can be activated by pressing the Left button), I wasted no time before running into the streets blasting Tommy Gun fire at whoever crossed my path. Pedestrians scrambled from my wild shots, but I managed to incapacitate a female who would come to learn just how merciful I was. Before she could even beg me for her life, the Execute prompt reared its head, and who am I to disobey button commands? I kicked her over onto her stomach, stepped on her neck, and riddled the rest of her body with lead. Yeah, this game is definitely trying to make a statement. Whether or not the absolutely insane violence will become comical at any point remains to be seen, but for now, it was pretty satisfying.

Deadly combat isn't the only thing that stands out in the sequel though. Much more depth has been added to strategic elements as well. Pausing the game opens up the world map, where you can view rival owned business/fronts that you need to take over on your meteoric rise to Don. Along the way, you'll also be able to hire NPCs to be members of your family. They'll have specific skill sets, and can be left in charge of certain tasks while you're busy attending to more pressing matters. Upgrades, like better weapons, can be given to all your crew to give your boys an edge when attempting to rub out your distinguished competition. I didn't get to mess around with some of the other features for the new "Family" system, but from what I saw, I'm certainly interested to see whether or not EA is able to accomplish the things it's trying to pull off.

While the game may look like a GTA clone at the outset, Godfather II is trying to set itself apart in at least a few dimensions. It certainly was fun playing it today for thirty minutes, but I'm not sure if that gameplay will hold up for lengthy periods of time. Guess we'll just have to wait another few months to see.

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