14 DAY TRIAL // Electronic Arts is getting ready to release The Godfather II on April 7 in North America and on April 10 in Europe (why the staggered dates?). And in order to add to the attraction generated by the perspective of taking on the role of a mob family, Electronic Arts is announcing that it plans to release a free content patch on the day of the game's release, adding a new multiplayer game mode, called Don Control.
The publisher is saying that the mode will add a fresh layer of strategy to the multiplayer element of the game. There are already four modes for competitive online play and six maps for them, but Don Control appears to be something truly different.
Players who enter the mode will wager the money that they have accumulated in the single player campaign, so the consequences of a win and, especially, of a loss, will be far reaching. Don Control is set to accommodate up to 16 players in an online battle, which makes the conflict more complex than usual. There are also recruitment mechanics, which allow each Don to “recruit others to join their family by giving them a cut of the profits.”
It will be interesting to see how much the idea of putting up money you've made in the single player portion of the game at stake in multiplayer matches will appeal to players. On the one hand, it's likely that if someone loses a couple of matches of Don Control they will think twice before entering it again. On the other hand, after players go through the single player content, Don Control will probably be a way of extending the life of The Godfather II.
The game is set to be available for the PC, the Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3. Don't forget that Electronic Arts is giving those who pre-order the game the chance to meet a talented mobster named Tommy Cipolla.