Electronic Arts has announced that its Redwood Shores studio has finally put the finishing touches in the sequel to its second Godfather game. Godfather II has gone gold and it will be released in North America on April 7th and on April 10th in Europe.

The second game in the Godfather franchise was the subject of a much whispered about delay that EA explained away as the need for more polish as well as a need for a better marketing campaign prior to the title being released. Godfather II, when released, will arrive on the Xbox 360, PC and the PlayStation 3 in a simultaneous release when it drops.

The open-world gangster title will take some cues from the Godfather II movie while at the same time building upon the Grand Theft Auto style of play that made the first Godfather game successful when it was released for the PC, Xbox, Xbox 360, PlayStation 2, with the PlayStation 3 and Wii versions following a year later. The first version of the Godfather sold around 1.5 million copies and EA is hopeful for more success this time around.

The first Godfather game was not without its detractors, and in fact, Francis Ford Coppola himself declared his disapproval of the game adaptation, claiming that he knew nothing about it. The game did have at least some credibility due to the fact that the game featured some of the original actors lending their voice talents to the title; despite the fact that EA opted not to use recordings that it made of Marlon Brando due to the actor’s fragile condition at the time that the recordings were made.