Now that I'm playing The Godfather II, I'd like to clarify what exactly Electronic Arts is doing with the downloadable content (i.e. "Premium Upgrade Packs") that will be available in two weeks. It seemed from the press release that this was a way to unlock rewards you could have gotten just by playing the game, similar to Need for Speed: Undercover, where you can use micropayments instead of ingame money to upgrade your cars. However, in the case of The Godfather II, it seems that none of the things they're selling is available in the game.

The henchman for sale is unique for starting out with four skills (it seems that none of the henchmen already in the game start out with more than two skills). If you buy "Jimmy Lira", as he's called, you could promote him to underboss to get a henchman with six skills. Right now, you'll never have a henchman with more than four skills. But since these henchman are the characters you play when you're online, this still stinks as a way for players to buy an online advantage.

The level 4 weapons for sale aren't in the game unless you buy them. As it is, you start out with access to all types of weapons at level 1. A pistol, shotgun, machine gun, magnum, and sniper rifle. As you play, you can find level 2 and level 3 versions of each weapon. You can then spend money giving your henchmen these upgraded weapons. However, there are no level 4 weapons in the game until you buy them from EA.