Mafia Wars fans won’t be very happy to hear about the complete change in terms of gameplay and approach Zynga has planned for the upcoming sequel, Mafia Wars 2. The folks over at Inside Social Games got a chance to check out the upcoming game and, even though it is impressive, it’s completely different from what we’ve got in Mafia Wars!

Unlike the original text-based gameplay in Mafia Wars, the sequel will deliver a complete visual, 3D world as you can see in the image to the left (click to enlarge). You will focus on building and maintaining your buildings, like DVD pirating shops, and you’ll have to protect them from enemies who will start attacking right away.

There’s both a campaign – a story-based kind of line to follow – and a player vs player combat option that will take place in different settings (like Area 51 or a Bone Yard) and the equipment held by players will still matter here. We don’t know yet if Mafia size still matters, but it appears that it does not.

All in all, the new Mafia Wars 2 seems to be more like an Empires & Allies title, with 3D graphics, fighting and animated avatars. Will this huge change be accepted by the hardcore Mafia Wars players? Well, if they love FrontierVille or Empires and Allies, they might. Otherwise… it’s just a bad move!

What do you think about Mafia Wars 2? Are you excited by the changes it promises to deliver?