Mafia II

[Arátoeldar]

There is a new trailer for Mafia II. :bored:tastic

 

http://www.gametrailers.com/player/44434.html

 

Info on the trailer.

 

http://www.shacknews.com/onearticle.x/56774

 

We've been receiving a lot of questions about whether or not the trailer was real-time and I'm here to clear the air. It really was. All the scenes were completely created in our editor the same way we create cutscenes for the game. Our cutscene editor is a very powerful tool. Besides, we can see it all real-time which makes our work a lot easier. There was absolutely no need to modify the resulting video in the postproduction.

 

Anyone else excited for this game. If you haven't played Mafia. I highly suggest that you do so.

[jrrtoken]

Okay. Nice graphics... but that's about it, nice graphics. Seems to play more like a trailer for a movie than for a game, IMO.

 

Either way, for a sandbox game it might be pretty nice, but then again, if they actually released some gameplay footage instead of a relatively pointless teaser, I might be a bit more interested.

 

Oh, and can explain to me why every sandbox game has a criminal protagonist? Seems to be getting a tad repetitive now, eh?

[FiEND_138]

The first one was very awesome (PC only. I guess the console ports were complete trash). I can hardly wait for part two.

[SW01]

 

Been waiting to see someting new about this for a while! GTA: Prohibition 2 should be great!

 

Seriously, though, I really hope they properly develop the 'sandbox' element for the console - that was the major letdown of Mafia on PS2. I wonder how it will do in direct competition with The Godfather: Part 2?

[DarthParametric]

The first game on PC was great. I preferred it to any of the GTAs to be honest. Some of the mechanics were a bit clunky, but the story was better and much more engaging than GTA. I think Rockstar tried to move in the same sort of direction as Mafia with GTA4. They went for a more mature, plot-focused game but they are still hung up on all the stupid minigames, albeit much less so than in the past.

 

Hrmm...I should dig it out again and give it a spin.

[Q]

The first one was very awesome (PC only. I guess the console ports were complete trash).

Well, that explains a lot. I played the PS2 version and thought it was "meh" at best.

[Gargoyle King]

I wonder how it will do in direct competition with The Godfather: Part 2?

Well seeming how the original kicked the farce that was The Godfather game right in it's teeth, i expect the second Mafia game to do the same to the latter's sequel (IMHO). I mean how can any Godfather game be as good as the movie, especially if it hasn't got the backing of both Francis Ford Coppola and Al Pacino.

[SW01]

I can only make a judgement, unfortunately, based on the PS2 titles Mafia and Godfather, and that probably affects my preference for the latter. I know Mafia on PS2 was nowhere near it's PC original. Still, looking forward very much to seeing Mafia 2, ever since the promo art released last year of the gentleman in an exquisite '30s suit wielding a Tommy-gun! Hopefully, they'll give us a bit of customisation freedom when it comes to suits and that? Tommy Angelo's outfit wasn't bad, but the plain black suit and red tie got boring after a while...the overcoat and fedora were nicely done, though.

[DarthParametric]

Judging by the trailer, my guess is that Mafia 2 is set (or starts out at any rate) in the late 40s to early 50s. Given that the first game's ending looked to be in the 50s, it would a nice touch if there was some reference to that, although there doesn't seem to be any indication of a direct follow-on (or that it's even in the same city, Lost Heaven).

[igyman]

According to what I've read, Mafia 2 will not be set in Lost Heaven, but in Empire City and will take place in the 1940s and 50s. The new protagonist's name is Vito Scarletta and as far as I know he isn't related to any of the characters from the original game.

The original was indeed one of the best games I've played and I hope the sequel will be even better.

[Darth Avlectus]

 

Been waiting to see someting new about this for a while! GTA: Prohibition 2 should be great!

 

Seriously, though, I really hope they properly develop the 'sandbox' element for the console - that was the major letdown of Mafia on PS2. I wonder how it will do in direct competition with The Godfather: Part 2?

Here here. I got mafia as a flea market deal last year--only $1!!!

Great cindition and all discs, instruction booklet, box. All in good condition.

Nice find for the PC eh?

 

The first game on PC was great. I preferred it to any of the GTAs to be honest. Some of the mechanics were a bit clunky, but the story was better and much more engaging than GTA. I think Rockstar tried to move in the same sort of direction as Mafia with GTA4. They went for a more mature, plot-focused game but they are still hung up on all the stupid minigames, albeit much less so than in the past.

I'm just a little peeved that you can't survive even at your strongest fighting off 4 or 5 at a time. Or that tanks did not make an appearance.

 

Still the shennanigans and cameos live on in GTA4.

 

Mafia admittedly does have a more compelling storyline than most GTA titles.

I always find myself pulled into godfather movies, scarface, goodfellas, or etc to that effect. Something compelling about surviving, getting by being thrifty sporting and resourceful.

 

Which makes me wish a modding team would work on some Exchange based stuff for both the KOTOR games. Hell, if there is anyone out there whose been thinking about the same thing, hit me up via PM. I'd love to help any way I can.

 

Hrmm...I should dig it out again and give it a spin.

Yeh! Half life orange isn't too bad, neither. --Just wish the zero suit samus mod author would *please* just get over it (whatever his problem) and release the mod to public.

 

Well, that explains a lot. I played the PS2 version and thought it was "meh" at best.

 

Yeah. It just seems like so much gets cut out in order to make it to consoles. Not that I necessarily have much against PC games, but having grown up with consoles, it just seems to have so much more of a home feeling going there. So it is rather dissapointing when a company decodes to port something and they heinously decide to "perform surgery" to make it fit.

 

I've managed to find a way to play old snes games on PS2. Google SNES station. It's so cool to be able to play your old school games on a new(er) console. If only everything worked out so nicely.

[SW01]

Here here. I got mafia as a flea market deal last year--only $1!!!

Great cindition and all discs, instruction booklet, box. All in good condition.

Nice find for the PC eh?

 

Very simply - well done!

 

Mafia admittedly does have a more compelling storyline than most GTA titles.

 

I dunno...I found part of Mafia's story to be a bit rushed, actually. Going by the PS2 thing, of course.

 

I always find myself pulled into godfather movies, scarface, goodfellas, or etc to that effect. Something compelling about surviving, getting by being thrifty sporting and resourceful.

 

Indeed. A lot of the criminal underworld game seem to do that well too. Scarface did it very well, starting off with nothing, scraping by, then after a certain point having the huge upsurge in income. Just like the movie.

 

I actually thought that much of Mafia was markedly similar to Goodfellas - except a bank job instead of drugs. And in the '30s. Particularly Don Salieri - he's a dead ringer for Paul Cicero in Goodfellas. Same with Paulie and Tommy DeVito.

 

Yeah. It just seems like so much gets cut out in order to make it to consoles. Not that I necessarily have much against PC games, but having grown up with consoles, it just seems to have so much more of a home feeling going there. So it is rather dissapointing when a company decodes to port something and they heinously decide to "perform surgery" to make it fit.

 

From what I've heard, Mafia was utterly butchered to fit onto PS2. Hopefully, with a PS3's power, it won't be necessary for Mafia II.

[DarthParametric]

It will almost certainly be a case of them going the GTA route and coding it for a console and then porting that to PC (meaning the 360 will likely be the lead development platform). I guess that will mean that all 3 versions will be hamstrung equally.

[Astor]

Super-bump!

 

I bought Mafia II at the weekend and have just finished it. I love it, although I don't think it quite compares to the original (which is one of the best game of this type).

 

It's certainly a very good game in its own right, with a great story (although a little clichéd in places), and some nifty tie-ins to the first game through loading quotes and missions.

 

I think it manages to capture the setting (mid 40s and early 50s) pretty well. The mission when you are walking to you home after just leaving the Army was a nice touch, as were many of the other features.

 

And i'd be lying if I said I didn't appreciate the options to purchase your own clothes throughout the game - a little sartorial elegance is one of the trademarks of any self-respecting made man, after all.

[SW01]

Got it on release day for the PC myself. I had a bit of a bad time though trying to get it to look half decent and still run without lagging terribly (the PhysX thing seemed to be the big problem), but once that was done, I found it great fun to play.

 

As Astor said, a good number of references to the original, including a particular mission that was quite poignant, imo, for Mafia players...

 

Although, I was a bit disappointed to see the open-world play feature removed entirely. Fair enough you can run around during a mission instead of doing the mission in order to have some free-roam style play, but it's still lacking a save ability. And yeah, the suit, hat and overcoat look goes very well with a Tommy Gun.

[Taak Farst]

played the demo. was okay. might get it. might not. but ive seen a few reviews on it and it doesnt seem amazing..they say there is lack of things to do and its a pretty boring game.

[SW01]

Well I wouldn't entirely agree personally - whenever I got it (and Steam decided to let me activate it...-_-) I easily spent two or three hours engrossed in it - no small thing at 1 in the morning!

 

I'd say there is more to do in it than in the original, in that there are simply more options and more freedom around missions. It's no GTAIV, but then it was never going to be. It's not the old formulaic mission approach of 'start in Salieri's bar; go to Ralphie and get a vehicle; go upstairs and get handed weapons - no options; proceed directly to mission area' which works pretty well.

 

It's a good successor to Mafia - The City of Lost Heaven. Not a GTA clone (even The Godfather has more freedom, but less in terms of story and atmosphere) though, and no doubt that does it harm for reviewers.

[Astor]

Got it on release day for the PC myself. I had a bit of a bad time though trying to get it to look half decent and still run without lagging terribly (the PhysX thing seemed to be the big problem), but once that was done, I found it great fun to play.

 

I had considered getting it for the PC - while my computer is technically able to run it, I ended up buying the 360 version out of caution, but I might buy the PC version when it gets cheaper as i've heard there are already some mods coming out.

 

Although, I was a bit disappointed to see the open-world play feature removed entirely.

 

I liked the ability to roam around a little, but yeah, I would've liked a freeplay option.

 

I realised I forgot to mention a killer soundtrack throughout (well, if you're into what are now considered 'oldies') - Bing Crosby, The Andrews Sisters, Dean Martin, Rosemary Clooney, Chuck Berry, Frankie Laine, the list goes on, and on. And while I like all of the songs the developers included, it does seem like they were relying on Louis Prima a little too much. Still, it was also nice to hear some of Django Reinhardt's music from the original Mafia make an appearance as well.

[SW01]

I had considered getting it for the PC - while my computer is technically able to run it

That's the problem I ended up having - everything is above the recommended specs, but the PhysX thing caused terrible slowdown. Fortunately it's easy enough to excise the unnecessary effects and fix that.

 

I realised I forgot to mention a killer soundtrack throughout (well, if you're into what are now considered 'oldies') - Bing Crosby, The Andrews Sisters, Dean Martin, Rosemary Clooney, Chuck Berry, Frankie Laine, the list goes on, and on. And while I like all of the songs the developers included, it does seem like they were relying on Louis Prima a little too much. Still, it was also nice to hear some of Django Reinhardt's music from the original Mafia make an appearance as well.

 

The drunken singalong has to be the funniest thing in the game. I liked the soundtrack too - like a collection of songs most connected with Mafia movies. Needs more Sinatra though...I laughed though the first time I heard the music from the first game piping through - in an appreciative way, of course!

[igyman]

Got it myself on release day (for PC, of course) and I agree that while it is a very fun game, it - as unlikely as it is after four or five years in development - seems rushed. There were two serious disappointments for me - the length of the story and the lack of any side-missions, even if there is a separate icon in the City Map Legend for "Jobs". Other than that, I found the game quite enjoyable - the music was flawless, along with the visuals and voice acting and all that combined captured the feeling of the 40s and 50s perfectly. Like SW01 said, it's no GTA, but it's a very fun game from a franchise with a lot of potential.

[SW01]

Italian American Group Claims Victory in making Mafia II Launch Party 'Lame'

"When we first heard about this marketing event only recently, we went into action, using our resolve to challenge an event whose purpose was to mock the Italian American community by promoting the new video game Mafia II."

Just...wow. Okay...

 

But anyway, ran through the game again on Hard - the action element is really well done this time I think - it's rare for me to say so for games without GTA style auto-lock-on. Tried the Free Ride mod that was released too, and it's fun enough but still a bit empty. Apparently some people have come across what seem to be remnants of side-missions, but I haven't come across them myself yet.

 

Though the more I read the more I'm agreeing with igyman on the point of it being 'rushed' - quite a bit seems to have been deleted. There's a conversation which references an event not in the game (but in a trailer - the confession one), and apparently the Operation Husky bit was supposed to be a full chapter similar to the rest. And the Freeride bit looks to be a reactivated bit of cut code. Unless it is supposed to be future DLC or something.