Mafia II (PS3/360)

[Flawless]

Re: Mafia II (PS3/360)

New trailer is up:

<div style="width: 480px;"><object classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=8,0,0,0" id="gtembed" width="480" height="392"> <param name="allowScriptAccess" value="sameDomain" /> <param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /> <param name="movie" value="http://www.gametrailers.com/remote_wrap.php?mid=62665"/><param name="quality" value="high" /> <embed src="http://www.gametrailers.com/remote_wrap.php?mid=62665" swLiveConnect="true" name="gtembed" align="middle" allowScriptAccess="sameDomain" allowFullScreen="true" quality="high" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="480" height="392"></embed> </object><div style="font-size: 10px; font-family: Verdana; text-align: center; width: 480px; padding-top: 2px; padding-bottom: 2px; background-color: black; height: 32px;"><div><a style="color:#FFFFFF;" href="http://www.gametrailers.com" title="GameTrailers.com">Video Games</a> | <a style="color:#FFFFFF;" href="http://www.gametrailers.com/game/mafia-ii/5403" title="Mafia II">Mafia II</a> | <a style="color:#FFFFFF;" href="http://www.gametrailers.com/video/exclusive-boom-mafia-ii/62665" title="Exclusive Boom Boom Boom Trailer">Exclusive Boom Boom Boom Trailer</a></div><div style="padding-top: 3px;"><a style="color:#FFFFFF;" href="http://xbox360.gametrailers.com/" title="XBox 360">XBox 360</a> | <a style="color:#FFFFFF;" href="http://ps3.gametrailers.com/" title="PS3">Playstation 3</a> | <a style="color:#FFFFFF;" href="http://wii.gametrailers.com/" title="Wii">Nintendo Wii</a></div></div></div>

[ChaseB]

Re: Mafia II (PS3/360)

I sometimes forget about this game, then I see new media for it and remember why I've been excited about it since the first time I saw a video of it -- plus the first Mafia was very solid.

[Flawless]

Re: Mafia II (PS3/360)

2K Games Partners with Playboy Magazine to Bring Sophistication and Classic Imagery to Mafia II

2K Games announced today that it has signed a license agreement with Playboy magazine for a unique in-game integration to use more than 50 of their vintage covers and Centerfolds in Mafia® II, this year’s highly anticipated epic mobster game for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system, and Windows PC. Set in the fully realized and immersive 1940s and 1950s American urban cityscape of Empire Bay, Mafia II will enable players to collect virtual copies of the iconic magazine, which has served as the definitive guide to lifestyle and culture for men since December 1953.

“While most mob-inspired games’ emphasis is solely on action, Mafia II features a deep and compelling narrative that is embellished with a sophisticated, era-evoking atmosphere,” said Christoph Hartmann, president of 2K. “In partnering with Playboy, we are able to add a unique element of authenticity to the game by using vintage images from the magazine that illustrate the power of Playboy’s influence on the attitudes and culture of that generation.”

Mafia II is a beautifully crafted look into the dark and unforgiving world of the Mafia where clothing, cars, music and advertising are meticulously created to replicate an American city in the ‘40s and ‘50s. Players will easily become engaged in the game’s cinematic, Hollywood-style experience with strong, believable characters in a living, breathing city that transports them to a time when rock-n-roll first strummed its guitar and chrome-plated hot rods roared down boulevards.

“For more than 55 years, Playboy has been a part of America’s pop culture landscape, engaging its readers with insightful features, interviews and fashion spreads, as well as pictorials of some of the world’s most beautiful women,” said Playboy magazine’s Editorial Director Jimmy Jellinek. “Mafia II is set when Playboy first came into vogue and features characters whose style and attitudes mirror content from our early issues. We’re excited to bring an element of authenticity to the game that is unmatched in the men’s publishing category.”

[Rawdeal28]

Re: Mafia II (PS3/360)

if you can actually flip through the pages of one and see photos of naked chicks im so all over this.

[BlueNGold]

Re: Mafia II (PS3/360)

if you can actually flip through the pages of one and see photos of naked chicks im so all over this.

[Flawless]

Re: Mafia II (PS3/360)

Gamespot hands-on

Many of Mafia II's venues will be populated by ambient characters that are both scripted to perform certain actions and are unscripted--in addition, the game will have a dynamic music score with some 120 period pieces from the 1940s and 1950s (plus a symphonic score from the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra) that will change depending on what you're doing in-game. In fact, even the game's weather system will change to help suit the scene (rather than simply change on a 24-hour day-night cycle) to help make even quiet downtime moments seem like scenes out of a motion picture.

Interview with new footage:

http://gdc.gamespot.com/video/6253054/?tag=latest-highlights;title;3

...

[ASB37]

Re: Mafia II (PS3/360)

Wow that's pretty cool stuff with the weather changing.

[Aces15]

Re: Mafia II (PS3/360)

I don't know, there was A LOT of texture pop-in in that video. Hopefully it's pretty old.

[DickDalewood]

Re: Mafia II (PS3/360)

Wow, very cool stuff, and I LOVE the weather. It adds so much to the feel of a game, as does how time frame specific they are getting with all the other deals.

This definitely has potential.

[Rawdeal28]

Re: Mafia II (PS3/360)

wow that looked great. this game looks like its gonna be real good.

[Flawless]

Re: Mafia II (PS3/360)

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[Flawless]

Re: Mafia II (PS3/360)

Five Reasons Why Mafia II is The Godfather Game We Should Have Gotten

Starting From Scratch
It might sound like I am contradicting myself when I say this, but the fact that Mafia II's story doesn't draw on an established canon or license like The Godfather is a huge advantage. Hell, there doesn't even seem to be any significant connection to the original game's story since Mafia II takes place almost 10 years after the events of the first entry in the series (2K Games personnel in the past have commented that there will be Easter eggs for fans of the original game). This freedom allows for limitless character development, and none of that weirdness that happens when a game totally changes events that occurred in the media it's based on.

You Talkin' To Me?
From what I saw during my demo, the game's script stays away from the hammy Cosa Nostra stereotypes that are so easy to fall into, instead it pulls me in with realistic dialogue and voice acting. One scene in particular struck me as true to life: during Vito Scalletta's (Mafia II's protagonist) first dinner with his mother and sister after returning from World War II, his mom chides him for digging right into his food without praying -- but also without the obligatory Italian curse word laden tirade.

Shoot To Kill
When the mob is involved, things are likely to get violent, so combat is an important facet in a game like Mafia II. Luckily, the game's shooting has taken pages right out of the Uncharted 2 and Gears of War books, with its fully developed cover system. In the mission I played (called Wild Ones), I had to make my way through an abandoned factory -- guns blazing -- to stop a "greaser" gang that crossed Vito and his buddies.

Using cover is absolutely not optional in this game, as was stressed by Denby Grace (a senior producer at 2K Games): "Use the cover system...otherwise you will die." Truer words could not have been spoken, as I learned the hard way that a quick "run-and-gun" through the mission was out of the question, instead requiring a methodical pace to get through the multitude of enemies with too much pomade in their hair that were camped out all over the factory. Mafia II is more a third person shooter than a straight up open world action game. Period.

The Real Deal
Mafia II is a period piece, through and through. From the 1940s music that pipes from the in-game radios, to the characters' intricately detailed outfits, there is no doubt of the time period in which the game is set. The locations I checked out during my time with the game were full of little tidbits that made the game not only look real, but also feel lived in. Things like seeing open magazines lying next to the toilet in the apartment that Vito calls home, or the old fashioned soda bottles left behind mid-snack by the greasers you ambush at their hideout, make Mafia II's locations look more like a well-dressed movie set than the somewhat bland set pieces I'm used to seeing in open world games; that's a very good thing. Oh, and as for those vintage issues of Playboy floating around in the world, we were told that there was one in the area of the game we played, but I didn't spot it. At least it seems they?re not being plastered front and center and in your face.

The Whole World Is Yours
Empire Bay, the fictional US city that is Mafia II's setting, is enormous -- like 10 square miles enormous. With 20 different districts to explore (like Chinatown and Little Italy), not only is there a lot of ground to cover, but a large variety of scenery to take in to boot. As I drove down Empire Bay's wide thoroughfares and claustrophobic alleys, I saw environments ranging from the usual metropolitan city streets to a more rustic wooded area where I found a bar that I then proceeded to completely fill with bullets and burn to the ground with a couple of well-placed Molotov cocktails; I'd say that's pretty diverse.

[BlueNGold]

Re: Mafia II (PS3/360)

I want this game so damn bad.

[ASB37]

Re: Mafia II (PS3/360)

Makes me wanna pop in the first one and play through it again...I think I have it lying around somewhere.

[michigan21]

Re: Mafia II (PS3/360)

Makes me wanna pop in the first one and play through it again...I think I have it lying around somewhere.

Yea, I have Mafia on the PC and have played through it two times, and still I want to still play it again. I miss Tommy Angelo, and Pauley and some of the other characters from that game. The city of Lost Heaven still is one of the best rendered cities Ive seen in a video game.