Mafia 2 (Multiplatform)

Gamespot hands-on

Quote:
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:
Click to expand...

http://gdc.gamespot.com/video/625305...lights;title;3
 
They confirmed that was 360 version,looks nice.It has noticeable frame drops,but they have 6 months to polish that one...
 
Looks good. They did a nice job with the shooting aspects, which was a strong suit of the first one, relative to GTA and other similar games.
 
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.
Click to expand...
 
Now that I could enjoy the open world game RDR, I have an eye on this one as well!

Vids showed good shooting scenes, I am interested!
 
PSN+, when it does give exclusive demo access, so far only gives 24 hours of exclusivity. Gold vs Silver however is as far as I know still a week?

EDIT:
http://blog.eu.playstation.com/2010...afia-ii-demo-24-hour-exclusive/#comment-93605

Also an interesting comment in this one for people in Germany - 16+ games can't have free downloadable demoes on PSN apparently, but they are in fact allowed to push you these through PSN+.
 
lot of aliasing during outdoor action in the xbox360 version, interiors and cutscenes look sharper and quite good, exterior not so. Framerate is sometimes a bit low too outdoor.
 
360 version is bad (low framerate, lots of tearing) but PS3 version is very bad: worse FR, more tearing, no SSAO, NO GRASS (lol) and no muzzle flash...
 
All it needs now is a GTAV announcement... maybe the expectations were too high after all these years?
 
Trejser said:
360 version is bad (low framerate, lots of tearing) but PS3 version is very bad: worse FR, more tearing, no SSAO, NO GRASS (lol) and no muzzle flash...
Click to expand...

Honestly, the FR (if do you means fps) not seems so bad for a free roaming on the ps3, but I haven't the Live so I can't said anything about the fps here... however The SSAO however seems really indecent on the 360 and I guess without maybe would be better even on 360...
 
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Arwin said:
Also an interesting comment in this one for people in Germany - 16+ games can't have free downloadable demoes on PSN apparently, but they are in fact allowed to push you these through PSN+.
Click to expand...

Most likely the dev doesn't wish to pay (or can't afford to pay) Sony for the priviledge of having their demo available on PSN, while I'm guessing the PSN+ fee's will allow those demos to be hosted at Sony's cost.

Haven't had a chance to look at the console versions yet, but the PC version looks pretty decent.

Regards,
SB
 
Silent_Buddha said:
Most likely the dev doesn't wish to pay (or can't afford to pay) Sony for the priviledge of having their demo available on PSN, while I'm guessing the PSN+ fee's will allow those demos to be hosted at Sony's cost.

Haven't had a chance to look at the console versions yet, but the PC version looks pretty decent.

Regards,
SB
Click to expand...

No its German rating rules, free software with an age rating above 16 (or something like that) can not be made available for everybody to download. Ie PSN is free and anybody can sign up and download regardless of age. But PSN+ you need to be 18 to sign up for and then by default your old enough to get it. :)

I read it on the EU blog in the comments section, to lazy to look it up and post the link :)
 
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