Mafia 2 Hands-On Preview

03 May 2010 at 21:01:52 by

Mafia videogames. It's a hard nail to hit, but Illusion Softworks impressed with with the original Mafia that 2K acquired them in 2008 and branded the studio as 2K Czech.

And it's no surprise, after the first game went down so well, that 2K Czech is working on anything other than another Mafia game. The first game captured the era so well, with much attention going into the detail of the time period, the interactivity of the AI and the gritty stories stories of the Prohibition, all as it seeps with references to The Godfather and Goodfellas.

The game is split into two parts with the first taking place in the 1940s after immigrant Vito Scaletta returns from the war. The second part, and the part around which this preview is based, is set in the 1950s with Vito and his friend Joe, have become involved with the Mafia world.

After a quick look around your apartment, maybe a swig of beer and a change of apparel, you're off with Joe to sell some stolen cigarettes from the back of a truck in a rival gang's territory (the Greasers), unbeknown to you the danger your so-called friend Joe is putting you in. Before you have time to sell more than a couple of boxes, the rival gang arrive, in their sexy cravats, smoking jackets and puffing on their pipes. They don't really, but I like to picture them like that. Really their wearing stereotypical 50s outfits, with leather jackets, tight jeans and have even managed to slick their hair back. And they rock up is some real vintage looking cars, that just do seem to move and blubber along as they should.

After some verbal profanity tennis, the gang throw a Molotov cocktail into your truck, burning your stock. Much shouting occurs and before long you find yourself in a car, a much slower car than theirs, desperately trying to catch up. You don't, and you now have to call your boss, Eddie, to let him know what's happened.

Of course, this is the early 50s, so you have to scour the streets looking for a phonebox, the only way you can make contact in the game world. If you're smart, you'll be able to find them a lot easier by checking the map, assigned to the back button. Much like any other orientation map, the game shows points of interest and phoneboxes are one of them. This is a great help when you just want to get into missions, but remember it's the 50s, so you won't find a box on each corner.

It's this attention to detail, along with the way in which the city is portrayed, is what makes this game a pure pleasure to be immersed in. The music is authentic, the driving is brilliant and you just feel as if you're on a virtual set of the next big Mafia film. And driving, I have to mention again, because I've been lucky enough to drive a '57 Chevy and can honestly say that, while not completely accurate or representative, the driving does capture the feeling and character of driving cars of that era. Now I'm no expert, I only drove it for ten minutes before feeling seasick, but it really is yet another example of how hard 2K Czech has worked to give the game its authenticity.

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