Mafia II

02 Jun 2009 at 23:11:29 by Andy Alderson

“We ask you to do Mafia shit, not goofy shit,” Take Two’s Denby Grace tells us during the E3 demonstration of Mafia II. “We ask the player to behave realistically in the game world.” We’re shown an early section of the game in which the protagonist Vito Scaletta is still a low-level player in the Mafia and, from the off, it’s clear that Mafia II aims to be as dark and cinematic as the Scorcese and Coppola films which inspired it.

The mission we’re shown, called the Buzzsaw, sees Vito and his Wiseguy buddies pay a visit to The Fat Man, the operator of a distillery who foolishly has declined to pay his protection money. As the gang drive off towards the objective, Grace tells us that the wintery environments are intended to reflect this dark time in Vito’s life. Having returned from the war with nothing, Vito is drawn into the world of organised crime. Denby explains that the game spans ten years in Vito’s life and that the game world evolves as he rises through the ranks of the Mob.The murky 40s will eventually become the colourful, rock’n’roll 50s as Vito becomes a ‘made’ man and begins to take control of his life.

However, even in this early section of the game, the sandbox city is still pretty impressive. For one, it certainly seems alive with the streets teeming with people and the roads full of authentic vehicles. Although we see a little pop-in and the odd moment of slowdown (the game isn’t due till early next year, so hopefully these issues will be resolved), the visuals are crisp and detailed, and this becomes even more obvious when Vito and the boys enter the distillery and are immediately drawn into a fire fight as they chase down the Fat Man. This combat demonstration makes an immediate impression as bullets tear into the environment, with bottles and debris littering the rooms. The gunplay seems equally realistic, with Vito only needing to sink a couple of bullets into each enemy in order to kill them. As Vito and co close in on the Fat Man, the game transitions seamlessly between gameplay and cutscenes, reinforcing Grace’s claim that this is a game in which atmosphere and narrative are as important as the gameplay.

“Everything feeds into the narrative,” he says when we ask how the missions will be structured. Although he can’t say much about the side missions, he stresses that they will be the kinds of tasks we could reasonably expect a Mafia guy to take on and that the level of realism has been raised dramatically in the sequel. No longer will the Police chase you mercilessly for running a red light although he goes on to say that if you’re stopped by the police with a body in the boot of your car, things may become a little more frantic. After Vito’s friend Henry is badly injured by The Fat Man, we see the police in action as Vito is tasked with getting him them El Greco, the mob doctor, before he bleeds out. The police AI seems suitably aggressive and they aren’t going to let Vito escape easily as they swarm at the car from all directions. Before long he’s got cops behind and a roadblock in front as the game transitions into another impressive cutscene with Vito and the boys on the verge of being captured. And the demo ends.

Even from this brief demonstration it’s clear that the Mafia series has come a long way since its PC and last-gen predecessor. With a detailed, evolving sandbox, solid combat and what appears to be a strong narrative on offer, we’re looking forward to seeing more of Mafia II.

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