A Look at Mafia 2

Mafia II

The long awaited, some feel long overdue, sequel to the popular Mafia game is slated for its European release in July of 2009.  Mafia 2 is also slated to be released across all three platforms of console gaming later in 2009.  Of course, the central theme of the game is about the central character, Vito, trying to become a made man in the Mafia in the 1940s.

You will use your charm, wits, car chases and of course, tons of gunplay to survive in the streets.   The graphics are guaranteed to beautiful and the music is an actual portrayal of the music from that era.

Mafia 2 is not a straight forward shooter.  Gunplay is an important of any mobster’s life. The programmers wanted to ensure that the gamers were not cheated in this aspect of the game.  There is not a health power up right around every corner and as you fire on your enemies you will need to take cover around corners and behind objects.

The police seemed to relentlessly chase after you in the first installment of the Mafia series.  In this game, the police behave in a more realistic manner and will probably stop chasing you or another criminal if the chase goes on too long or they might look the other way for a small traffic violation.  In Mafia 2, you might actually need the assistance from the boys in blue to rise in the ranks of the family.

The cutaway scenes seem to be right out of a Hollywood movie and the characters are realistically believable.  The physics of the car chases are accurate and realistic.  The programmers are promising seamless game play.  This means that there will not be any loading screens when transitioning from one area to another.  The characters can fully interact with their environment.  So go ahead and break a chair over the waiter’s head that had the nerve not to serve bread with your spaghetti.

The environment around you is not there just to make the game look pretty.  Ordering and eating food increases your health meter.  Reading a newspaper keeps you abreast of what is happening in your city and might even let you in on how close the police are getting to solving the murder of the unknown body found floating in the river.  Changing the appearance of your character is as easy as going to the clothing store and buying another outfit.

Be aware of the condition of your car.  When starting the game, you will have a car with a license plate that is assigned to you.  Commit a crime with your car and you can be traced.  The car can get dirty and you need to keep an eye on the fuel gauge.  Your hard earned respect might go down if you caught in a car chase because you forgot to fuel up.

You can hide your stash and that inconvenient body in your trunk.  Mafia 2 has been long awaited by its huge fan base and their fans will not be disappointed with next installment of the Mafia series.

Tags: gangsters, mafia, mafia 2