Preview: Mafia II

[CovertCell]

I really hope this game is great. I've been following it on and off since it was announced and it's always looked fun. I was a fan of the first game even though I never completed it. One mission I'll always remember is stealing a race car, getting some guy to mod it and then you compete in that race. Don't know why, just found that mission really fun for some reason. The atmosphere was also great, especially given the tech of the time and considering what can be done now. There's a Steam deal now where you buy the second game (pre-order, obviously) and get the first one free to download instantly.

 

[Woodsey]

I guess I'm just ignorant on what made the original game great but I just don't like the sound of it's best part being "driving around listening to music".

That's not the best part. The best part was the story, the characters, the realistic driving (speeding tickets doesn't sound like a fun implementation until you've been pulled over for one in-game), the rather high level of difficulty, and the sense of being in that time period.

I'm not swayed. Is there still a market for this sort of thing? It just feels to me that these type of games are the washed up remnants of the PS2 era, the sort of thing that gets released at the end of a consoles life to scrape up those last few sales from the people who don't plan to upgrade their system right away.

What type of game do you think it is?

A GTA clone, and one of little merit. I played the first one and just felt completely let down. It left me with a sense that it had all been done before by other games (and done better). You make a game like this to capture the audience who have finished with the game you are trying to copy and to grab a few sale before the next instalment of your 'inspiration' franchise is released. I guarantee you that if GTA 5 were coming out next month, then this title wouldn't even be on the radar. I'm not saying that it's going to be a bad game, but I can guarantee you that it will be forgotten soon after it's released.

Which bit's the GTA clone exactly? And little merit in terms of what?

This isn't a sandbox game - it may be open world, but that's not the same. The game's ultimately about a strong linear narrative (as was the first) with a more serious approach to life as a criminal. GTA is about (now boring and overdone) satire and having a rocket launcher to blow shit up with in a sandbox.

No, maybe Mafia 2 wouldn't be recognised if GTA 5 was coming out at the same time. But tell me, what else would?

Going into Mafia expecting GTA (and subsequently labeling it a poor clone) is like going into a Chinese restaurant and expecting them to serve Mexican food. Sort of.

The game's NOT a GTA clone either, it was in production way before GTA3 was released. Kinda like the coincidence that happened with the Infamous and Prototype releases...

And yet in a recent preview of Mafia 2 (on Eurogamer I think, who coincidentally gave the first game 4/10 and said it was a poor GTA-clone) they said the first was strongly influenced by GTA.

It really does make me angry, but at least it's forgivable for people to not know each game's development times; you'd think the fact that each game is going for a totally different experience would be a bit of a hint though.

 

[pepitko]

Sounds awesome indeed, can't wait to start playing this game. I loved the first one, I played it on an ancient 300Mhz PC on the lowest settings possible, and couldn't get enough of it .

 

[MrPatience]

I'm not sure I've read a review recently, or perhaps ever, that's got me as excited for a game than this one. It just seems to tivk all the right boxes.
Cheers, Mr Pitts.