Console: Xbox 360/ PlayStation 3/ PC
Players: Single Player
Release Date: 27th August 2010
Developers: 2K
From the beautiful minds that brought us Bioshock and Bioshock 2 comes the sequel to Mafia: The City of Lost Heaven, announced three years ago this month and after three years in development we only have to wait just three more weeks before we can start our blood soaked corrupt climb to power in the world of the Mafia!
The first Mafia game was originally a PC only game but two years after its release it was ported to both the PlayStation 2 and Xbox and has since sold over 2 million copies worldwide. The first game had a screenplay/story of about 400 pages long and the writer for Mafia II Daniel Vávra drafted and wrote a screenplay 700 pages long for this sequel.
Plot
The first Mafia game was centred on a taxi driver who found himself embroiled in a Mafia war and reluctantly takes part in shootings and jobs for a mob family eventually turning to the police for protection in exchange for helping them bring down the mob families.
Mafia II takes the series in a different direction, playing taking on the role of Vito, a small time thug avoiding jail time by joining the Army. Ganging up with friends, he soon finds himself taking on various mafia families, taking sides and finding his own place in the world of organised crime and eventually trying to take over the world of the Mafia but only when he and his allies can claim dominance over the Falcone, Vinci and Clemente families.
Mafia II is based along a ten year time span, from 1945 to 1955, in a fictional city called Empire Bay (much like the fictional city of Mafia I, this city is based on New York, Chicago and San Francisco).
Gameplay
A sandbox style (games are no fun anymore unless there is miles and miles of landscape to aimlessly explore) third person shooting action adventure! Mafia II revamps and tweaks its predecessors system for a complete overhaul.
For one, your character can now use his environment as a shield, taking cover from fire and explosions as well as to flank your enemies. From the clips we’ve watched it seems that this ability is one you will need to perfect if you plan on surviving more than round of ammunition into the game! Many of our favourite weapons will be making a return in the sequel; the pump action shotgun (must not drool on the firearm) and the Colt Revolver are back and we get some brand new toys…err… guns to play with including the MP40 and MG42.
Now to get around a map of 10 square miles you’re going to need some wheels and Mafia II isn’t short on those either, with over 50 vehicles available for you to steal, commandeer and if you feel like it even purchase.
Oh and we almost forgot to mention that there are over 2 and a half hours of cut scenes available for our enjoyment and splendour.
Extra Goodies
For those of us who like our collector’s editions of things, a special limited edition collector’s version of the game has been announced. It will include a full map of Empire Bay, an orchestral soundtrack CD from the game, a hardcover art book with a hundred images as well as the ‘Made Man Pack’. The pack gives free access to downloadable content including two luxury cars and two changes of outfits for Vito.
Other downloadable content will be available for the game, the first being a freebie for PlayStation 3 players only, ‘The Betrayal of Jimmy’ is a secret episode and will be available on release of Mafia II.
The second will be available for all three platforms ‘Jimmy’s Vendetta’ but no release date has been given and we are yet to find out if this will be free as well.
So get ready gamers, there’s only three weeks left till the body count in Empire Bay sky rockets and our enemies will sleep with the fishes…
