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[dark_inferno]

I have two questions:

1. What's wrong with being linear?

2. What's wrong with being 10 hours?

The majority of games could do with having a tighter design.

1. I like linear games. A linear game has better action events than a open world game.

2. 10 hours is more than any COD game ever had XD

 

[\m/etalStorm]

I have two questions:

1. What's wrong with being linear?

2. What's wrong with being 10 hours?

The majority of games could do with having a tighter design.

Agreed. I expect a really cool cinematic story from Mafia 2. Too open design or dragging out the playtime would do more harm than good.

 

[Sloane]

I have two questions:

1. What's wrong with being linear?

2. What's wrong with being 10 hours?

The majority of games could do with having a tighter design.

There's nothing wrong with it, people just love to hate.

Spoiler

Unless it's GTA because GTA is always great until it's not but then the next one will be great, promise, XOXO.

 

[Haunted]

Not to expose my hand here or anything, but 10 hours means that the reviewer must have just powered through the storyline.

Looking forward to seeing the PS3 reviews.

vindicated

I have two questions:

1. What's wrong with being linear?

2. What's wrong with being 10 hours?

The majority of games could do with having a tighter design.

The Mafia I know and love is neither, that's what's wrong.

Thankfully, bish cleared up the length aspect and I'll make Bob responsible if linearity means not being able to go anywhere at any time after all.

 

[StarEye]

vindicated



The Mafia I know and love is neither, that's what's wrong.

Thankfully, bish cleared up the length aspect and I'll make Bob responsible if linearity means not being able to go anywhere at any time after all.

Mafia was linear, being able to go everywhere between the missions doesn't make it non-linear. Having a lot of extra stuff to do makes it non-linear. Having several mission choices between the main story-missions is non-linear. This wasn't the case in Mafia.

 

[DrXym]

Loved Mafia 1 but it wasn't perfect by any stretch. Some missions were quite difficult and having to drive a long way to repeat them was a pain in the arse.

Also, while I can semi understand making the gameplay linear within in a mission (i.e. mission fails if you go out of the area), I still think if you have an entire city to deal with you've got to allow some kind of sandbox mode and you've got to fill the city up with interesting things to do. The original Mafia offered a free play mode but there was precious reason to bother with it.

Should be able rob people, extort, gamble, pimp, rob banks, take over territory etc. Something like The Godfather but done properly within in a decent city.

 

[Haunted]

Mafia was linear, being able to go everywhere between the missions doesn't make it non-linear. Having a lot of extra stuff to do makes it non-linear. Having several mission choices between the main story-missions is non-linear. This wasn't the case in Mafia.

Well, we're clearly arguing about different meanings of "linear" here, and I was thinking of linear in the corridor gameplay sense. Think CoD or FFXIII.

If that's not what the reviewer meant, I'm happy.

 

[water_wendi]

i really hope that the people complaining about 10 hours force video game developers to cut the walking/run speed in half to stop the game length criticisms.

 

[nolookjones]

i really hope that the people complaining about 10 hours force video game developers to cut the walking/run speed in half to stop the game length criticisms.

thats funny cause this topic does actually come up in game development...

 

[criesofthepast]

It's not a THQ title.

Damn I meant 2k.

I should learn not to post at 4am when I'm half asleep.

:/

 

[Gorgon]

1. I like linear games. A linear game has better action events than a open world game.

Do people have reading comprehension problems? MAfia II IS an open-world game.

 

[szhred]

10h game equals a good story, great characters, and a fun game. Not a GTA4 and doing the same stuff over and over again for 60hours.
Will buy.
Mafia 1 was great this will also be.

 

[Dennis]

As long as the game lets me explore the city in what is an open-world fashion, I am happy.

I don't care that the storyline is linear, meaning one mission leads to the next without any choice.

Whenever I read a reviewer taking X hours to complete a game, I figure my playthrough will be 2 times X.

 

[Oneself]

I just read the first page and don't really know where this thread is going right now, but all the talk about "10 hours / no sale" disappoints me.

For my part, I prefer shorter, linear, more focused games. Fuck 20 hours + of fillers and shitty side missions. I usually don't finish games that are over 20 hours because I don't have the time and they're rarely interesting enough anyways. In most sandbox games, you spend more time going to missions than actually playing them.. and lots of them are time wasters (like jobs!!), while interesting missions rarely last over 5 minutes and can't get really involving or well developped.

And yeah, I'm currently playing Red Dead & AC2 and I like both...

 

[Eaten By A Grue]

That's also a reasoning why I want the games at 10 hours :3 Rather have 10 great hours then 40-50 mediocre hours.

QFT

If there is one thing I cannot stand are games that drag on and on for hours when they should have finished hours ago. Also I am in the group of people who cannot sit and play games for hours on end so an extremely well done game that lasts 10 hours is perfect for me. See games like Portal, Condemned, Gears of War, etc. what I consider are perfect in length and are excellent in quality.

 

[Mrbob]

Sounding good!

For those asking about Freeride/Freeride Extreme, it seems it's DLC this time around.






Now that's something you can complain about, if this DLC really is 'freeride extreme'.

I hope this DLC isn't "late" on the PC. I'll probably pick it up, since the PC version is already 10 dollars cheaper than the console version it brings both up to price parity.

Might sway me to get the PS3 version though depending on how well the PC port is.

THQ games usually drop within a few weeks.

Mafia II will be in the bargain bin selling for $19.99 by October. Bank on it. Console version I mean.

This is my most anticipated game this year but I'm still waiting to pick it up. Got too much to play already.

I dunno. Unless people have had their fill with Red Dead, I think 2K is going to have another success story on their hand. The brand is hot and if Mafia 2 continues the setting of the first game it is going to be an amazing experience, regardless of how long it is.

 

[Gully State]

I would like shorter games as well...but I'm certainly not paying $50 or $60 for it...

 

[Haunted]

That's also a reasoning why I want the games at 10 hours :3 Rather have 10 great hours then 40-50 mediocre hours.

No shit Sherlock. But I'd rather have 30 great hours than 10 great hours, like I got with Mafia 1.


But as I hoped, it looks like I'll be getting those with Mafia II. A reviewer rushing through the main story in an open world game is not indicative on how [long] I will experience the game.

As long as the game lets me explore the city in what is an open-world fashion, I am happy.

Yup, yup.

 

[SpacePirate Ridley]

Well, we're clearly arguing about different meanings of "linear" here, and I was thinking of linear in the corridor gameplay sense. Think CoD or FFXIII.

If that's not what the reviewer meant, I'm happy.

But Haunted, did you really think that the reviewer was saying that the game was a corridor shooter?
For what I understand when he talked aabout linear is the same thing as the "linearity" of the first Mafia, and the developers have said multiple times the second one was the same, an open city with a linear story where in most of the missions you could go about anywhere you want in the city, even theres videos that show this.

As Bishop has said, this reviewer just powered through story mode without doing anything else so he totally played wrong.

So it's linear and 10 hours long? Sounds like shit. Gotta love all the consolite morons showing up with the "LINEAR? SOUNDS AMAZING!" shit. An audience that has been fed shit so long they have actually developed a taste for it. :lol

You are the fucking moron, you know that dont you?
First, im a PC gamer (and a console, but the "next gen" games you are boasting about are played in my awesome PC) so you are wrong.
And second, you dont seem to be a PC gamer, saying one of the greatest PC games, Mafia (because the cosole ports are garbage) is shit because is linear, and you know, the "linearity" was what it make it great becuase the story t had was awesome. PC has great linear games also, idiot.

So congrats for one of the most failing attempts at trolling.

 

[Zoso]

New Trailer

A very cool trailer I might add.

 

[Haeleos]

10 hours??

No sale.

Have I warped back in time to the release of Max Payne 2?

... nope, it's 2010. Get over it.

I can count on one hand the games this gen that have enough content and diversity to justify going over that length (not even going to mention their story).

 

[nolookjones]

I just read the first page and don't really know where this thread is going right now, but all the talk about "10 hours / no sale" disappoints me.

For my part, I prefer shorter, linear, more focused games. Fuck 20 hours + of fillers and shitty side missions. I usually don't finish games that are over 20 hours because I don't have the time and they're rarely interesting enough anyways. In most sandbox games, you spend more time going to missions than actually playing them.. and lots of them are time wasters (like jobs!!), while interesting missions rarely last over 5 minutes and can't get really involving or well developped.

And yeah, I'm currently playing Red Dead & AC2 and I like both...

ya i personally hate side missions/fillers in open world games...never do them and really when you strip them away it can sometimes cut the game time in half

 

[ClovingWestbrook]

Official Xbox Magazine gave the 360 version a 7/10

+Interesting and detailed world
+Good soundtrack
+Varied missions

-Boring characters
-Action and Car chases are a snooze fest

Spoiler

-After paying of his mothers debt, there's no reason for Vito to stay in the mob, and make's the whole story feel disconnected.

''Mafias 2 cast doesn't quite make the grade in any respect. At best they are relatively boring people to be stuck in a car with and banter routinely reaches such lows as 'says the guy who can barely change a lightbulb.' at worst they are childish, misogynistic idiots. having quickly repaid his mothers loan, vito in particular doesn't seem to have any kind of decent reason for being in the mob besides being work-averese, which doesn't drum up a great deal of sympathy as he 'moiders' his way to respect and riches.''

 

[Backfoggen]

Well shit.

 

[Rapping Granny]

Yeah hype crushed, going to wait for the bargain bin for it if it's that short.

 

[Yasae]

That's also a reasoning why I want the games at 10 hours :3 Rather have 10 great hours then 40-50 mediocre hours.

I want something inbetween. How about 20 or 30 great hours? If you're going to focus on one thing, you better damn well bring the beef.

 

[Net_Wrecker]

Not hating on the game but a short length with low replayability (I'm guessing), and a linear "slightly open world" means that I'll probably wait for a price drop. Too many purchases that'll have more value for me to justify $65 on this day one.

 

[faridmon]

As long it has the same awsome storyline as the first one, nothing else matters. I am sold.
Thats what seperates Mafia and other games. Great Story.

 

[Yoshi256]

OXM gives the game 7/10

Their main points were:

Pros:
detailed world
nice and varied
excellent sound track

Cons:
disappointing action
boring characters

http://www.gamespot.com/xbox360/action/mafia2/show_msgs.php?topic_id=m-1-55817277&pid=942955

 

[Gorgon]

OXM gives the game 7/10

Their main points were:

Pros:
detailed world
nice and varied
excellent sound track

Cons:
disappointing action
boring characters

http://www.gamespot.com/xbox360/action/mafia2/show_msgs.php?topic_id=m-1-55817277&pid=942955

Hum...this is starting to become a pattern in the reviews. I wonder if the action is actually boring on the long run (the vids seem quite nice, though) or if the reviewers are expecting GTA mayhem in the 40's. I'll have to wait for the demo, I guess, so I can have first hand feel of the combat.

Strange about the characters, also. I guess the devs may have cloned the "Goodfellas" mold too much and ended up with a farse.

 

[snoopeasystreet]

Cons:
disappointing action
boring characters

Hopefully they mean boring in comparison to the over the to characters in GTA. It's a shame this game isn't getting the critical praise I expected. I was hoping it'd be this year's bioshock or arkham asylum.

 

[speculawyer]

GAF: GTA IV sucked! What? This game is not like GTA IV? That sucks! :lol


10 hours must have been just rushing straight through the main story. I'm sure it will take longer for me. And I'll take 12 hours of quality over 40 hours of filler any day. The review seems to say the game has lots of quality that is what I'm interested in.

 

[Rainier]

GAF: GTA IV sucked! What? This game is not like GTA IV? That sucks!

:lol


I was really looking forward to this game, now I think I'll wait for a few more reviews before deciding if this is a Day One game for me.

 

[Kabuki Waq]

damn I was really looking forward to this. I really hope the Action is NOT boring.

 

[EviLore]

GAF: GTA IV sucked! What? This game is not like GTA IV? That sucks! :lol

Person #1: GTAIV sucked!

Person #2: This game is not like GTAIV? That sucks!

 

[wolfmat]

Hum...this is starting to become a pattern in the reviews.

The poster is still talking about the second review. OXM is the Official XBox Magazine.
OXM was the first to mention these points. The poster just posted that review once more. So there's no pattern. Move along..

 

[dark10x]

OXM gives the game 7/10

Their main points were:

Pros:
detailed world
nice and varied
excellent sound track

Cons:
disappointing action
boring characters

http://www.gamespot.com/xbox360/action/mafia2/show_msgs.php?topic_id=m-1-55817277&pid=942955

Boring characters? That would be a shame if true as that was one of the strongest points of the original. The narrative and characters were much more interesting than any other similar crime game of that era.

 

[Zoso]

I'm fully expecting Mafia 2 to get mixed reviews. The first game sure did.

He said the combat was satisfying. His complaint was something that's true of all cover-based shooters - that all you have to do is wait for the enemy to pop out and then shoot em. He said the stealth missions are really fun, but short.


I love the last line though

If you can't wait for L.A Noire, Mafia 2 might just make the wait a little bit more bearable.

:lol :lol :lol

 

[Guts Of Thor]

Well looks like I'll be saving $60. I'll be renting this.

 

[subversus]

Eurogamer gave 4/10 to the first Mafia or smth like that. Fuck reviews and reviewers, you should try yourself.

 

[Yasae]

Person #1: GTAIV sucked!

Person #2: This game is not like GTAIV? That sucks!

And both of these people happen to be on GAF, so...

 

[Mt Heart Attack]

I'm fully expecting Mafia 2 to get mixed reviews. The first game sure did.

He said the combat was satisfying. His complaint was something that's true of all cover-based shooters - that all you have to do is wait for the enemy to pop out and then shoot em. He said the stealth missions are really fun, but short.


I love the last line though

:lol :lol :lol

Yeah, if Mafia 2 was pusblished by Rockstar these "critics" would be drooling all over it now.
I don't give a damn honestly, I'll play the demo when it comes out and judge by myself. The shooting parts cannot be much worse than GTA 4 ones anyway. And about the characters, well, we'll see, of course they feel different from Rockstar characters, that doesn't mean they're boring:/

 

[Kabouter]

And both of these people happen to be on GAF, so...

Yeah, but the implication is of course that the same person is saying both.

 

[AgentOtaku]

Is there any mention about free ride or free ride extreme?

for those who are complaining about the time and had off expectations based on other sandbox games, Mafia 1 wasn't like GTA or other 'sandbox' games. The full city is built for the story as a setting. It means you don't hit invisible walls during driving sections or things like that since it is designed to be believable. In Mafia 1 you had options that unlocked when you finished the game that opened up the city to mess around in and have other things to do. This is assuming it is following what the first game did.

If I remember correctly, The Getaway used its city in a similar way.

and just saying, 10 hours of solid game with great pacing is perfect. Way better than having a bloated game because they need to hit that mark. It is one reason I liked the GTA4 episodes more than the main game. But this is assuming it has free ride and other modes that unlock like in the first game.

Just reading the thread but this post has the most truth

 

[Yasae]

Yeah, but the implication is of course that the same person is saying both.

Well that's how GAF works, isn't it?

 

[SpacePirate Ridley]

And the other review said it had memorable characters?
Yeah, I will wait and see it for myself, original Mafia had mixed reviews and it blew my mind when a friend lend me the game saying he liked much more than GTA. I dindt even knew what that game was about. Got home, isntalled it and had a BLAST.
Much later I discovered it was a cult game, people that played it love it, and that lots of reviews slammed with idiotic opinions.

 

[Goldrusher]

This game will sell. The reviews don't matter.

 

[Haunted]

But Haunted, did you really think that the reviewer was saying that the game was a corridor shooter?

Nah, my first post in this thread was my immediate reaction and it wasn't panicky or anything.

I feared for a moment that "linear" meant the open world city would've been scaled back in favour of a more streamlined approach. Subsequent discussion and bish's clarification have calmed my anxieties, though.

For what I understand when he talked aabout linear is the same thing as the "linearity" of the first Mafia, and the developers have said multiple times the second one was the same, an open city with a linear story where in most of the missions you could go about anywhere you want in the city, even theres videos that show this.

As Bishop has said, this reviewer just powered through story mode without doing anything else so he totally played wrong.

Yeah, that's how I'm seeing it.

 

[SpacePirate Ridley]

Nah, my first post in this thread was my immediate reaction and it wasn't panicky or anything.

I feared for a moment that "linear" meant the open world city would've been scaled back in favour of a more streamlined approach. Subsequent discussion and bish's clarification have calmed my anxieties, though.



Yeah, that's how I'm seeing it.

Yep
Im hoping it turns out great.
I have my Special Edition pre-order and waiting for buy it when it releases in August.

 

[The Dutch Slayer]

I have two questions:

1. What's wrong with being linear?

2. What's wrong with being 10 hours?

The majority of games could do with having a tighter design.

YES !!! THANK YOU !!!!
FINALLY someone that makes sense here!!!

Totally agree with this, I love games that I can finish and have a great path set out from the developer.