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[Munin]

Absolutely fantastic. Mafia was ahead of its time and better than anything Rockstar has ever done narrative-wise. Just hope they'll keep everything that made Mafia great - which also means realistic cars and speeding tickets.

 

[-SD-]

There are some nifty gravity defying cubes of glass there

You didn't see the metal wiring?

 

[Haunted]

The NPC animation doesn't really keep pace with the awesome modeling in places, but the gameplay looks pretty good.

Love the diversity of missions Mafia had. That and the riveting storytelling was what elevated it above other serious open world games last gen.


edit: hm, regenerating health... don't know how I feel about that. At least it's hudless.

 

[Aaron]

Gah, terrible shooting. The auto-aim is beyond generous. Clear misses were hitting the guys. A shot aimed at the lower neck hits the guy in the head. The dialogue is better than most open world games, but nothing else seemed terribly impressive. Like the way they just walk away without cleaning up the stain. How hard would it have been to add that little detail in? Makes the game seem unfinished to me.

 

[eshwaaz]

I'm very interested in Mafia 2 just based on theme, but I'm not crazy about how the gunplay looks right now - it's another game where shooting the environment looks more rewarding than shooting your enemies. Ordinary rag-doll is starting to look really dated (in all games, not just Mafia 2).

Also, lip sync - are they even trying?

 

[-SD-]

Interview: http://www.shacknews.com/featuredarticle.x?id=1121

 

[Flyguy]

Gamertrailerstv featured this game last week and did a hell of a job of selling me on the game. It was also my first exposure to Cristoph Hartmann, and I came away pretty impressed.

 

[Timber]

There's going to be different ways to do things to achieve the same result. And in specifics, and I can't go into too many details on the missions, but in specifics there are going to be non-violent routes to take. Or maybe there are routes to take where you have a stealth option. What would happen is, if you get detected, it's not going to be a big "game over." But now I'm going to have a massive shoot-out, which would have been much easier if I had got in quietly, get in through that door, do what I need to do and get out.

That sounds awesome. There were some missions in the first game that had a 'Hitmanish' feel to them, like the assassination on the boat. If Mafia II has more of those then allowing the player to take several approaches will be quite beneficial to the game.

As for the videos, the city looks great, they just need to fix the pop-up but they have plenty of time. There did seem to be some auto-aim involved which I hope is either optional or gone by the time it releases.

 

[iamcool388]

How does the original Mafia hold up on the PS2? All the praise it gets make me want to get it.

 

[Splatt]

"How does the original Mafia hold up on the PS2? All the praise it gets make me want to get it."

I'm currently playing Mafia for the first time on PC and so far it's been nothing but driving around the city. That wouldn't be half bad if the police didn't stop me every two seconds for speeding or going through a red light. The parts where you aren't driving the car can be quite fun but I dislike the shooting mechanics in this game and the weird placement of the main character on screen. The story is alright, but not worth the hassle.

In conclusion, it doesn't hold up well... IMO.

 

[Darth Sonik]

How does the original Mafia hold up on the PS2? All the praise it gets make me want to get it.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The PC game is rightly lauded as a great game. The console ports (PS2 & Xbox) are terrible, and were not done by the original developers.

One thing I am worried about after seeing to the interview, is the driving. Mafia was an awesome driving game especially for the time. While these more modern cars should be more "fun" to drive, they should still be realistic.

If they do dumb down the default driving, I hope they also have an option for "sim" controls. They could have an early tutorial mission where you must prove your driving skills to the mob, where various realism options can be given "in-game" to the player (ie. Manual Gears, handbrake , refuelling, speed limiter etc.).

 

[Darth Sonik]

"How does the original Mafia hold up on the PS2? All the praise it gets make me want to get it."

I'm currently playing Mafia for the first time on PC and so far it's been nothing but driving around the city. That wouldn't be half bad if the police didn't stop me every two seconds for speeding or going through a red light. The parts where you aren't driving the car can be quite fun but I dislike the shooting mechanics in this game and the weird placement of the main character on screen. The story is alright, but not worth the hassle.

In conclusion, it doesn't hold up well... IMO.

Where are you in the game?

It is a very deliberately paced story.

 

[Darth Sonik]

Behind the scenes video (in french mostly).

http://www.jeuxactu.com/jatv-show-5398.html

Not much new footage, but a first sneak peek at the HUD, Joe's apartment through the years, & a sample of the original musical score for Mafia 2.

 

[Munin]

Mafia has held up way better than GTA 3, in my opinion.