Mafia 2 Demo Impressions (PC).
GET A TASTE OF THE DIRTY SIDE OF BEING A MAFIA MAN. Mafia: The City of Lost Heaven holds fond memories for me, providing an experience that no past Grand Theft Auto title as matched. While Rockstar Games beloved franchise as advanced leaps and bounds both technologically and conceptually over the years, many gamers out there have been crying for a sequel to a game they much adored and one that...
GET A TASTE OF THE DIRTY SIDE OF BEING A MAFIA MAN.
Mafia: The City of Lost Heaven holds fond memories for me, providing an experience that no past Grand Theft Auto title as matched. While Rockstar Games beloved franchise as advanced leaps and bounds both technologically and conceptually over the years, many gamers out there have been crying for a sequel to a game they much adored and one that told a story I still remember vividly. So as I loaded up the PC demo of Mafia 2 I couldn't really believe I was finally about to get a taste of a game that's been on my wish list ever since completing the original back in 2002. Having waited this long, I will admit that I had high expectations and I thought I'd provide my opinions on 2K Czech's sequel.
You play as Vito Scaletta, how will he compared to fan favourite Thomas 'Tommy' Angelo. The demo starts off with a quick video explaining the current situation Vito Scaletta finds himself in, this covers what must be done and how. It should be noted that the mission played out in the demo will be different in the final version, as is stated at one point when you start up a new game. Almost instantly you see a great level of detail to the world which 2K Czech have created within what we are to be believed is Vito's house. Characteristic furniture clashes wonderfully with the time specific music blaring on the radio nearby and even a cheerful classic playboy sits on the kitchen sideboard. This sort of detail won't come as a shock to those with experience of the first game, Mafia: The City of Lost Heaven was full of wonderful small touches that bought the city of Lost Heaven to life. But there's important business to be done, so you head outside to a beautiful summers day and obtain a car from the garage. The demo contains a selection of three varied vehicles to choose from, all providing a different feel and balance. Driving at first feels weird, especially if you've experience playing the more recent Grand Theft Auto 4, but you soon get the hang of matters and the driving generally feels like an improvement over the original, but keeps the traditions of realism at heart. Don't expect GTA4 like speeds as you travel around the streets of Empire Bay. But it's a driving style that's true, and honest to those looking for the same form of realism the original provided so well when it came to gameplay areas like driving or shooting.
You'll eventually make your way to the hideout spot where you wait in anticipated for your target, a well protected man whose quickly rushed into the nearby building as Vito scatters bullet shells throughout the nearby street with a MG42 machine gun. This is where you get your chance to experience Mafia 2's third person action, which understandably borrows concepts seen in past games in the genre. You can take over, shoot from cover and even leap from cover, neat right! There not exactly thrilling or new gameplay mechanics but it's interesting how far the genre as come since the original game, and the general feel of the action felt great with a real visual impact to firefights that took place. Having used the Xbox 360 wired controller for the game on PC, I can say that the action will live up to the high expectations of Mafia fans.
Mafia 2 hits stores late August, to the delight of all Mafia fans. On a visual point, Mafia 2 looks sharp with a wonderful mix of detail and sound. The car radio cheerfully plays as you travel around the city, a city which is obviously more fleshed out then New Heaven could ever have been. The PC video options allows for applied anti-aliasing which sharpens the overall visuals, and while it suffers like most open world games with graphical flaws with draw distance to texture pop-ins, it's still a sharp looking game with great animations and sound. The PC version even allows you to apply extra physics enhancements to add to the experience. It's always a good idea to keep in mind that this is a demo, and demo's are rarely a perfect match to the final released version. While I have little wish to spoil the demo for you, I will say that it left a very positive impression on me. Even though one could argue that I already have a love for the franchise, I'd argue back that my expectation is higher then those with little to no experience of the original. Of course we can't experience the story until it's release in late August, and for many the story will be a big talking point. The original Mafia provided a tale rich in detail, thrills, spills and shocks that were rarely seen in most open world games at the time. But the demo shows of a visually pleasing world that looks to continue the traditions of the franchise with fantastic shoot outs, deadly car chases and your typical mafia going ons.
So those are my quick impressions of the demo, which can be found on Steam, Xbox LIVE or the Playstation Network right now. It's left me with an excited anticipation for it's eventual release on August the 24th for the United States and August the 27th for the rest of the World. I'm delighted that I was able to write this without making a Godfather or Goodfellas reference like most Mafia 2 related articles seem to always achieve and hope that you dear reader check the demo out for yourself. If you have, why not leave your opinions in the comments section. Is Mafia 2 an offer you can't refuse?..... DAMMIT!
Thanks for Reading, and Keep Gaming!
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