Mafia-2 posts (Subscribe to this feed)
Q4 release for Mafia 2 (re)confirmed; Payne, Noire, Civ V still on hit list

Interview: Mafia II producer Denby Grace

We've been waiting a very long time for this game haven't we?
Denby Grace, senior producer: The reason for the delay is polish. You'll see the game looks great as you play today. It's just not quite perfect, which is what we at 2K generally strive for. It's what we want to be known for, the quality of our games. Just having come so long, it would be foolish to release it too early.
Are there any specific reasons for the delay? What needed to be polished?
Technically there are a few things: the framerate isn't quite on the money yet. It's just the whole experience. One of the things we're spending a lot of time doing is focus testing. We're testing about twenty people a week. And it's getting that difficulty curve right. We want it to be hard, but we don't want it to be impossible like Mafia I. I don't know if you played the first game, but there was one mission when we shipped the game. Literally everyone failed until we released a patch. So we're really, really conscious about delivering a really balanced, proper difficulty curve. And then it's just bugs. It's an open world: ten square miles, fifty vehicles, a hundred environments. There were quite a lot of bugs in it!
Gallery: Mafia II (GDC 2010)
Hands-on: Mafia II
In all seriousness, protagonist (I guess he's that, right?) Vito Scaletta had just woken up after a pretty wild night (judging by the various undergarments strewn around his bachelor pad) when my demo kicked off, so I of course jogged around turning on faucets and flicking light switches before actually doing what the game was instructing me to do: Get dressed. Leaving Vito's apartment, I stepped out into a world as pitch-perfect in its depiction of the 1950s -- the cars, the clothing, the architecture, the music -- as I can imagine. So what if the car that I hopped into and the place I was driving around -- Empire City -- never existed in any real era?
I spent the first few minutes of the demo causing all sorts of mayhem. Heck, the very first thing I did was get into a fender bender (putting it mildly) from which I fled, only to learn that the punishment for a hit-and-run in the '50s was, evidently, only a few dollar fine. But my trouble with the fuzz didn't end there.
Gallery: Mafia II (GDC 2010)
Vintage Playboy centerfolds grace Mafia II
It appears mobsters aren't the only things getting rubbed out in Mafia II, as 2K Games announces it has signed a license agreement with Playboy magazine for the mob saga. The pictorial publication will have over 50 of its "vintage covers and Centerfolds" inside the game when it eventually releases.
The iconic publication first premiered in 1953, so unless the game, which covers the '40s and '50s, is rewriting history, the Playboy collectibles won't show up until the latter part of the game's story. The magazine apparently won't merely be window dressing either, as players will have the ability to "collect virtual copies of the iconic magazine" -- to read the articles, of course. If you have roommates, we recommend investing in Purell hand wipes. We're not implying anything, simply "safety first." It is still flu season, after all.
The iconic publication first premiered in 1953, so unless the game, which covers the '40s and '50s, is rewriting history, the Playboy collectibles won't show up until the latter part of the game's story. The magazine apparently won't merely be window dressing either, as players will have the ability to "collect virtual copies of the iconic magazine" -- to read the articles, of course. If you have roommates, we recommend investing in Purell hand wipes. We're not implying anything, simply "safety first." It is still flu season, after all.
Mafia II trailer needs guys like you
It doesn't take much to excel in this thing of ours. You have to have brass whatnots, be willing to do some unsavory acts and put the family above all else -- basically, don't be Fredo. It's not that hard, when you think about it, but the latest trailer for 2K Games' Mafia II disagrees. Apparently, in post-WWII, there weren't a lot of guys who had the stomach to use cover-based shooting mechanics and traverse a sandbox-style environment. Frankly, we're shocked that The Greatest Generation had any shortcomings at all!
Take-Two may delay major 2010 release; L.A. Noire, Mafia, Max Payne and Civ V named

Folks have been waiting a long time for pretty much all of these games. Max Payne 3 was already moved from winter 2009 to "late 2010"; L.A. Noire has just been given a expected September date after an extraordinarily lengthy development time; and the very fact that Mafia II is said to release between August 1 and October 31 already represents a delay from its last known release window. That leaves Civilization V, which was just announced two weeks ago, and thus hasn't had time to be delayed yet. This could be its first, people!
Mafia 2 coming before July 31, 2010

Gallery: Mafia II
Mafia II trailer looks at the art of persuasion, not lifelike animation
We get it, the game has a lot of atmosphere and really pins down that crime family feeling, but our fascination with this footage cannot possibly extend beyond the awkward sipping of a beverage. Why is it so hard to animate that in games? It's almost enough to drive you to drink ...
Consider these Mafia II screens a gift
Click image for extortion size
You know, we were going to hold off on showing you these new Mafia II screens, but then our daughter decided to get engaged. Yes, today is our daughter's wedding and as such, it's customary that we must honor the request to see these new screens from GamesCom. Hit up the gallery below to check 'em out.Gallery: Mafia II (8/19/09)
Mafia II developer walks us through E3 demo
One and a half months after we got a chance to check out 2K's next open-world crime drama, Mafia II, the developer has released a video walkthrough of the segment we laid eyes on at E3. We were quite taken by the excellent voice acting and explosive action featured therein, but we're curious what you think!
Check out the video after the break, but be forewarned -- they bleeped out all the totally sweet cursing out for this particular demo. What kind of third person, open-world crime drama doesn't have profanity? That's just f---ing silly. Whoa, what the f--k? Where did those f---ing letters -- oh s--t! What the f--k!?
Check out the video after the break, but be forewarned -- they bleeped out all the totally sweet cursing out for this particular demo. What kind of third person, open-world crime drama doesn't have profanity? That's just f---ing silly. Whoa, what the f--k? Where did those f---ing letters -- oh s--t! What the f--k!?
E3 2009 highlights: The Xbox roundup

We've scoured the dark corners and survived the inferno to piece together this roundup of all things Xbox at E3. Why? Just 'cause we love you. So, draw nier and shift your eyes past the break.
Impressions: Mafia II

Regardless, developer Illusion Softworks, now operating under the moniker 2K Czech, is hoping to capture more of the gaming public's brainspace with their upcoming organized crime epic, Mafia II -- and from what we recently saw of the game at E3, 2K's well on its way to producing a product that could very well be the heir apparent to the sandbox genre throne.
Gallery: Mafia II
Mafia II trailer is all snow covered streets, bullet ridden corpses
Essential reading: Joystiq impressions: Mafia II
Mafia II and Red Dead Redemption delayed to fiscal 2010
Take-Two advised its shareholders of two big delays that will impact its earnings for the rest of the financial year. The upcoming Mafia II and Red Dead Redemption have both been delayed "to allow additional development time for the titles and to maximize their full potential in terms of the quality of the player experience and market performance." In other words, the development teams needed a bit more time.
The two titles are now planned for the first half of fiscal 2010, which spans November 2009 to April 2010. This means either of these games can still make the all-important holiday shopping season. However, even without Mafia and Red Dead Redemption, Take-Two still has a relatively strong lineup with BioShock 2, The Ballad of Gay Tony, and Borderlands.
The two titles are now planned for the first half of fiscal 2010, which spans November 2009 to April 2010. This means either of these games can still make the all-important holiday shopping season. However, even without Mafia and Red Dead Redemption, Take-Two still has a relatively strong lineup with BioShock 2, The Ballad of Gay Tony, and Borderlands.
Joystiq impressions: Mafia II
It's been almost a year and a half since 2K Games announced Mafia II, and several months since we've seen much related to the game. Nevertheless, it's still very much in development -- in fact, during a brief demo 2K recently held in San Francisco, we got a chance to see it played.
Since the original game released on last-gen platforms and PC in 2002, 2K bought its Czech developer, Illusion Softworks, renaming it ... 2K Czech. The studio has not only been working on the technology behind Mafia II, the Illusion Engine, since then, but also one of the first game's standout elements -- the script. Our demo was a single mission out of about two dozen planned for the final game; a game that may seem like a 1950s era Grand Theft Auto at first blush, but actually tries to be very good at a few things, rather than pretty good at everything.
Since the original game released on last-gen platforms and PC in 2002, 2K bought its Czech developer, Illusion Softworks, renaming it ... 2K Czech. The studio has not only been working on the technology behind Mafia II, the Illusion Engine, since then, but also one of the first game's standout elements -- the script. Our demo was a single mission out of about two dozen planned for the final game; a game that may seem like a 1950s era Grand Theft Auto at first blush, but actually tries to be very good at a few things, rather than pretty good at everything.














