There's going to be a misconception surrounding the release of Mafia II right up until people actually play it, and extensively I might add. See, while the game essentially offers players a living, breathing open-world with which to interact, it's anything but sandbox in gameplay design.

Normally this might sound like a derogatory remark in games journalism, but this design concept was actually intentional on 2K Czech's part. Mafia II is a character-driven, deep and involving gangster narrative. It spans an incredible 10 years, from 1945 to 1955 and follows the rise to Mafioso power of Vito Scaletta, a World War II veteran who escapes continued service in the armed forces trough his childhood friend, Joe Barbaro, who pulls some strings for him, inadvertently showing off the power and reach of underhanded criminal activity.

The first Mafia was essentially a romantic nod to classic gangster flicks, but Mafia II follows a much grittier and darker slice of criminal underworld tell-taleing, with a cast of characters you'll invest a lot of time in both emotionally, and through a symbiotic (read: interactive) 'living-world' relationship.



"That's really one of the things that sets us apart," Jack Scalici, Director of Creative Production at 2K Games, tells us. "You're a wiseguy in our game, not just some thug who can do whatever the hell he wants. You're not gonna go deliver pizza and you're not gonna go drive taxis because that's not wiseguys do."

To this end, you could *almost* call Mafia II something of a Mafia sim - tasks you perform are derived from actual real-life stories of these guys from the era the game is set, and it's not all necessarily thrown at you full-force. The pacing between missions, story-arcs and gameplay mechanics is spot-on in the time I've had with the game, and therefore much more engaging and interactively poignant. You don't feel rushed, and having an open-world around you to interact with, in a more realistic sense, gives the game a life of its own most other linear tales simply can't offer. It's not that you can't go off and do whatever you want within the realms of your available gameplay toolset, but doing so is an unwarranted and unrewarding distraction from the ultimate rewards awaiting the next advancement in the life of Vito and co.

That said, the game does follow some familiar gameplay paths of the open-world kind. For one, it's a third-person action adventure, there's a cover and fire mechanic and, of course, the prerequisite driving sections and sequences. In fact, the driving in Mafia II is among the most engaging elements of the game. Each and every car is a replica of vehicles from the era; they're boxie and heavy, slow and durable yet they, like the characters in the game and the game-world itself, transform over the decade narrative duration. Beginning in the 40s, they start conservatively, but once you reach the 50s, at the climax and end of WWII, they take on a life of their own; becoming larger, more aerodynamic entities because of the production methods adopted by manufacturers who dropped car production to build vehicles, shells and more for the war.



Moreover, your interaction with the game-world via vehicles promotes responsible driving, replete with stopping at traffic lights and staying in the right lane and within the speed limit (you can turn 'on' or 'off' an assisted driving tool that keeps you from speeding). If you break these laws in the presence of a police car, you can be fined or pursued. You can shake the fuzz with some skillful driving, and it's not as reprimanding as you might think (a quick loop around the block will do, even if the pursuing police drive past you again), but it's a cool mechanic nonetheless, and another element that ultimately brings this dynamic world to life within a relatively linear story-line.

The game-world itself, Empire Bay, is obviously modeled off New York City, and again it borrows heavily from the era for a more immersive experience. You'll drive past billboards splashing war propaganda, live through sun and snow-drenched seasons mimicking those of the imitated city, and even experience the gritty reality of ethnic subjugation. Also found within this virtual melting pot of myriad culture is an ever-shifting music and jockey experience. Like so much of the rest of the game-world, we move from the likes of Dean Martin in the 40s to the advent of rock 'n' roll through the 50s with acts like Buddy Holly or B.B. King, while the radio station DJs maintain a constant stream of feedback updates involving your crime-riddled shenanigans, as well as era-derived news, advertisements and events (though not nearly as tongue-in-cheek as GTA).

Recently AusGamers got our hands on a preview copy of the game on PC with access to a few levels, as well as an opportunity to check out the differences offered on console at a Mafia II event in San Francisco (stay tuned for two video interviews to follow). Obviously the game looks much better running at a higher resolution on PC, but the driving portions clearly lack a dynamic analogue sense of control, and having to utilise driving in a more realistic sense makes for some often trepidatious situations on the road, but ultimately the game runs just as solidly on all three platforms, though the PC does offer a unique experience with 3D Vision Surround (stay tuned for our interview with nVIDIA's Eric Liu for more). In the end, it'll boil down to your platform of choice, but beyond the aforementioned PC difference, 2K are promising the core game is the same across all three.



Further to the game being pushed as a darker, more realistic spin on the Mafia world, 2K Games and 2K Czech also just announced the first rounds of DLC for the title, showing they plan on supporting the game heavily post-release. And this is definitely news-worthy. There are already more than two-hours worth of in-game cut-scenes showing off the game's intricate and mature story, and there's a massive amount of character development along with emotional investment on the player's part due to the narrative's 10-year span and the sheer amount of characters on-hand.

The main character himself, Vito, is the perfect vessel for players. He served in the war to avoid jail time for a botched robbery. When he returns after being wounded (and winning a prestigious medal, to boot), he finds his family in serious financial debt. His father has died, but before passing borrowed money from the wrong people who could care less if their borrowee is dead or not - they want their money and so it's up to Vito to do the right thing by doing the wrong thing. He's an anti-hero to be sure, and there's definitely a massive body-count attached to investing time behind his trigger-finger; but at his core, Vito is a good soul with good intentions.

We've already mentioned the tie-in with era-specific Playboy magazines and pin-ups, and while at the time it might have sounded cheap, in place it actually works (also, when you find them in the game-world, you're treated with a full-screen image from the actual Playboy of that year uncensored). Anything peripheral to the game's core play experience is there to bring the era you're interactively living in to life. The decade is itself a character with its own quirks and you get a real sense of a narrative and character-developed progression throughout.



In our time with the game, we ran through some five missions spread throughout the decade, and not all linked; to really give us a taste of the meat to come. Most missions carry a familiar gameplay style, and revolving around corridor shooting, car-chases, stealth and more. There's not a great deal here you could surmise as evolutionary, or even revolutionary, but what Mafia II does offer so far is a solid narrative experience with a rich cast of characters (all brilliantly voice-acted, I might add) and solid gameplay mechanics. Driving is excellent, the cover and fire system is fun, intuitive and very satisfying, while the living, breathing world around you creates a unique atmosphere for the linear experience at-hand.

Mafia II releases on PS3, Xbox 360 and PC this August 26. You can check out more directly from our game page, and be sure to stay tuned for our interviews with Jack and Eric shortly.