Thanks to 2K Games, we've got some awesome Mafia II swag to give away in our latest competition. The grand prize is a copy of the Collector's Edition of the game, a shirt, and an awesome limited edition (only 200 made) Mafia 2 lamp, featuring a handmade Colt 1911 as the centrepiece. Three runner ups will each win a copy of the Collector's Edition, as well as a keyring, money clip and pen.

Enter now for your chance to win.

Just ahead of the game's local release, 2K Games have sent through another hype-bearing trailer "Persuasion", to show off the very mafia-heavy story their game, Mafia 2, sports (der). But more than that, it's another chance to showcase the rich visuals (that night time stuff in the snow really does look that good) and the great dialogue and voice-acting you're in for if you pick this up.

If you need any more info on the game though, we threw up our in-depth review yesterday, which delves into what's on offer in the fictional world of Empire Bay, and just what sort of gameplay you can look forward to in the game.

Watch the trailer embedded below or click here. Our Mafia 2 review can be found right here.

Mafia II is set to drop this week, and we've been given the green light to serve up our review for your perusal. The more discerning of you out there may also note we've now added a "reviewed on" button, with Mafia II being reviewed on PC.

I played the game on a rig sporting a GeForce 8800 GTX (quad core) and ran it at pretty decent resolution with pretty much everything turned all the way up. I didn't experience any problems in frame-rate, screen-tearing or the like, and felt that the team did an awesome job getting the most out of the PC. That said, there's plenty more to divulge about the final product, details of which you can find by hitting the link below.

Click here for the full review.

2K have released a demo for their soon-to-be-released Mafia 2 and it is now available on Steam. No standalone download available just yet.

For those who came in late, you can find out everything you need to know about Mafia 2 (including stacks of screenshots and trailers) from our Mafia 2 game page.

If you're still on the edge about making the purchase you can now check out what it has to offer. promoted/edited forum item

Update: A stand-alone (non-Steam) installer for the demo is now available - you can download the 1.2gb demo locally from AusGamers!

2K Games have released another new promotional video for Mafia, once again with the obligatory big band soundtrack. This time around, it's a classic Dean Martin number: "Ain't that a Kick in the Head". Important to note is that all the animated action in this clip is in-engine and shows off many of the PC version's enhanced PhysX effects.

Watch it right here on AusGamers.

Mafia II is due on August 26th for PC, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. Check out our recent hands-on preview and developer interviews with both 2K Games and nVidia for more tasty details.

We posted up our video for the AusGamers Mafia 2 Jack Scalici interview last week, but in case you missed it, or couldn't watch it, we now have the full interview available in transcribed form.

In case you missed our lengthy interview with Jack, he goes into detail about crafting a vibrant, detailed game-world to work alongside a strict narrative that stays vehemently true to its source material. He also talks about platform parity, casting voice-actors, cars and driving and even hints at a possible third game in the series. Hit the above link for the full interview.

Mafia II is due to arrive on PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 August 26.

At our recent trip out to San Francisco to check out Mafia II in-depth, we had a chance to sit down with Jack Scalici, Director of Creative Production for 2K Games to talk about Mafia 2, along with his involvement in the game, and how they hope it will stand out in the increasingly populating world of open-world gaming.

In the interview Jack talks about the differences between the consoles and PC versions of the game, crafting a lead character like Vito, casting unknown voices to fill the Mafia II character shoes, creating a linear narrative set within an open-world, driving, the game's 10-year time-span and much, much more.

You can download the video here, or watch it embedded below. And stay tuned for a full transcript coming soon if you want to save your precious bandwidth.

2K Games, in the wake of revealing Mafia 2 would be made available through Steam, have just released a batch of PC-specific screens, so desktop punters can get a look at the visually superior output they'll be playing through.

Word has also reached the net by way of a print ad in MCV Magazine (as pointed out by Eurogamer), detailing a demo for the game on PSN, XBL and Steam available on the 10th of August (we'll suss if that date applies here also). In case you missed it, AusGamers checked out the game extensively last week, and we have an in-depth preview you can view right here, with two interviews to follow shortly, so stay tuned.

Valve and 2K Games today announced that Mafia II for the PC will be distributed through Steamworks, with all the tasty perks such a digital distribution deal would offer. Perks such as "auto-updating, Steam Achievements, statistics, downloadable content, and more".

Also, pre-orders of the standard or "Digital Deluxe Edition" of the game will also net you access to the original Mafia right now - so if you're keen on Mafia II but never played the original, pre-order now and you can pick up where it all began for free.

We have an in-depth preview of Mafia II you can check out right here.

As promised, here is our very own hands-on preview for 2K Czech's upcoming Mafia 2, from an exclusive preview event AusGamers was invited out to in San Francisco very recently.

This is an in-depth run-down of what to expect from the game, as well as a look at the game design goals within the team. We had a look at the game on all three systems as well (including PC 3D Vision Surround), and so far it's coming together very nicely. Also be sure to stay tuned for two video interviews for the game, one with 2K Games Director of Creative Production, Jack Scalici, and the other with nVIDIA Content Manager, Eric Lieu (talking about PhysX and 3D Vision Surround).

Click here for the full preview.