Mafia 2

Played the demo, enjoyed it very much. Atmosphere is good, shoot&cover is done properly, as is driving. I can see myself playing the full version no problem.
 
Played the demo. Couldn't be bothered to finish it.

Graphics are decent.
Performance is reasonable for a (linear) 'open world' game.
Audio is decent, even if the music is not even from the correct era..
Driving controls are ok I guess.
Character controls are very unintuitive/crappy.
Story and characters seem to be cliche as they can get.
Character animations / facial expressions are clunky.


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Judging from the demo this seems like a very average game.
 
PainlessDocM said:
Played the demo. Couldn't be bothered to finish it.
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Wha-? But it's like 10 minutes long. I was just about to complain it's a bit short for a demo. Don't see the point of the 10-minute timer in town either.

It's funny how a sequel to a game that excells in being different from GTA, exerts so much effort to be more like GTA. If you told me this was GTA: Trenchcoat version rather than Mafia II I might've bought it. At least from the demo, but demos of open-world games are weird anyway.

But seriously man did they add a lot of popamole. The auto-regeneration is hilarious and way too fast, just hide 2 seconds and you can pop back up at full health. Combat is a bit easy anyway because again, the AI is really limited. No, using cover does not equal good AI, somehow people mentally equate the two. The fight is overly scripted which makes the opponents predictable, while the non-scripted gunfights (with the cops) are just too easy.

Cop behaviour is the only noticeable inherited plus. I couldn't even tell the difference between normal driving and simulated driving.

The voice acting is way better than Mafia I. At least these bits.

even if the music is not even from the correct era..
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Eh? This is set right after the war, you do know that right? You can even see the old war posters here and there.

But most of all: what's with the cars? I'm not expecting racing tires but goddamn do they have absolutely no grip or what? I admit I'm not used to driving in 40s models but even at low speeds the car's lack of tire grip is really a bit much.

Basically they shoveled in a whole whack of casual into the game based on GTA's mechanics. I don't know from this demo if they chose the "right" bits to add. For instance, I really enjoyed the challenge level in Mafia's combat, and that seems to be completely gone in its popamole combat.

Atmosphere is brilliant once again. Let's hope they can add a story that feels as original as Mafia's. Sitting here smoking a cigar while running around in a snazzy white trenchcoat ingame was awesome.

Still, looks like a fun game.
 
Brother None said:
But most of all: what's with the cars? I'm not expecting racing tires but goddamn do they have absolutely no grip or what? I admit I'm not used to driving in 40s models but even at low speeds the car's lack of tire grip is really a bit much.
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I think the handling is pretty adequate for the cars of that era. Most of the american cars had really crappy handling up until the 80', not to mention the 50', where cars had simple drum brakes, stone age suspension (which didn't differ all that much from those that you would see on a truck), high center of gravity and tires that had the only purpose of supporting the cars weight :lol:. They were made with long, straight roads in mind, couple that with keyboard driving and you get the end results. A gaming wheel might do wonders here, though i can't complain, since i didn't have any trouble handling the cars with the keyboard.
 
There is no difficulty settings in demo. In full, Hard should make the regennerating slower and not even complete.

As for driving - simulation mode with x360 controller and it is perfect.
 
Brother None said:
But seriously man did they add a lot of popamole. The auto-regeneration is hilarious and way too fast, just hide 2 seconds and you can pop back up at full health. Combat is a bit easy anyway because again, the AI is really limited. No, using cover does not equal good AI, somehow people mentally equate the two. The fight is overly scripted which makes the opponents predictable, while the non-scripted gunfights (with the cops) are just too easy.
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Yeah, would've been nice to see the enemy use flanking themselves instead of leaving obvious flanking spots for you, and also alot less regeneration for the main character.
Can only hope the Demo is set to Easy or something.

Cop behaviour is the only noticeable inherited plus. I couldn't even tell the difference between normal driving and simulated driving.

But most of all: what's with the cars? I'm not expecting racing tires but goddamn do they have absolutely no grip or what? I admit I'm not used to driving in 40s models but even at low speeds the car's lack of tire grip is really a bit much.
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They could've skipped over the cops in the demo, they are far too easy to outrun - if that's a representation of how the full game will be I'll be dissapointed.

I did try modding the car, with Arcade settings, and that basically turned it into a modern feel of the car, quite grippy and fast.
Otherwise, I only noticed the lack of grip whenever I breathed on the "W" button, since I don't have an Xbox controller and there's no wheel support.

Edit; Got a visit from my father, who's experienced these sort of cars, and as AskWazzup said, thats about as it's supposed to be.
 
Mettle, it's possible they'll tweak stuff but a demo is usually aimed to be representative of the game. Don't pin too many hopes on it being magically fixed.

AskWazzup said:
I think the handling is pretty adequate for the cars of that era.
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Oh I know. But it seems weird to me to tune down combat so it becomes as retardedly easy as in most TPSs these days, and then make no effort to make driving more playable. I mean yeah it makes sense in emulation mode, but why have a normal mode if cars still steer like cows in it? Or did I miss an even more popamole mode?
 
Brother None said:
But it seems weird to me to tune down combat so it becomes as retardedly easy as in most TPSs these days, and then make no effort to make driving more playable.
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I dunno, driving seemed quite a bit easier to me in Mafia 2 than the original. And I played the original A LOT. Cars generally are a lot faster too, as they should in newer era.
 
Brother None said:
Mettle, it's possible they'll tweak stuff but a demo is usually aimed to be representative of the game. Don't pin too many hopes on it being magically fixed.
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Not really pinning my hopes on magics, but I hope that there will be different difficulties atleast, or that possible tweaks are enough to improve them to my satisfaction.

Oh I know. But it seems weird to me to tune down combat so it becomes as retardedly easy as in most TPSs these days, and then make no effort to make driving more playable. I mean yeah it makes sense in emulation mode, but why have a normal mode if cars still steer like cows in it? Or did I miss an even more popamole mode?
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The shooting is really easy, I'll give you that - far too easy to exploit, but out of curiosity; Did you drive with an analogue controller or keyboard?
 
Mettle said:
The shooting is really easy, I'll give you that - far too easy to exploit, but out of curiosity; Did you drive with an analogue controller or keyboard?
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Keyboard of course. I'm a PC player all the way, haven't owned a console since SEGA went under, and never plug no Xbox controllers into my sweet, darlin' lil' PC.
 
Mettle said:
The shooting is really easy, I'll give you that - far too easy to exploit,
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in those games shooting is always made to easy, especially when a cover system present
 
You can now pre-order MAFIA 2 on Steam and receive a free copy of MAFIA 1.

Just thought I'd post that here, in case someone's interested.
 
It's sour as fuck. Kinda funny to read, but I would have liked to learn a bit about the actual game rather than the fella's feelings about certain parts (however valid they may be).

I am worried that he's right though... If they haven't changed much from the demo, it must be quite a bland - yet visually beautiful - experience. Already heard that the story is not very long, and it seems that the rumour about the city being mainly empty has been confirmed.

I'll still buy it when it's a bit cheaper.
 
Heh
When I stated fans of mob dramas would enjoy this game, I meant exactly that; even if you rarely pick up a gamepad, but love a good mob-themed tale, Mafia II is worth checking out. This is a testament to its superb storytelling and spotless production values. But I’d also let this serve as a warning to gamers expecting GTA with a Godfather paint job. In fact, I’d go as far as recommending 2K Czech’s latest to gamers who enjoyed the story-focused Heavy Rain rather than players accustomed to setting their own pace in open-world games. If you’re looking to blow up city blocks with a rocket launcher, Mafia II may not be your cup of cappuccino. However, if, like me, you’re hoping HBO’s upcoming Boardwalk Empire fills the gaping Soprano-less void in your life, Mafia II‘s ready to fit you for a nice pair of cement shoes.

How apropos.

The Eurogamer sounds like my experience with Mafia so little surprising there. It's the kind of reviews the game invites.
 
SkuLL said:
I am worried that he's right though... If they haven't changed much from the demo, it must be quite a bland - yet visually beautiful - experience. Already heard that the story is not very long, and it seems that the rumour about the city being mainly empty has been confirmed.

I'll still buy it when it's a bit cheaper.
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Drive from a to b, kill enemies in a not very well executed way drive back to a. Multiply times X.
Add generic mafia sauce and bland stereotypes.
No moral ambiguity whatsoever.(Protagonist just does what he is told, no questions asked.)
An empty city, nothing to do except going from a to b and back + collecting nude magazines (yes how mature) and buying new clothes..
...

"It's a 14-year-old's vision of the mafia, although that slanders the many 14-year-olds who would see through this game's desperation to appear adult."

Strange because in principle so much can be done with a 'mafia themed' game when you go a little deeper (add more layers) and refrain from using the tired old cliche's.
 
fedaykin said:
Dang, sounds like it's not much of an improvement over Mafia 1. I'm glad I decided not to pre-order.
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I did because I trusted in Ratty's taste in games :(

Never again :x
 
The game is fucking great. I am in 10th chapter, so far I have better experience than with any GTA (finished them all starting with 3) or RDR (finished also). It is, again, ALL about immersion, just like with Mafia 1.

Yes, there is loading boxes on a truck, referencing Mafia 1. There is taking a shower. Etc

in essence, I agree with this 100%

http://dubiousquality.blogspot.com/2010/08/mafia-ii-impressions-pc.html


of course it is possible it will take a shit turn later on..
 
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