Walking into GamesCom, few could have imagined that the Game of the Show would be a coin flip between Splash Damage's Brink and 2K Czech's Mafia II. A ball-achingly dull Modern Warfare 2 presentation coupled with Bioshock 2's no-show helped somewhat, but even against the biggest of big hitters we're confident of Mafia II holding its own. One to watch? Like you wouldn't believe.
Our demo begins in an apartment. Memories of Niko's various pads immediately spring to mind: protagonist Vito wanders about his place, switching radio channels, swigging beer from the fridge and changing clothes via the wardrobe located by the front door. Prostitutes in various states of undress stroll about (there's even a naked hooker in the shower to keep voyeuristic gamers happy) to add a seedier tone to the place.
Mafia II
Official trailer
1:02New mobster trailer ready for a good kicking
Mafia II
Official trailer
1:02New mobster trailer ready for a good kicking
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Of course, mobiles didn't exist back in the fifties (gasp!), so Vito racks up mission orders by answering his ringing landline phone. For purposes of the demo the caller is notorious fence Giuseppe, who invites Vito round to collect some counterfeit papers. There's no choice but to accept, and after one last glance about the place we're guided through the door, down the building's central stairwell and over to the nearby garage.
Picking vehicles in Mafia II is no different to Saints Row - cars taken to safe houses are kept in an unfeasibly large garage, and your saved motors can be scrolled through and wrenched into existence from the smallest of garages. It's not realistic, but it's more fun this way.
Then disaster strikes. As we pull out of the garage we're shown a small cut-scene. Gina, one of the broads who'd been 'servicing' our compadres upstairs, has rear-ended another motorist. When we're back in control a squabble has broken out, and though Gina's all apologetic the chap she hit is ready to knock out her teeth with a tyre iron.
Nobody's forced into action - it would be easier just to drive off and leave Gina to it (we'd no doubt hear about her toil later on during Vito's adventures) - but the option for interference is there. It's taken, and in a sequence that isn't all that different from Sam Fisher's bathroom knockabout in Conviction's teaser the mouthy man is frightened into submission. Threat averted, Gina offers us a free quickie - but Giuseppe's waiting and in the life of a budding mobster sex doesn't come first.
The encounter with Gina is a fine example of throwaway quests being activated at key moments. This same linearity applies to many of the sub-objectives too: entering Giuseppe's apartment we encounter a bulky ruffian called Derek, who asks us for a minute. Choose no and Vito will conjure up an excuse to carry on walking, but the promise of money tempts us to listen to Derek's plan. It transpires his sub-mission involves stealthily torching a garage of rare cars to send a message to a rival business. The reward for said arson: $500.
Because this and other sub-objectives aren't key to Mafia II's central plotline they aren't available any other time. Mafia II charts Vito's rise from bottom feeder to top dog over a decade-long period, and it would make no sense to have Derek request this job in year one and to then complete it almost a decade later. Missions appear as bookends to the core storyline advancements, allowing you to flesh out Vito's presence in Empire Bay any way you see fit. Take them if you want the extra challenge, leave them if you don't. The classical open world tag of Mafia II definitely doesn't apply to its mission structure.
After the meeting with Giuseppe another dynamic interlude kicks in. This time we stroll outside the building and encounter a pair of two-bit muggers attempting to hold us up with a knife. They scamper away at the sight of our gun, but turning the tables on our would-be attackers has its own pitfalls: the cops. A lonely patrolman runs over and demands to see our gun license. Sorry officer. What license?
Locked in a dialogue choice there are three options. Offer a bribe; show a fake license or run. We scarper into the nearest alley, ducking behind a shadowy dustbin lid and then staying behind a well-placed pallet as a patrol car slides by. The Wanted icon which flashes up when the policeman give chase only disappears when we swap clothes at a convenient store, and walking down the pavement in our smart new threads we can't help but chuckle at a man protesting his arrest: the poor soul was unfortunate enough to be wearing a similar looking jacket to the one we were spotted in earlier on.
Moments like these are scripted. You're allowed to choose your actions freely but as each area, time of day and cop presence has been carefully predetermined there are usually one or two clear ways forward. For us the alleyway, the dumpster and the pallet all screamed to be used - not with flashing lights or on-screen instructions but just by meticulous placement. Open world connoisseurs will cry shouts of smoke and mirrors and they will have a point, but Mafia II's proud of its predictability; it's a linear-ish game in a non-linear world, and the controlled design adds a layer of quality so often absent from games such as Godfather II.
Police evaded, we skip forward in time to Derek's mission. It's darker now, and swirling fog sets an ominous tone. The infiltration and ultimate destruction of the garage ahead comes with one small caveat. There are to be no casualties. It sounds workable, but arriving on the scene we clock too many guards for comfort.
The first is easily done away with as he helpfully ducks into the bushes to relieve himself. The second is a bit tougher - walking into the garage we're forced into a confrontation. He's armed with a truncheon and we're defenceless, but the wrinkles on his face betray the man's age and the one-two combination of agility and punching power soon puts him down for good. (Vito has one heavy attack button, one light attack button and one evade button which can be combined for different combos.) Melée weapons, we're told, are plentiful, and objects such as bottles, tyre irons and bats can all be plucked from the surroundings and used on anybody without a projectile weapon. Brutal, but fun.
To complete the mission two of the three cars inside the garage are torched, but well aware that shit and fan are on a direct collision course the third car, a rare little red number, is salvaged for a getaway vehicle. With no keys in sight Vito has two options. He could go to the trouble of slowly picking the lock by knocking each tumbler into place, a method that will only rouse suspicion if a cop has a clear line of sight and is already watching Vito. With sirens blazing nearby it seems like a waste of time, so the more direct method of smashing the window and unlocking the door from the inside is employed.
Rain-slick roads are tough to stay on, especially in the more powerful vehicles. The car skids like a rhino on an ice rink, eager to wrap itself around lampposts and hydrants at every opportunity. Realism is key. Whatever you struggle with troubles the cops easily as much. Ducking in front of a passing train will halt any pursuers in their tracks, and the occasional jump is likely to make the cops either bottle the chase or flip their vehicles. The one advantage they do have, however, is organisation, and within minutes of the first alarm roadblocks will be established at every major junction, and denser police patrols will sweep neighbourhoods adjacent to your last known position.
Ditch the cop magnet and the getaway isn't too difficult but there's an incentive to stay in the ride. This particular car from this particular garage only appears once throughout the whole game. There's nothing yet to flag this fact - we took 2K Czech's word - but we weren't prepared to surrender this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to own one of the fastest cars in the game. Driving it into a garage run by a family friend, we're faced with dozens of modification choices for fistfuls of greenbacks. The modifications are expensive so this isn't a tactic to be used with any old car. The editing tools will award you ownership of a select group of vehicles. If you find a reliable car take care of her, and she'll no doubt take care of you when the lights are flashing.
With the ride back in our garage all that remains is to call the mission in. Derek, who's busy torturing a snitch when we call, seems pleased by our results. Despite the 'no casualties' thing he doesn't seem too flustered that two people had died (the conversation will differ depending on the number of dead) and promises to throw more work our way in the future. We think we'll take the chance when we get it. After this thirty minute peek, we'd be crazy not to.
Impressions Grand Theft Auto has spawned many imitators but no equals. That could be about to change. Mafia II is one of the most ambitious projects we've seen all year, and it's destined to set a new benchmark for interactive storytelling and cinematic action.
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