One of the biggest releases of the year, Mafia II is just over five weeks out from hitting the shelves. 2K have kindly donated some preview code, and we've been playing through four chapters to see if this sequel is wearing cement shoes.
THERE'S TWO CERTAINTIES about receiving preview code from developers. The first is that there will almost certainly be an embargo limiting at what time the written content can be published, and the second is that the code will be for either the Xbox 360, or the PS3.
This article, therefore, was supposed to be based on the Xbox 360 version of Mafia II, however a technical problem with our development Xbox 360 meant we had to fall back to the Steam-distributed PC version instead. I'd initially been a bit worried that we'd spend half the article talking about terrible console ports, useless mouse movement and every other frustrating element that makes up most of what passes for cross-platform releases these days, but fortunately this isn't the case at all.
First though, let's get something out of the way - the PC version looks spectacular. The cars are modelled with precision, the character animation within the game is spot on, and the close-up cinematic shots reveal an incredible level of detail.
Although our preview copy only consisted of four chapters (each perhaps lasting between half an hour and an hour depending on our success rate) it's clear that 2K Czech have crafted a remarkable city in Empire Bay. The draw distances are extensive, and the terrain changes seamlessly between different suburbs. From the opening stages where the city is blanketed in a layer of snow, to the later chapters where everything has thawed and the summer has arrived, the eye candy on offer is more than capable of displaying the story that is so crucial to the Mafia experience.
You play as Vito Scaletti, a WW2 Italian-American soldier back from the front lines after being at the receiving end of a bullet. Whilst he's been given time to recuperate from his injury, it's clear that he's in good health and perfectly capable of returning to active duty - which is a problem, until his old buddy Joe Barbaro organises some fraudulent release papers from a mob-friendly doctor. It's here that we begin to chart the progression of Vito from ex-soldier to Made Man, although 2K haven't given away any plot secrets as the chapters we've been provided with are scattered throughout the game.
It wouldn't be a mob game without a fairly solid collection of vehicles in which to stash dead bodies and the like, however this sequel differs from the original in a few notable places. First off, all the cars are available from the beginning of the game (although much like the original, the makes and models change as the years roll around). Additionally, it's not necessary to be taught how to steal cars - you can either smash a window and risk the ire of the constabulary, or use a new lock pick mini-game to align tumblers and quietly get inside.
The lock picking is used elsewhere in the game too, and varies according to the complexity of the lock in question. When stealing visibly older cars (some of which appear to be from the 1920's or thereabouts) there might only be one tumbler to align, which can be done in a couple of seconds. Later model cars appear to have up to three tumblers, and each must be correctly aligned to proceed. If you fail the third tumbler, you'll go back to the second. Fail the second and you'll have to start the whole process from scratch. It's quite well implemented in the game, some of the more adrenaline-fuelled moments will see you frantically trying to pick locks before being spotted by the police after your wanted level creeps up.
The police are extremely effective (much like in the original Mafia), so racing through the city running down pedestrians and blasting through red lights will certainly get you busted. This happens in a number of ways - you can simply pull out weapon on the street (any street at pretty much any time) and you'll instantly have a wanted status. You can either elect to run or drive off and hide somewhere until any police in the area can't see you, or you can wait for them to attempt to arrest you. At this point you'll be prompted to choose between bribing the officers, or resisting arrest. It's usually best to bribe the cops, as resisting frequently results in either getting shot, or having to have to repeat the same process a hundred metres down the road when the next cop spots you.
Your wanted status varies according to your crimes. If you shoot police officers, eventually your status will reach a "4-star" level, inviting federal agents to instantly shoot you on sight. With Thompson .45 machine guns. This, obviously, is to be avoided.
Another issue to contend with is the practicality of escaping from police in a vehicle. It's not difficult to outrun the police and find a quiet spot to park up, or indeed a garage where you can customise your license plate, respray the car, and choose all manner of modifications that will render your vehicle "clean" again. It's just that the police are so persistent at spotting you and opening fire that your car very quickly resembles a colander, and the damage is likely to involve popped tyres, smashed glass, and all manner of damage that gradually slows the vehicle until progressively more and more smoke comes from the exhaust and under the bonnet.
That is, if you're lucky. If you're unlucky, you'll steal a car that has virtually no gas in it. Once that fuel gauge hits zero, you're not going anywhere, and unless you can find a petrol station (and lose any cops on your tail before attempting to fill up) then you're back on foot again. In addition, if your car is particularly beat up and you crash it hard enough, the engine will stop entirely, and you'll have to jump out and open the bonnet to get it going again.
As it's virtually impossible to perform any real violence on the streets without eventually getting either arrested, shot, or run over, it's best to contain this to the missions provided in each chapter. The game steps you through the hand-to-hand combat system first, allowing you to beat up a loan shark who has been threatening your family. It's a basic system that requires either left or right mouse clicks to perform different punches, followed by quickly tapping the same button in succession to perform a combo. No real surprises here - 2K have kept it pretty simple, and the game certainly seems to favour violence of the bullet-orientated type anyway.
The enemies you'll come across take several torso shots before going down, or a well-aimed headshot. They'll stumble and keel over realistically, or perhaps be launched backward by a close-range shotgun blast. Most of the scenery appears to carry with it some destructible quality too, such as being able to blast away chucks of plaster from internal walls, or shooting through glass dividing walls in a bar. Nvidia have provided PhysX support, and it shows. Even 3D is on offer, for those with suitable hardware.
It's not all guns and glory though, there's plenty of occasions where Vito will need to adopt a softer approach in order to succeed. One in particular involves sneaking through a sewer pipe (where by a happy coincidence one of the collectable Playboy magazines was hidden) and infiltrating a slaughterhouse to rescue colleagues. It's here that Vito has to carefully slip from room to room without being spotted by henchmen - the same notification normally used to indicate your proximity to police is employed cleverly; the whole mission being almost Thief-like in design.
The Mafia II experience isn't going to be adequately described by using the term "sandbox". This is first and foremost a cinematic title that follows a linear path, gradually introducing different characters, and naturally, removing many of them in a fairly brutal fashion. There's dark humour present, but most of the situations Vito encounters appear to follow what our preconceived opinion of the Mafia should be - from the solemn ceremony where he's turned into a "made man" to the montage showing him beating up people that follows, the game takes on the topic of organised crime and presents it in an engrossing and honest fashion.
It's early days yet, but there's no reason to suspect Mafia II won't be every bit as successful as the first game.
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