Mafia 2 Impressions Thread

The game is out tomorrow, I wanted to prep a topic.

Some negative reviews have been coming out, not negative, but average, somehow they make me more hyped. Reviews have been saying the structure is similar to the original game, was afraid this would be like trying to be GTA with a mafia plot, luckily its like the original with all around improved elements. I don't need to spend 10 hours running around the city in a sandbox, after Just Cause 2, no game can compare, (in terms of "realistic", non-super power sandbox games). 

I loved the demo, anyone who has me on steam knows I've played it for like 5 hours, so I think I can still have plenty of fun even if you can't blow crap up like in some other "sandbox" games. I wanted a mafia plot with solid acting, and it seems thats what it will be. 

I found the demo really boring (although I had just slogged through the end of RDR, so I was at least partially sandboxed-out), and RPS had a really negative preview a while back (Oblivion-level awful AI, boring mission design and plot, brain-dead checkpoint system), so meh /Jandurin.

On the plus side, you can apparently make Nolan North (AKA Nathan Drake and a ****load of other characters) have a conversation with himself.

Originally I was going to wait for a price drop for the PC version, but I think I'll be better off just renting it. Like I said before, the demo had confimed my initial fears about the game, and then some.mo0ksi

Just out of curiosity, what fears were those? 

[QUOTE="mo0ksi"]Originally I was going to wait for a price drop for the PC version, but I think I'll be better off just renting it. Like I said before, the demo had confimed my initial fears about the game, and then some.110million

Just out of curiosity, what fears were those? 

Those are my two main fears, but also knowing that it's fairly short and not a sandbox style of gameplay just dimmed my interest for the game even more. I'll still probably enjoy for what it is, but I won't help but contemplate what it could have been.

In its defence, its far more "sandbox" than the original, and I do remember that 90% of most missions were either chasing someone by car or doing a big shootout, so far my hype has not diminished becasue all the negative reviews pretty much point out that its more and more like the original game.

I will decide on the plot for myself, but everything else is just like Mafia 1 as far as I've seen, there was only one or two missions that didn't involve just killing several room fulls of guys. 

Yeah... I'm not feelin this one much either. It was awesome back in 2002, when the only contender was GTA, and Mafia itself was a refreshing pace.

Cut to 8 years later, all these games leap frogging one another, open world/sandbox/immerse-yourself-in-this-world being pioneered to hell and back, and quite honestly, Mafia 2 doesn't feel like it's up to snuff.

It may be nice to play. It certainly wouldn't be jaw dropping like the first. 

Yeah... I'm not feelin this one much either. It was awesome back in 2002, when the only contender was GTA, and Mafia itself was a refreshing pace.

FrozenLiquid

Is it wrong I really enjoyed the original having only played it for the first time a couple weeks ago? 

[QUOTE="FrozenLiquid"]

Yeah... I'm not feelin this one much either. It was awesome back in 2002, when the only contender was GTA, and Mafia itself was a refreshing pace.

110million

Is it wrong I really enjoyed the original having only played it for the first time a couple weeks ago? 

Please don't victimize yourself.

I'm just saying, the amount of acclaim it got at the time of its release was definitely not going to be repeated if they tried to play it too safe.

I mean, you can pick up Doom 2 for the first time tomorrow and realize it really is an amazing game. You can pick up Doom 3 the next day and realize it's more of the same, though you'll still enjoy it for what it is. 

8.5 from Gamespot.

It releases in four hours on Steam, so I plan on downloading it and getting some time in before bed.

no game really nails the wintery city setting like this one doespsn8214

When he arrives at night, the song starts playing, the snow is blowing, instantly like one of the best atmospheres this gen. Its rare I stop to just enjoy at atmosphere in a game.

Also massive props to the music, it makes the entire thing feel so perfect. I was about to quit Fallout 3 until I found out about the radio, the snazzy music made the enviornment's atmosphere rating go up 500%. 

I really enjoyed the demo and to be honest, I havent been all that crazy about these so called amazing sandbox games that every reviewer seems to be in love with (RDR, GTA4, infamous) so Im not going to trust their opinions. Kevin V seemed to have loved it for its story and atmosphere, and thats pretty much what Im playing it for.

But, just like Champ, this is just to tide me over until Reach. I want that game so bad it hurts. :cry:

[QUOTE="psn8214"] no game really nails the wintery city setting like this one does110million

When he arrives at night, the song starts playing, the snow is blowing, instantly like one of the best atmospheres this gen. Its rare I stop to just enjoy at atmosphere in a game.

Also massive props to the music, it makes the entire thing feel so perfect. I was about to quit Fallout 3 until I found out about the radio, the snazzy music made the enviornment's atmosphere rating go up 500%. 

I love too, how you see all these Army guys walking around, everyone huddled up from the cold, newspaper men proclaiming war news, etc. I'm incredibly impressed with that aspect of the game. I really do think that this will be one of my favorites this year. It's great so far! :)

"The story offers good reasons for these tasks, but they're as thrilling as they sound. " The knocks on it for the excessive, boring, repetitive driving, couple with obeying a speed limit are enough to keep me away from it.Heil68

Thats if you want to play like a little girl, I speed my way everywhere. I enjoy the driving a lot too, it feels very tight, the first game had an insane amount of tedious driving, and then you hit a pole near the end, and you have to do the whole like 10 minute drive over again. This time the cars are faster, you can repair them, and it controls better, everything is a huge improvement over the original gameplay wise. 

I'm too lazy to write something new, so here is something I posted in System Wars in response to guy on the fence about getting the game:

The first thing you should know is that this is not a sandbox game. It's a linear game that focuses on the story. There are only main missions, no side ones that you can pick up. You are given a mission, you drive to it, you complete it (many have multiple objectives), and then you go home to finish it. After you finish a mission, you are given your next one. That's the entire structure. You NEVER have more than one mission available and each one relates to the main story of the game.

The open world doesn't exist to be your playground with multiple distractions and things to do, it's meant to give the main storyline a sense of place and to provide realism as you play through it. That's all.

No strip clubs, no mini games, no random NPCs giving missions, no random events that launch you into mini-missions. Just the main story. There are some things to do about town, like buying stuff and visiting diners to eat and regain health; you can even rob all the stores should you choose. But that's about it.

That said, the game is still fantastic. It's nice to not have a bunch of side missions pulling you away from the main story. They are great in some games, but I find it refreshing to have an open world game that focuses on the story. Many have commented that it shouldn't be open world, but I'm glad that it is, it's a lot of fun driving through the city to missions, taking in the wonderfully detailed environment and watching random events like motorists getting into fights and wrecks, only to be accosted by the cops. And it adds a lot more to the game when you complete a mission, only to have the cops show up and set up a dragnet of the area that you have to escape.

There was a great occurrence in which I had just stolen a car from another gang and they started chasing me and shooting the car up, then suddenly all the bullet fire stopped. I looked behind me to see the cops pulling them over and arresting them, allowing me to leisurely return back to the junkyard with the car. It's stuff like that make me love this game so much.

The story is solid so far and the voice acting is top notch. I'm not one to praise video game stories often, but this one is at least keeping me engaged and eager to continue. The shooting and driving both feel nice and the as I said above, the atmosphere is incredible. The snow covered Empire City is a marval to look and and even more fun to explore as you go through the missions.

Voice acting is solid, soundtrack is fantastic, and the overall vibe the game gives off just feels like a pitch perfect fit for the era. 

Played about 5 chapters so far. Its pretty enjoyable. As noted, the atmosphere and story are what pull you along. I was expecting a twist or turn in the story by now, but hopefully it gets a little more interesting soon. And hopefully some cool action sequences soon.h575309

I'm 5 hours in and on Chapter 9, the story hasn't really started to get kicking yet for you, it's about a 12 hour game, so you're still in the first part of it.

I'm at the beginning of Chapter 8 after a few sessions.

I've been consistently enjoying the game. The story and presentation is just exceptional, and probably the game's greatest strength. It just flows very nicely, keeps you interested in the game, and takes you into rather unexpected territory, which I like. I also love how the soundtrack changes as the story and years progress, just making the player feel involved, and making the setting all the more authentic.

As for graphics, since I'm playing on the 360 version, there's a fairly significant amount of technical issues. There's frequent pop-in, horrible aliasing, glitches, and worst of all a very inconsistent framerate, but it always manages to be playable at least.

Despite all of this, I'm having trouble really connecting with the gameplay. A greatly detailed world is made, but there's nothing you could ever take advantage of. It follows a painfully linear structure. Of course it's not exactly a bad thing, but if didn't have a foundation so similar to the GTA games, I wouldn't nearly mind it as much. I also think the AI and gunfights can be a bit weak, and the fist fights to be slightly tiresome, among others

But all in all the game is good fun so far. The storyline and setting really holds the entire piece together, and it still gives me a great desire to see this game to the end.

And how about them Playboy spreads? :P

I think if this game was less linear and more GTA like I'd like it a whole lot less. It being so linear, along with the setting and characters that inhabit it are the main reasons I'm so engrossed in the game.

If I had side missions popping up all over the place, or girls wanting to go on dates or guys calling me to go to clubs when I'd rather just get on with the story, I'd get tired of it just like I do with GTA type games after a while.

I really do think it's fine the way it is. I really doubt the story would be nearly as interesting or as engaging if it had a sandbox approach. I just wish it was taken with a direction that distincted itself from being something like a GTA game. With all the gameplay footage shown, people were expecting a game along the lines of GTA. So with how it is now, it just lacks a bit of identity, as well as being a bit rough around the edges.mo0ksi

I disagree, its structure is similar to the first mafia game, which came out around the same time as GTA3, heard it was supposed to come out first but got delayed, therefore its clear they were going for their own approach from the beggining. :P 

I think I'm gonna play it. It's a shame hiring out games on the PC isn't as easy as it is for consoles. I need to play this game on the PC, as I did with the first one.

That being said, from reading GameSpot's review, IGN AU's review (they do a decent job), and Eurogamer's ironic-yet-still-shocking 4/10 review, I'm getting a fairly good view of what to expect. Video games are currently the fastest evolving entertainment medium. Back in the day, Mafia broke new ground like few others. But even within a decade, action games have evolved considerably.

Not only was Mafia noted for its sandbox approach, it was noted for its realism and authenticity. Very few games were equally realistic, fun, and as action packed as Mafia was (and probably still is to this day). Outside of Operation Flashpoint and Rainbow Six, as well as car simulators (driving those 20's tanks were an exercise in frustration) Mafia was as good as action junkies would get to realism.

It seems that time hasn't been very kind to the Mafia series, however. Realism? Authenticity? Gunplay? Even console games from average developers can easily achieve that nowdays. Engaging narratives? Well let's put it this way: Gameplay-focussed games are becoming a rare breed. Where Mafia was originally ahead of the curve, Mafia 2 is now right in the thick of it. It's not to take away the merits of Mafia 2, but to ponder what could have been, and I think many Mafia fans were hoping to feel the shock and awe that the original had over critics and consumers alike.

-

Correct me if I'm mistaken, but from what I gather the open world is more of a hubworld than anything else i.e you drive from home to your mission objective somewhere on the map, and from there you will be "instanced" to the level kinda like MMOs.

It was cool back in the original game, but I dunno, I think they should have switched it up if it's such a polarizing feature. I mean it is 2010, and we've had everything from the GTA games, Mercernaries, Oblivion, Fallout, Red Faction and Just Cause 2 etc. If you're pitching an open world you're putting yourself up against open world games.

From those of you playing the games, do you guys reckon they could have perhaps made smaller levels a la some RPGs (think the Witcher and some of the Final Fantasy games), so the narrative can be just as focussed yet be allowed to fully utilize the crafted world? When I pictured what Mafia 2 would look like I thought of two possible scenarios:

a) They would make it sandbox styIe like GTA

b) They would make it more focussed like a corridor shooter

I was always rooting for the second one, because it's difficult to be sandbox/open world and have an engaging narrative.

In any case, it admittedly isn't the game I want to play the most, but I can't shake it off my radar. I mean... it's Mafia :?

P.S F U champ for not believing in Mafia 2. I swear your lame ass has some preternatural gift for detecting which games will rock and suck.

Well i was mega hyped for it in the past, but a lot of the trailer are now flat-out bullshots (bulltrailers?) compared to the demo. It seems like some mindless fun though, GTA style, so it'll probably hold me over til Reach and other M.Ninja-Hippo

Liquid, if it were anything you suggested, I'd like it a whole lot less. :PTreyoftheDead

Second.

Shooting is rather pathetic(I refuse to believe a mouse and keyboard could make up for how weak the gun play is. Maybe some of the looseness on consoles, but the gun play is dog **** at best). jg4xchamp

Like I've said, it feels perfectly fine on PC, I mean its pretty much impossible to have loose gunplay on PC, only thing I can think of is Just Cause 2, but it really doesn't matter in that game. :P

[QUOTE="Ninja-Hippo"]Well i was mega hyped for it in the past, but a lot of the trailer are now flat-out bullshots (bulltrailers?) compared to the demo. It seems like some mindless fun though, GTA style, so it'll probably hold me over til Reach and other M.jg4xchamp

I got that impression from the demo. :( Picking up pages from porno? Dude making jokes about getting shot in the balls? I thought it was like GTA 1950s. 

[QUOTE="jg4xchamp"][QUOTE="Ninja-Hippo"]Well i was mega hyped for it in the past, but a lot of the trailer are now flat-out bullshots (bulltrailers?) compared to the demo. It seems like some mindless fun though, GTA style, so it'll probably hold me over til Reach and other M.Ninja-Hippo

I got that impression from the demo. :( Picking up pages from porno? Dude making jokes about getting shot in the balls? I thought it was like GTA 1950s. 

>Plus some of the early missions make cattle herding in RDR look fun in comparison. jg4xchamp

Plus some of the early missions make cattle herding in RDR look fun in comparrison. jg4xchamp

So would you recommend Mafia 2 or RDR overall? Cuz i'm thinking of getting one or the other to hold me over til Other M. :)

[QUOTE="jg4xchamp"][QUOTE="Ninja-Hippo"]Well i was mega hyped for it in the past, but a lot of the trailer are now flat-out bullshots (bulltrailers?) compared to the demo. It seems like some mindless fun though, GTA style, so it'll probably hold me over til Reach and other M.Ninja-Hippo

I got that impression from the demo. :( Picking up pages from porno? Dude making jokes about getting shot in the balls? I thought it was like GTA 1950s. 

The playboy thing yeah, but it's the mafia, of course they talk like that. :P They talk like that in Goodfellas and it's anything but mindless.

[QUOTE="jg4xchamp"]

Plus some of the early missions make cattle herding in RDR look fun in comparrison. Ninja-Hippo

So would you recommend Mafia 2 or RDR overall? Cuz i'm thinking of getting one or the other to hold me over til Other M. :)

Id probably buy neither and wait for Other M. Like Champ said, I want to see how it ends, but the gameplay can get a bit boring. RDR is good for the first 10 hours or so and that becomes boring too.

Im not really sure if I like the game or not. When Im playing, I want to keep playing. When Im not playing, I dont want to play. I think its the Reach effect looming.

Plus some of the early missions make cattle herding in RDR look fun in comparrison. jg4xchamp

The only mission that bothered me slightly was the driving to gas stations, and it was optional, otherwise everything was as expected, no clue in hell what you're talking about. 

I'm on Chapter 9 right now, haven't hit anything tedious, the driving and shooting both feel very tight on PC, I enjoy just driving around looking at the awesome scenery, my favorite "open world" city graphically and artistically by far, combined with the music makes a very atmospheric experiance. 

There are a few things that look like they could be tedious but the game always cuts it off almost immediatly. 

I'm on the beginning of Chapter 12, 8 hours in.

Recently It's been up and down, mainly because the gunplay (at least on 360) is horrid, and incredibly frustrating. But the story has been very consistent. Good stuff.

I'm on the beginning of Chapter 12, 8 hours in.

Recently It's been up and down, mainly because the gunplay (at least on 360) is horrid, and incredibly frustrating. But the story has been very consistent. Good stuff.

mo0ksi

Never played the console versions of Mafia. I heard they were different?

Sounds like the storytelling is on point, but if the gunplay is weak...

I thought the day would never come where GTA outshone Mafia in the gunplay department!!!!!!

Anyone finished it yet? Is it replayable? The first one really wasn't...

Dammit this game needs to go on sale quick! 

[QUOTE="mo0ksi"]

I'm on the beginning of Chapter 12, 8 hours in.

Recently It's been up and down, mainly because the gunplay (at least on 360) is horrid, and incredibly frustrating. But the story has been very consistent. Good stuff.

FrozenLiquid

Never played the console versions of Mafia. I heard they were different?

Sounds like the storytelling is on point, but if the gunplay is weak...

I thought the day would never come where GTA outshone Mafia in the gunplay department!!!!!!

Anyone finished it yet? Is it replayable? The first one really wasn't...

Dammit this game needs to go on sale quick! 

PC Mafia 2 Gunplay > PC GTAIV > Console GTAIV or something, 

Maybe it's because I'm playing it on PC, but I'm really not seeing why some of you are complaining about the gunplay (Champ :x).  It feels nice and tight, and the weapons are really satisfying to shoot. Tommy guns and shotguns are particularly awesome. :Dpsn8214

[QUOTE="psn8214"]Maybe it's because I'm playing it on PC, but I'm really not seeing why some of you are complaining about the gunplay (Champ :x).  It feels nice and tight, and the weapons are really satisfying to shoot. Tommy guns and shotguns are particularly awesome. :Djg4xchamp

Really? 'cause I would totally put it ahead of RD:R. The sounds, the recoil, etc. all feel good to me. :? Maybe it's just a difference of opinions, but imo Mafia 2 shooting>RD:R>GTA:IV.

I don't get the claim that guns feel like they lack power either, they feel great, especially the tommy gun. When you shoot up that hotel in one mission, it felt awesome.TreyoftheDead

Or shooting up that roadhouse bar... :o ... with PhysX maxed it's amazing, **** was flying everywhere...

[QUOTE="TreyoftheDead"]I don't get the claim that guns feel like they lack power either, they feel great, especially the tommy gun. When you shoot up that hotel in one mission, it felt awesome.psn8214

Or shooting up that roadhouse bar... :o ... with PhysX maxed it's amazing, **** was flying everywhere...

Haha, that's what I meant...the bar. >_>