Mafia II

Open-world games probably have more villains and gangsters than East London in the Sixties, and it says something about the way we play games when we’d rather be playing as them than thwarting them. So if you’re going to be the bad guy then you might as well be among the most infamous crooks of the 20th Century.

Mafia II is set 15 years after the original game in 1946, in a new city called Lost Heaven. Mafia’s Twenties and Thirties era was reflected in the architecture, fashion and paraphernalia of the game, and the storyline of Mafia II runs on the backdrop of a post-war America in the late Forties and Fifties; while you’re working your way through the ranks as a prominent member of the notorious Mafia, rock and roll, brand names, cars and other products of the economic boom erupt around you. We spoke to Denby Grace, producer and our informant on the inside of 2K’s upcoming mob sequel…

NOWGAMER: How is Mafia II a darker game than the original?
DG: The gameplay is not that much darker than the first game. Like, in the first game you play the role of a mobster committing organised crime. We don’t do anything gratuitous on a violence and gore level though – that’s not our style and it’s quite simply not needed to create the gaming experience we envisage. We explore some of the less glamorous elements of the mafia lifestyle and we find out that the mob life isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.
 
NOWGAMER: Tell us about the main protagonists of Mafia II, Vito and Joe…
DG: Vito is the player character in the game and our story focuses around ten years of this guy’s life. Vito had a very poor and deprived upbringing, and he learnt early on that life in the Mafia was the only route to wealth and respect for people like him. His one ambition is to escape the life of toil that his father led. Joe is a little different. He’s always been a hustler and a petty thief and the Mafia is a natural place for a guy with these skills. Joe’s motivation is quite different to that of Vito: the girls, the cars, the suits, the money… this is what excites Joe and drives him towards the Mafia.

… continued