Mafia 2, sequel to the award winning game Mafia which sold over 2 million copies, is again being developed by Illusion software (or as they are now known 2K Czech) and takes players even deeper into the criminal underworld than before. Using the purpose built ‘Illusion’ engine — designed specifically for Mafia — players will be able to explore the ten square-mile city, take in the beautifully rendered outdoor environments and intricate building interiors and all without any load times.

The city is a mix of various real life cities, heavily influences by New York, Chicago and San Francisco. You’ll get to experience the hustle and bustle of city life in the 40’s and 50’s with authentic clothing and vehicles as well as a soundtrack that reflects the mood of the era as the game progresses through time and the important chapters of the main character’s life.

You play Vito the son of a poor Italian immigrant family who returns injured from WWII and finds himself inexorably drawn into a life a crime upon his return. Starting out along side your childhood friend Joe, Vito sets about on the road to climb the ‘family’ ladder pulling off some small  crimes at first which begin spiraling out of control — the road to becoming a made-man isn’t easy.

Your first ‘mission’ won’t be a mob mission at all but instead follows Vito into Sicily where he’s been drafted into the US army for their WWII campaign. While the section is over relatively briefly it serves as a real shock to the senses as Vito exchanges machine gun fire with Mussolini’s army. The stage serves as a tutorial mission of sorts too as the player interacts with his environment by climbing through windows, throwing grenades at explodable crates, etc. After that it’s back to the city and on to a life of crime.

Right away you’ll notice is how easy it is to move around and interact with your environment. Both the outside world and the interior of the buildings have been meticulously created. You move from one to the other seamlessly without any load times and you really do feel like its one big city even when your at home; the simple joys of looking out your window as the world passes you by is a pleasure to behold.

Venturing outside then takes you into the city. A living breathing working city. Walking around the city itself you are greeted with a beautiful colourful city with stunning architecture. The cars the clothes are all authentic 40’s and 50’s styles depending on how far into the game you are. Upon you return from the war for example, you’ll return into the worst winter of living memory and on your way to your mama’s house you’ll pass newspaper vendors, a couple rowing on the street and more — it’s just like you’d imagine 1940s America to be.

The game proper is introduced by ‘Let It Snow’ as sung by Vaughn Monroe, in fact the sound track is one of the game’s strongest suits and holds the whole game together brilliantly. From the well known hits of the day to the orchestral scores during cut scenes it all fits together perfectly. The controls are smooth and easy to use too, the combat and cover systems are kept simple and because of this you get a lovely nice flow to the game and a sense of control over your character that is missing from GTA; indeed it plays more like a Gears of War or Kane & Lynch 2 than a sandbox game.

OK so the cars handle like a skip on ice — hey it is the 1940s after all — but once you get to grips with the driving mechanics you can really fling them around the corners. You can store your cars at home similar to GTA too, in fact the whole feel of the game is quite similar to Rockstar’s GTA series. The writing and presentation of Mafia 2 is top notch too with the hammy dialogue which so plagued GTA kept to a minimum.

It’s clear that 2K have put in that little bit of extra effort into Mafia 2, making the game not only really enjoyable but already, even after just a few hours of time with the game, an early contender for my favourite game of the year so far. Mafia 2 should be huge and deservedly so; Rockstar, I hope your keeping tabs on how it should be done.

27 August can’t come soon enough; why not check out the trailer below for a little look behind the scenes?:

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