• Gangster-Movie Experience: Through strong, authentic characterization and compelling narrative, the mature storyline will make you understand the pull and impossible escape of life in the Mob
• Action-Packed Gameplay: Take part in heart-stopping car-to-car gunfights, white-knuckled hand-to-hand combat and intense gunplay, all of which come together to form an intense and exciting experience
• All-New Engine Powers the Next Generation of Mob Videogames: 2K Czech’s next-generation engine, allows gamers to travel from beautifully rendered outdoor environments to intricately designed interiors seamlessly without the need for loading times
• Authentic Script From the Writer of Mafia I: The writing team from Mafia I returns to deliver another powerhouse script that portrays a stunning tale of survival, camaraderie and the pitfalls of pursuing the American Dream
• Music as Environment: Players will be immersed in the Golden Era of America as Mafia II features tracks from some of the era’s most influential artists

Source: http://worthplaying.com

Released on the PC in 2002, Mafia garnered almost unanimous high praise from game critics, with many citing the realistic nature of the world and spot-on production as high points of the game. Unfortunately for console gamers, the PS2 and Xbox versions suffered from numerous bugs and glitches, and didn’t provide the same level of polish that the PC version presented. Fortunately, developer 2K Czech is already on the right track to deliver an equally impressive sequel not only on the PC, but on the Xbox 360 and PS3 as well with Mafia II.Mafia II begins with leading man Vito Scaletta returning to his hometown of Empire Bay from World War II in 1945, reconnecting with his family and checking in on a few friends who’ve become embroiled in Empire Bay’s underground crime ring. Here 2K producer Denby Grace rattled off the usual numbers: Empire Bay is twice the size of the city of Lost Heaven from the first game; the city features 20 distinct neighborhoods; the city itself could be mapped realistically over 10 square miles. That said, once we took control of the game ourselves it was immediately apparent that 2K Czech has built a real living, breathing city, a sprawling metropolis that was almost intimidating in its size. More importantly, Empire Bay looks and feels closer to a real American city than the many real-world environments found in games that have already been released. After a short section of gameplay debuting the cover system (which the development team is vocal about being inspired by Gears of War and Uncharted 2), we were given the opportunity to get some hands-on time with the game.

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GDC never fails to give the press opportunities to chat with developers and producers (even more so than E3 since GDC is meant for the development community). Among the many folks we spoke to was Denby Grace, senior producer of the highly anticipated Mafia II.

So what’s the vibe like now that you’re at the home stretch of development?

We’re really positive. This is really the first event where people are able to play it and we’re excited to let people experience it as we’ve worked on it for a long time. It feels more real as opposed to how the game felt just as a concept with a lot of potential. Obviously we have a standard to maintain from the PC version of Mafia I. People recognize the game soul-wise. It’s the same cinematic storytelling experience.

One of the things we’re really pleased with is the improved combat. The way it plays is significantly different from Mafia I and it’s up there with some of the best third-person shooters. It’s a huge jump forward for open-world gameplay as well. It doesn’t play like an open-world game when you get into these combat scenarios. We have destructible environments, we have this cover system, and we don’t rely on an auto-lock system like other open-world games.

The premise of a character coming back from World War II obviously echoes one of the storylines in The Godfather.

It’s a good point. Obviously you want people to start at the bottom which almost always makes things interesting. Something we thought about early on was the question of “How do you start with someone on the top who’s got everything?”. Assassin’s Creed 2 did something very interesting in that way. Here’s a guy from a rich family who was stripped of everything and you spend the game earning back your family’s honor and credibility by killing people. It’s not really “earning” but you know what I mean?

Our story was written a long time ago, and that’s a fact. We’re not going to change parts just because someone has done something similar. When you play Mafia II, it’s the definitive gangster experience at least from our perspective. The quality of what you’re playing and seeing stands alone. Maybe some of it is a little cliche, but the story has its own twists and plots. One big difference with Godfather is that our characters don’t have aspirations to become a Don. They just want to become wiseguys in the mob, made men. They don’t want to be bosses of families or anything like that, so it’s a bit of a slant. It’s more Goodfellas than it is Godfather.

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Server G4TV.com release two exciting interviews with two main characters of Mafia 2 development. Jack Scalici and well-known producer Denby Grace.

Jack Scalici - The Autentic World of Mafia II

Denby Grace - The State of Development of Mafia II

Source: G4TV.com

Producer of Mafia 2 Denby Grace needs no introduction. There was many interviews with him. We now bring you the latest interview from Joystiq, which supply us with a lot of news in the last days.

Sorry for bad English…out tranlastor is allowed

We’ve been waiting a very long time for this game haven’t we?

Denby Grace, senior producer: The reason for the delay is polish. You’ll see the game looks great as you play today. It’s just not quite perfect, which is what we at 2K generally strive for. It’s what we want to be known for, the quality of our games. Just having come so long, it would be foolish to release it too early.

Are there any specific reasons for the delay? What needed to be polished?

Technically there are a few things: the framerate isn’t quite on the money yet. It’s just the whole experience. One of the things we’re spending a lot of time doing is focus testing. We’re testing about twenty people a week. And it’s getting that difficulty curve right. We want it to be hard, but we don’t want it to be impossible like Mafia I. I don’t know if you played the first game, but there was one mission when we shipped the game. Literally everyone failed until we released a patch. So we’re really, really conscious about delivering a really balanced, proper difficulty curve. And then it’s just bugs. It’s an open world: ten square miles, fifty vehicles, a hundred environments. There were quite a lot of bugs in it!

Continue reading ‘Joystiq interview with producer Denby Grace’

2K licensed into their game the renowned American magazine for men - Playboy. You will be able to collect Playboy throughout the city and collect their covers for example in some inventory. This is good news for fans of this magazine and especially Achievement hunters on consoles.