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Hi Jarek – can you tell us what era the game is set in and how you captured the look and feel of that period?

Mafia II is set in a fictional American city in the ’40s and ’50s and our aim is to re-create the environment as closely as possible. We did a lot of research for that, with members of the team looking to places like Chicago for inspiration. We also looked at aspects from the many popular mafia movies and we studied many photographs from the era to really capture the feel of the environment and the era.

How is the transition of time portrayed in the game? Is the gameplay affected by the changes in the seasons?

First of all the weather is very important in the story. The game starts in the ’40s where in Europe there is a war and it’s winter; the weather is cold and people are depressed – and so is our hero, who’s looking for a way to get some money and rise up out of the situation. As the game progresses he climbs up the ladder of the mafia, he gets more money, nice cars and so on, and then the climate and era change – we’re in the 50s and it’s the summer, the streets are looking nice with more colour and cars, and the people are happier, walking around the streets. In terms of the effect on the gameplay – driving is a very important part of the game so one difference you’ll see is when you drive on icy roads compared to driving in the nicer weather.

Can you tell us about the sandbox elements of the game?

The game is a structured experience but it takes place in an open world so the player doesn’t feel any boundaries. As the story goes on, we show the player how to move on but they have the freedom to go into the city and explore – by exploring the city like this you can get a lot more from the experience. If you think of it like a DVD, the main feature is made up of the story missions and if you explore the city it’s like seeing the bonus materials. We’re very much focused on the story that drives the game but players have the freedom to explore.

How important is gun-play in the game? Do we need to be expert Mafia hitmen?

It’s a story about Mafia guys and guns are an important element of that lifestyle, so we have the weapons that you would expect from these characters during this era, with shotguns, rifles, machine guns and so on. Shooting is important: It’s one of the aspects of the gameplay we have really focused on so it’s well implemented, down to the animation of the characters while shooting. We want to make the controls very easy for players to use. We are using a cover system because we want the game to be realistic; in real life shooting a bullet into someone is usually lethal, so in real life people in shoot-outs use cover to avoid fire, so we have this mechanic as well, enabling you to hide from gunfire using cover. It also creates a tactical element to the action.

Can players destroy the environments?

We are really proud of our technology that allows destruction of environments. Small objects and furniture can be destroyed but in some locations you can destroy complete interiors. It really adds to the atmosphere of the shoot-outs.

Source:2kgamesinternational.com , mafia.czech-games.net

August 19, 2009 - Up until now our previous coverage of Mafia 2 has focused on two of the three main gameplay elements — the cinematic narrative and the action-oriented gameplay. As attractive as those two were, there’s been a third pillar missing from the previews. Today 2K Czech led us through a thirty-minute sandbox demo that finally revealed the plans for the open world gameplay. While it’s not always wise to judge a game like this in an unfinished state, the level of detail and action in this demo was more impressive than most finished products.

The demo opened in Empire Bay, 1952. Vito, the main character, is sitting in Joe’s apartment, watching Joe say goodbye to a prostitute as she’s getting dressed. Vito’s own prostitute, meanwhile, calls to him from the shower to come wash her back. As he heads to the shower, he receives a call from Giuseppe that the “special papers” he’s needed are ready. The player then takes full control of Vito as he gets ready to head out and pick up the papers. The first order of business it getting dressed, so Vito goes over to the closet and scans through a variety of outfits. The screen shows the closet and the player is free to choose whichever clothes are suitable for the occasion.

Vito leaves the apartment and starts walking downstairs. This apartment interior represents only one of over a hundred indoor locations that the player can explore. Though the details on the building itself are impressive, the team at 2K Czech have added lots of life to them as well. In this case, Vito spots a knocking at the door of a downstairs apartment and shouting loud apologies to his wife through the door.

Moving outside (without any obvious loading, we might add), Vito heads to his personal garage and picks out the car he wants to use tonight. He picks out a stylish Shubert Beverly, a powerful V8 and one of fifty authentic vehicles in the game. Pulling out of the garage, he sees Vito’s prostitute get into a car accident with a short-fused greaser. He gets out and starts threatening her and demanding that she pay for the damages on the spot. Vito has the option now of getting out and intervening or simply letting the situation play out on its own. If he gets out, he’ll get into a fight with the greaser.

The combat controls are very simple but allow for lots of variety. The player has access to a light and heavy attack and an evasion. While that may not sound like much, it allows for some context-sensitive moves that really highlight the brutal, but not unrealistic combat in Mafia 2. The fights here look more like real streetfights than drawn-out, over-choreographed Hollywood fights. After Vito knocks the greaser out, the grateful prostitute offers to reward him with a “cup of coffee.” Much as we might like to have seen this particular scenario play out, Vito promised to see her later and hopped back into his car, cranked up the Bobby Darin, and headed to Giuseppe’s.

It’s early evening in Empire Bay, so the traffic is thin and the street lights are just starting to come on. The team is intentionally staying away from a true time of day and weather cycle in the game because they want to establish the right mood for each of their set pieces. Anyone who remembers the farm level in the original Mafia know just how much the rainy night contributed to the atmosphere of the scene.

Vito follows the blip on his radar until he comes to Guiseppe’s place. As he walks in, he meets Steve coming out. Vito’s done some jobs for Steve in the past, so it’s no shock when Steve offers up another job. A friend of theirs wants to cause a little trouble with a rival’s cars, so he’s asked Steve to trash them without necessarily hurting anyone. Steve offers the job to Vito as a sort of a side mission. Vito, of course, takes it because he needs the $500 that Steve is offering. Having accepted the side mission, Vito steps into see Giuseppe and pick up his papers. Guiseppe’s workshop also contains a few items Vito might need in the coming mission, so he picks up a .357 magnum, some Molotov cocktails and a lockpick.

Continue to IGN.com

Source:IGN.com

source:kotaku.com, mafia.czech-games.net