Review - Mafia 2

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Mafia 2 is a sandbox environment type of game, pretty much like Grand Theft Auto. The game is set during the 1940’s -1950’s in a fictional city called “Empire State.” You control Vito Scaletta, an immigrant from Italy who grew up in poverty which resulted to him leading a life full of crime and eventually in the world of the Mafia.

General Information

Developer: 2k Czech

Platform: PC, Xbox 360, Playstation 3

Genre: Third-person Shooter, Action-Adventure

Release Date: 24 August 2010 (NA)

Rating: ESRB - M

Story

First off, the story of Mafia 2 is in nowhere related to Mafia 1 so don’t worry if you haven’t played the first. The game starts off with Vito telling his childhood story then progresses to his adult life in which you get control of him. Mafia 2’s story line is divided into chapters; each of them is pretty much straight through and will take you to different places in Empire State. The story has so many twist and elements in it that I personally played it because of the story. The game does a great job in building up the characters which in turn urges you to find out what happened to them.

Gameplay

The controls are pretty much similar to any third-person shooter; you just need to know how to aim, shoot, and use cover in order to survive this game. I played in my PC so the mouse and keyboard is a perfect match to a third person shooter; you just need to map the keys accordingly.

The only real annoying part is that this game is very much realistic and if you’re careless you might die instantly. For example; if you’re driving a car at a very high speed and hits a mere pole or tree, you’re dead, unlike GTA where you take no damage at all. So with this in mind, it is better to follow the speed limit in some missions rather than go full throttle, and this game contains a lot of driving scenes. (Fun fact: If you have a companion and drive at top speed or run through a speed light, he will voice his concerns regarding obeying traffic rules.)

The Empire State has a lot of hidden roads and alleyways which can prove useful when evading Cops. It will be very useful because the police at Mafia 2 are annoying and surprisingly strict; if they catch you doing something “unlawful” they will immediately give chase. Also; if they catch you stealing a car, the car will be wanted by the police so will be you. In order to get rid of the wanted status you must change your clothes and/or change the color/plate number of the car.

Gun fights are easy in this game, just find the right cover and pick off your targets. Always be careful though, the AI will try to flank your position and if they have a good enough weapon your dead in one shot. Speaking of weapons; you have 4 basic types: Melee, Small Arms, Machine Gun, and Rifles. The most effective in my opinion are the M1 Garand and the Thompson SMG or commonly known as “Tommy Gun.”

Verdict

The game altogether was nice although I will admit that the chapters may get repetitive. What pushed me to finish the game is the story line; the story telling was exceptional and the character build-up was superb and will make you play through the game because you will want to know what happened next.

After finishing it, I found out that there were DLC’s released: Jimmy’s Vendetta, Joe’s Adventures, and a PlayStation 3 exclusive The Betrayal of Jimmy (which unfortunately for me I have no PS3).

My final verdict: Gameplay is at 70/100 because the game is pretty much straight forward, no side quest, and may get repetitive. However, story is 100/100 which compensates for the gameplay.

 

Score: 85 / 100

Pros:

+Compelling Storyline

+Sandbox Environment

+Upgraded cars re-spawn at garage

+Fun driving experience

+Lots of gunfights

+DLC packs are available

+Multiplayer is now available (www.mafia2multiplayer.com)

Cons

-No side-missions only main story

-Cops are annoying

-Money has no value because everything is sold at low price

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_Q3MZC-34o]

New L.A. Noire video explains interrogation and investigation

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Rockstar released a second video showing crime investigation and interrogation in L.A. Noire. Just like their first video, Rockstar formally narrates how the detective aspect in the game will play out. The video shows how the players will interact with witnesses and clues in the game. Missing some clues or not catching if your witness is telling the truth or not can change the outcome of the case.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CDXXQORXXTQ]

Seeing these videos gets me excited for Rockstar's latest work. I praise them for always providing something different for us gamers. The detective work is unique and i can't help but mention again about the facial expressions in the game.

L.A Noire will be released on May 20 2011 for Xbox 360 and Playstation 3.

Deus Ex: Human Revolution Release Date Announced

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Deus Ex: Human Revolution A prequel to the original game, Deus Ex: Human Revolution is the third game from the Deus Ex series and is developed by Eidos Montreal and will be published by Square-Enix.

Deus Ex: Human Revolution Gameplay Trailer

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-DwoCkpBFA]

Deus Ex: Human Revolution will be released on August 23, 2011 on the Playstation 3, Xbox 360 and PC.

You can follow Eidos Montreal on Twitter and like them on Facebook for more updates.

Uncharted 3 new character reveal

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[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Isn7AzzBY-A] SPOILER ALERT! well honestly it doesn't matter since any information about Uncharted 3 will be more of a treat than a spoiler. Naughty Dog released a clip showing a new character that might be the new anti protagonist going after Drake and his pal Sully. Her name is Katherine Marlowe and she wants to take something precious from Drake.

As always the writing seems top notched and the motion capture is what you'd expect from Naughty Dog. After watching the video, don't you think the bald guy should be voiced by Jason Statham? or is it just me.