Mafia II is a hotly-anticipated open world crime game that casts gamers as a member of the Sicilian Mafia, familiar territory for any fans of The Godfather. Director of Creative Production Jack Scalici recently spoke about the game to the Official Playstation Blog, and we gleaned the most interesting bits from the interview.
Mafia II takes place in “Empire Bay” from 1945 to 1955, a city mainly based on the New York City of that era, along with architectural influences from San Francisco, Chicago and Detroit. Empire Bay has distinct changes over the course of the decade, from the people’s clothing, to the types of vehicles, to the music on the radio. (Speaking of music, there will be over 120 licensed songs featured in the game that are era-appropriate that gamers can listen to while driving). In addition, the cars in the game can be customized and upgraded, with paint jobs & custom plates and wheels.
Despite being well-received upon its release in 2002, the original Mafia was not a huge seller, so gamers should be happy to hear that the story in Mafia II is unrelated, though small references to the first game will be made.
Finally, DLC has already been announced for the game, with all platforms getting to play side missions as a hitman named Jimmy. While all platforms will get the beginning of the Jimmy content, only PlayStation 3 users receive the end of his story in a platform exclusive.
Mafia II is set for release August 24th on the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and PC. Pre-order
