'Linear narrative definitely gives you more absorbing experience but less freedom and smaller replay value, whereas sandbox gives you more freedom and toys for experimenting, but could get repetitive with time.

Vavra believes that a balance of complete player freedom and narrative direction is the future for games such as Mafia II. We've actually added a lot more side quests, events and locations, so if you want to go nuts, you definitely can. Which does not mean to say that the city is boring or that there will not be enough things to do. Instead we're trying to concentrate on delivering maximum quality on every single aspect our game. 'We're not competing with GTA in terms of size or quantity of things to do,' says writer/director Daniel Vavra. Mafia was unfairly (but inevitably) compared to Grand Theft Auto on its release - on the surface it appears to be a sandbox game, but is in fact more of a linear, story-driven experience in numerous locations that happen to be in a freeform city. In terms of pathfinding, the cars in the game are actually choosing their way randomly, although some specific vehicles are being pulled out of their normal random routines for specific tasks, like a taxi cab pausing by the walkway for a customer or a delivery truck stopping by a shop to allow workers to unload its cargo.' Bada-Bing 'However, the good news is that this is a videogame first and foremost so weaving through very dense traffic wouldn't have been much fun anyway! 'Unfortunately by the '50s, traffic was already almost as dense as today's, so we would have needed more memory and performance to accurately portray traffic patterns from that era, adds Brzak. 2K Czech have painstakingly researched the '50s America in which Mafia II is set (see Hotrods and Hot Dogs box) and have had to recreate realistic traffic Al. 'Saying that, we have had the occasional Al glitch, such as a homeless guy getting stuck in a dustbin!'.Д¬lumsy bums aren't the only hazard when creating a city. The NPCs are also separated into various groups, such as rich and poor, so that you will not see an expensively dressed guy picking through the garbage.

'Now you can see someone walking into the phone booth in one place, while another pedestrian is hailing a taxi nearby, while the whole time the guy across the street is buying a hot dog. 'If you take a look at the city, Lost Haven, in the original Mafia and then at Empire City in Mafia II, the mood of living city is just on a whole new level. 'The whole city and all the interiors are full of prepared actions from which the NPCs choose as they walk the streets,' continues lead designer Pavel Brzak. Mafia irs city feels alive, with thousands of different NPCs carrying on with daily routines, stopping to chat, doing the shopping, buying a hot dog, using a phone booth - and if you look up at the buildings at night you'll see the lights in rooms being turned on and off as people live their virtual lives. Any 'stiffness' in the computer-generated art creates an unnatural feeling.' The environment itself has to live with grass and trees moving in the wind, swirling trash on the pavement, sewers steaming. Cars have to drive around, ships have to sail on the river, people have to walk and perform their daily routines, birds have to fly in the sky. However, it's the living, breathing urban environment that will be the game's true star, and one that causes the most development headaches - especially with 'stiffness', according to the game's lead artist, Roman Hladik: 'A city truly is a living, breathing organism. Peppered throughout with references to gangster movies, Mafia II looks to continue the reputation for well-written snappy dialogue, great voice acting and free-roaming gameplay built on a solid storyline and entertaining missions. Set in the '50s, in a fictional USA city modelled on New York, Mafia II sees you playing a new character called Vito who is dragged into a violent war between two rival families after being released from prison. The sequel to Mafia is being developed by the game's original designers from Illusion Softworks (now 2K Czech), and is looking every bit the Tommy Gun-sprayed crime action-adventure. If You Missed our world exclusive first look at Mafia II last issue, then shame on your family - a horse's head is winging its way to you by registered post right now.

Mafia 2 full game