[EphelDuath666]

oh, I do understand that....but in Mafia 2's case all side missions were removed. And you can't tell me that all side missions were not done yet and weren't ready to be put into the game. They will all surface on xbox live, etc. for 800 points as usual.

[swervedriver]

I haven't played Mafia II yet because it only just arrived here, but I notice the included booklet already has an ad for DLC to be released later. Although, that DLC is supposed to be about a different character so I doubt they could've tied it into the main story.

I'll comment some more when I've actually played it.

oh, I do understand that....but in Mafia 2's case all side missions were removed. And you can't tell me that all side missions were not done yet and weren't ready to be put into the game. They will all surface on xbox live, etc. for 800 points as usual.

It's not just a case of not being "done yet". It's also a case of having to test, and guarantee that all that content works properly, and fix any bugs that are found as a result, in order to get through cert.
This is especially time consuming if the content is dynamic (it can take different paths in response to player actions). That's a lot of testing and bug-fixing time.

Depending on the nature of the content, it can also be the case that the content itself is mostly fine, but that there are problems with the underlying systems that it's implemented on.

[EphelDuath666]

well, I understand that, like I said. But I hardly doubt that that has been the case with all side missions. There's literally none of the 10 side missions in the game anymore...yes...10. if they release all 10 seperately for 800 points each then that is 100 bucks/euros. And even if they release each for 400 points then that's still 50 bucks/euros. I just don't believe that it has anything to do with technical difficulties in this case. There's even a petition now regarding this particular issue with Mafia 2. I'm sure that there's many cases where stuff is taken out of games for quality reasons. I just don't buy it in this case.

edit: I just found out that the first DLC will be released on September 7th...yup, not even 2 weeks after Mafia 2's official release.

[EphelDuath666]

finished Mafia 2. The ending is a bit on the 'meh' side. And it indeed is kinda short compared to other games of that genre. Shortness and not so good gameplay aside...I enjoyed it. The characters are just fun. I'm sure I'll play through it again. If not for the hard difficulty achievement then just for the cool atmosphere. You do leave the game with a slightly dissatisfied feeling though, knowing what all was cut out of the game and knowing how much more the game could have been. Is it worth the full price? Nope, probably not. If you played Red Dead Redemption and then Mafia 2 then you'll understand why.

[swervedriver]

well, I understand that, like I said. But I hardly doubt that that has been the case with all side missions. There's literally none of the 10 side missions in the game anymore...yes...10. if they release all 10 seperately for 800 points each then that is 100 bucks/euros. And even if they release each for 400 points then that's still 50 bucks/euros. I just don't believe that it has anything to do with technical difficulties in this case. There's even a petition now regarding this particular issue with Mafia 2. I'm sure that there's many cases where stuff is taken out of games for quality reasons. I just don't buy it in this case.

edit: I just found out that the first DLC will be released on September 7th...yup, not even 2 weeks after Mafia 2's official release.

They can't have 10 DLC episodes due to technical restrictions (although don't ask me the details). For the same reason Red Dead Redemption has had to combine two separate DLC packs into one so as not to exceed the maximum of 5 DLC packs. I'm kinda hoping 2K will pull a Rockstar and release the DLC episodes in a bundle by the time the final one is released, since I am not made of money...

Having played the game for a while now I have to agree about the length; the cut side missions probably could've added several hours of gameplay. I'm on the final mission now, but have really enjoyed the game so far. Yes, the shooting's a bit iffy sometimes but I think the driving mechanics are pretty accurate, considering the cars from that era are basically 2 ton boats with wheels fitted underneath. With that in mind, it was very mean to put us on frozen roads for the first part of the game, lol. Fantastic story and characters though, and I loved the references to the original Mafia game, both in music and in the story itself. Too bad about its length though, I've seen plenty of 'unused' locations that could be suitable as mission settings. I guess the DLC is going to fill that gap.

But hey, at least there are tits.

[EphelDuath666]

They can't have 10 DLC episodes due to technical restrictions (although don't ask me the details). For the same reason Red Dead Redemption has had to combine two separate DLC packs into one so as not to exceed the maximum of 5 DLC packs. I'm kinda hoping 2K will pull a Rockstar and release the DLC episodes in a bundle by the time the final one is released, since I am not made of money...

Having played the game for a while now I have to agree about the length; the cut side missions probably could've added several hours of gameplay. I'm on the final mission now, but have really enjoyed the game so far. Yes, the shooting's a bit iffy sometimes but I think the driving mechanics are pretty accurate, considering the cars from that era are basically 2 ton boats with wheels fitted underneath. With that in mind, it was very mean to put us on frozen roads for the first part of the game, lol. Fantastic story and characters though, and I loved the references to the original Mafia game, both in music and in the story itself. Too bad about its length though, I've seen plenty of 'unused' locations that could be suitable as mission settings. I guess the DLC is going to fill that gap.

But hey, at least there are tits.

lots of boobies, indeed! I agree, the story is really cool and the characters are pretty awesome. The game just feels unfinished. They could have included so much more. Not just side missions. But little mini games. Like in GTA4 where you could go play billard or bowling, etc. You can't really do anything. It makes no sense to make money, not that there's a lot of ways to make money anyways, because you can't really do much with your cash other than buy clothes and upgrade your cars. Dunno...it's just not a lot in that game considering that it took 6 years or so to develop it. I surely hope that LA Noire will offer more for our money!

[swervedriver]

True, although robbing stores is pretty fun to do. I would've thought stealing cars and selling them at the junkyard (or the docks) could make some interesting side-missions, or have random phones ring in the city (why else are they placed everywhere?) or perhaps some 40's/50's pastimes to do, just to give the game a little more filling. This of course in free-roam mode, so that you can search for posters and magazines in your own time instead of feeling the virtual pressure of having to show up for an appointment in time.

And while the missions were fun I was missing something with boats... I mean, there's a big river running in the middle of the city with plenty of docks alongside them, yet not a single boat on the water. I'm not even sure Vito can swim. I finished the story today and the end is slightly 'meh' indeed, but it works for the way the story was told. However, I still think the Mafia 1 story is stronger, or at least has been more memorable for me personally.

All in all I'm happy to own the game, but the price seems a little steep indeed. To compare, I spent more time on completing GTA4's DLC "The Ballad Of Gay Tony" than on Mafia 2, for which I paid essentially half of what Mafia 2 cost me. Not to say I'm already done with Mafia 2, the atmosphere is very appealing. I spent a while today driving around the city to get some achievements and it just feels believable with the way it looks, the music, the cars, the whole thing.

Even the police acts fairly believable: where GTA4 just means you drive really fast to get rid of your wanted level, in Mafia 2 it stays with you. They temporarily stop looking for you, but if you were slow enough so they could pick up your license plate and/or recognize your face they will come after you again if they manage to spot you. This at least validates the existence of clothing shops and body shops in the game. I quite like how it works.

tl;dr - I'm going to play Mafia 2 some more to find the rest of the boobs.

Bought cheap copy of Darkest of Days - I was aware it's considered crappy game but couldn't help meself, price and sheer novelty value were enough.

An you know, it's quite cool - sometimes in bizarre, so-bad-it's-good way but still. Basically game's all time travel and mowing down historical armies with modern weapons, which sometimes is immense fun. Game pretends to be historically accurate, having trivia on loading screens and all that, but quickly destroys its credibility with Russian soldiers yelling "FOR STALIN!" in 1914. Yep. There's also POW camp that looks like a concentration one, complete with striped uniforms, gives you uneasy feeling of playing "Auschwitz - the FPS". But if you decide to ignore that game's a bit of good fun - voice acting helps, your sidekick character drops lots of cool oneliners. Technically it's sometimes decent, sometimes lame - scenery is rather nice in places, though bigger bits of terrain tend to have ugly tiling textures. Developers boast of making engine capable of animating hundreds of characters, but if you look carefully turns out distant ones are SPRITES. Yup, their idea of detail scaling is good old '92 style scaled sprites - amazing, in a 2009 game.

Ending suggests some sequel, so there may be another chance of frying roman legionnaires with a flame thrower. Hope they'll upgrade their engine somewhat.

[EphelDuath666]

or have random phones ring in the city (why else are they placed everywhere?)

as far as I know, they were meant to be there to receive side missions. Before they cut out the side missions

I'm playing the game on hard difficulty now. We'll see how that goes!

Fable 3 is soon coming out. I think it will be better then the 2 but not as good as the First game. Fable 1 is the best game ever imo.

Bought cheap copy of Darkest of Days - I was aware it's considered crappy game but couldn't help meself, price and sheer novelty value were enough.

An you know, it's quite cool - sometimes in bizarre, so-bad-it's-good way but still. Basically game's all time travel and mowing down historical armies with modern weapons, which sometimes is immense fun. Game pretends to be historically accurate, having trivia on loading screens and all that, but quickly destroys its credibility with Russian soldiers yelling "FOR STALIN!" in 1914. Yep. There's also POW camp that looks like a concentration one, complete with striped uniforms, gives you uneasy feeling of playing "Auschwitz - the FPS". But if you decide to ignore that game's a bit of good fun - voice acting helps, your sidekick character drops lots of cool oneliners. Technically it's sometimes decent, sometimes lame - scenery is rather nice in places, though bigger bits of terrain tend to have ugly tiling textures. Developers boast of making engine capable of animating hundreds of characters, but if you look carefully turns out distant ones are SPRITES. Yup, their idea of detail scaling is good old '92 style scaled sprites - amazing, in a 2009 game.

Ending suggests some sequel, so there may be another chance of frying roman legionnaires with a flame thrower. Hope they'll upgrade their engine somewhat.

It was developed by an independent studio. Think of what they could have made with proper funding.

[Octillus]

Fable 3 is soon coming out. I think it will be better then the 2 but not as good as the First game. Fable 1 is the best game ever imo.

If Fable 3 just follows through on the promises of Fable 2, I'll be happy. None of this abrupt ending bs that plagued the first two games.

[EphelDuath666]

hey Octillus...I'm waiting for Metroid Other M feedback from you! Maybe you don't have it yet but once you do, please post your thoughts on here!

I played and finished Mafia 2 on hard difficulty. Boy, that game sure is a bitch on that difficulty setting. You don't see enemies on your radar and of course you can take even less damage before you're six feet under. Very frustrating. But quite rewarding once you beat it. But this hard mode reveals Mafia 2's gameplay weaknesses even more. Like enemies hitting you although you're behind a cover or enemies appearing out of nowhere and shooting you, which usually means instant death for you (kind of like in Modern Warfare 1 on Veteran difficulty). But it was fun anyways and the story and characters were just as fun as they were on my first playthrough.

I'm all out tha gamin' loop in recent months... Still fawning over John Marston. The Mafia II demo hugely disappointed me. I was expecting much better and I'm fairly reluctant to fork out the €50 for it... Tempted instead to get the two Drake games or something. I dunno. Need something to keep me going till Dead Rising 2 now... Nothing truly epic to look forward to till AssCreedBro'hood and New Vegas pop up in a few months.

I have, however, become an almighty Super Smash Bros. Brawl fanboy. Can't get enough of that game! Who'd have thought the characters of Kirby could be so bad-ass.