A Day in the Life: Mafia II Demo

With all the articles posted about the demo already, I figured making a post solely filled with my oblivious opinions would be quite useless, since, as it is, there are already so many scattered across the plethora of forums on the net. So instead, I decided to make a short documentary on one of my tours throughout the demo. After countless successful completions you would think I would able to complete it flawlessly, but then you'd also be wrong. Without further ado, here it is:

The Opening

After quickly navigating through the menu and starting up a game, I am greeted with a cinematic of Vito loading his gun; preparing for the job. As the scene unfolds, a black and white flashback depicts the details of the mission. It turns out the man named Joe (part of Vito's family) introduces Vito to the Mafia boss for work. Apparently I was to be going after the "Fat Man" or something but I wasn't really listening since I preferred to keep the details of the mission a secret until I got my hands on the full game. 

Nothing like the sound of bullets roasting by the fire.

" You can't refuse our Chicken Parmesan, it's delicious!"

Aiming pointlessly at the wall is a good indicator of accuracy.

  

Alright, now that Vito is all good and ready I think it's time to hit the town. As the cutscene reaches its end, Vito gets up off the couch and the controls are handed over to the player. It becomes obvious that this is Vito's living room, decked out in the finest 50's attire. Almost louder than the music I can hear from a radio, a phone close by is ringing non-stop. As I turn right I find the phone, the radio, as well as a kitchen in the back. My objective says to reach for the phone but I'd much rather see some of the house.

Vito's living room area.

Vito's kitchen... where all the magic happens...

... like running water.

You're not fooling anyone, Vito, that should be Coca-Cola!

After getting a couple sodas and sandwiches, I think it's safe to say that Vito was starting to look more like the stereotypical couch potato rather than that of a ruthless mafia man. I decided to pick up the phone, but only because of that obnoxious ringing.

Something witty will go here when I think of it.

It was Joe. I wanted to hang up but I had to wait for him to finish interrogating me about where I was. Apparently I was supposed to be going to Misery Lane to begin the mission as soon as possible, but I was ill-prepared. I was sure I could get outfitted for the life of crime by the local Empire Bay merchants.

One outfit is all you need when you're in a mafia.

As I reached my way to the front door I saw that there was a closet to my close left. Upon opening it, I was presented with an awesome black, tailored suit. I was ready to face the world.

I headed to my garage to get get my ride. Out of the three I had to choose from, I decided to pick the sports car since it was the fastest out of the bunch.

I haven't mentioned it before, but this game looks stunning with the graphics up. The small details of the car really bring it to life and make it look awesome, plus, it was really shiny. If you want, you can even open up the hood and trunk of the car. If your engine ever gets so badly beaten up that your car won't run, opening up your hood gives you the opportunity to fix it enough to get it running again. Unfortunately, I haven't found any way to really interact with the trunk; it wouldn't accept any of the dead bodies I previously attempted to feed to it. Anyway, I decided it was time to be off and go see the local gun merchant to purchase some firearms for the mission.

I'm no mechanic but I'm pretty sure that's an engine.

The trunk seems ideal for body-sized objects.

On the way to the gun store I decided to make a stop at a nearby gas station and fill the car up. I don't know exactly what this does or if it has an effect at all, but I decided to do it anyway:

I tried to tell the clerk at the front desk that I had a redeemable coupon for the gas but he just wouldn't accept it!

That's what you get for wearing a cardigan in summer!

 His sole purpose in life was to guard that cash register.

I saw him calling the cops as I fled the small gas station so I made a quick ride down a main rode off towards the gun store:

The main road is great for sightseeing. 

Unfortunately, things weren't turning out as smoothly as I had planned. I may have accidentally nudged a nearby police car, resulting in a frightening chase down the rest of the main road.

The cops crashed into another truck; hypocrites.

I ran by foot around the building and hid at the back. Soon I was out of sight and the cops were completely clueless. Time to finally get my hands on some serious firepower!

I'm sure the metal lattice is just an aesthetic thing.

I wonder if that target placed behind him is just a cruel joke.

Anyway, I walked in and checked his stock. It wasn't too impressive but I'm not one to say no to shotguns and pistols.

Shouldn't he have those locked up or something?

The prices were ridiculous! Once again, he seemed like someone that wouldn't offer any discounts. If my gun worked before why can't it work again?

It seemed like a good idea at the time...

...Until he ducked and Dick Cheney'd me in the face.

Great. After all that work; everything I did to show you guys the wonders of Empire City; this jerk comes and refuses to be robbed. Luckily I was respawned...err... was mysteriously brought back to life in my comfortable house to start afresh.

Vito's equivalent of the Bat Cave.

Just as I was leaving I figured it might be a good time to show you guys them map and waypoints:

The demo portion of Empire Bay.

 

With my waypoint set I was ready to get my revenge on the old gun store owner.

Looks like he wasn't as fast on the draw this time...

Don't worry about it... I'm sure he'll respawn... maybe.

Muahaha! After laughing maniacally laughing over my act of revenge I quickly grabbed everything I could and quickly ran out of the store. 

I hope he has car insurance.

In my haste of escaping the store I smashed up my car quite a bit. I thought it was in my best interest to take a visit to the tune-up garage.

Perhaps one of the coolest parts of Mafia 2 from what I've seen so far is the tune-up garage. I really love how you can not only change your license plate so that cops won't recognize the car if they should put down it's number, but they also let you customize it to whatever you want. The tune-up garage also allows you fix your car and improve it with a few upgrades. You can even change the rims if you so wish. And of course, you can also paint your car with a generous selection of colors.

For the price seems like a good deal but...

It's even more impressive that this guy can fix a car with his eyes.

Bosco is now street legal.

Shiny!

My car was now as cool as an ice cube in Antarctica, but Vito could do a bit more to look the part. I got out of the garage, bid my farewell to the repairman, and set off for the apparel store.

That's one sly ride.

 I finally reached the apparel store and see some people looking around inside. I don't like witnesses.... Actually, perhaps I better be nice about this one. I don't think I'll be able to get dressed while keeping my gun trained on the store clerk. Anyway, I start casually walking in when I am rudely interrupted by a local:

As I walked in, I accidentally brushed up against one of the people leaving. He had the audacity to turn around and use profanity; proclaiming to the whole store my simple mistake. As a mafia man, this was not acceptable, it was also a very convenient opportunity to show you guys the fist-fighting system. With a tactical mix simple and strong punches I was easily able to defeat my opponent.

He got a few punches in...

And some more..

..But soon I was dominating.

"Hey, look; It's a three-headed monkey!"

FINISH HIM!!

"Hmmm... Where'd you get those shoes?"

Little did I know he was in a gang. And apparently when you fist fight someone in a gang, they instantly figure it out, as if via tweet on their Blackberrys. I ran back into the store but it was too late:

Sepia is an ideal filter for clothing stores.

My death position was ideal for viewing hats.

After making my way out of the house, I went back to the store. On the way there I almost got arrested for speed violations, but I was able to bribe the policeman to forget about it. This time I wasn't going to mess around... except for one quick carwash. I quickly purchased my raincoat suit and left the store.

                                                                          

Now that I was completely ready, minus all the weapons I had lost when I died, I drove off towards the mission. I decided before I went it guns blazing, I should probably stop by a diner to get something to eat.

The car wouldn't fit through the door.

Vito posing shamelessly for a screenshot.

Vito and I were finally ready. I headed down towards the mission...

I ended up driving about a couple feet to the mission marker..

And then walked the rest of the way.

And were greeted with a cutscene:     

Henry tells Vito about his past.

Joe was half-sleeping in the back.

The Fat Man arrived and so it began.

As the Fat Man pulled up in one of two cars, I got ready with a huge machine gun mounted on the window.

Does he really think he's gonna' live?

After mowing down the men outside, Vito and the gang continued down the apartment and inside the distillery where the Fat Man had fled.

After successfully taking out the enemies located on the ground floor, we continued our chase after the target who had fled upstairs.

Owned.

We entered the elevator and awaited the third floor.

The bellboy was sleeping on the job.

They were more prepared than we had first thought.

You can't really see it but there were quite a few people there.

Until I flanked them, anyways.

We headed for another staircase, one heavily guarded by a man with a Tommy gun. Luckily I was able to scrounge up a Tommy gun myself along with a good amount of ammo from the guys attacking us near the elevator.

I made quick work of him...

..And his little friend.

Finally, we had gotten the Fat Man! With nowhere to run, Henry confronted him and was just about to assassinate the Fat Man when he got shot. Me and Joe unloaded our guns into the Fat Man and then helped Henry out. As I made sure the path was safe, Joe carried him close behind in an attempt to escape the crumbling building.

He was hoping we'd brought him cookies.

He must have been really hungry.

Vito assisting Henry in the restroom.

Eating the strawberry shortcake resulted in a fatal stomachache.

The building was engulfed in flames and shaking like a wet dog after a bath. We had to make it out quick and find a way through the ominous fires. We came across some resistance, but they were merely target practice for my Tommy gun.

We made it out of the burning building and found a car which we loaded Henry into. With Joe looking after Henry in the backseat, I was left to drive the gang to one of Henry's doctor friends.

The cops were close on our tail as I headed on down towards the main road.

We drove on down the main road for a short time. There was a police blockade ahead:

Vito was not even phased. He turned that car around and:

Darn... I guess I'll have to wait until game hits store shelves to figure what happens after that. Well, anyway, I'd like to thank you for reading this ridiculously long post. I'd just like to say that although there was a certain feeling I felt messing from the demo, perhaps a feeling of authenticity, I still enjoyed playing the game. It was great fun and I can't wait to get my hands on a copy. Thanks, and until next time, take it easy on the shortcake.