When you hear the name, “2K Games,”  your mind probably jumps to one of two things: Bioshock or Oblivion. 2K is a subsidary of Take-Two productions, and has been around for five years now. In that five years they have published almost 40 different titles, but relatively few have gained any sort of notoriety among hard core gamers. The Family Guy Video Game and Ghost Rider I suppose, just did not carry the umph or staying power of quality titles. However, when 2K does strike gold, it’s almost as though the studio became a sort of King Midas. Their success is evident in banners and billboards everywhere. It looks like they may have outdone themselves this year.

The first evidence of this was in their booth at PAX East. Collections of indie studios sat clumped around the expo hall. Rockstar Games stood next door, showing off the highly anticipated Red Dead Redemption to an endless line of salivating fans. But, towering over all of it, was the 20-foot tall structure that made up the 2K booth, and the banners for the three titles they were showing off within.

The first demonstration was for the new downloadable content in Bioshock 2. This, alas, I could not touch, because I have not finished the game yet and do not want to spoil the story for myself. The second demonstration was a hands-off showing of Civilization V, a game it seems will do wonders for the realm of turn-based strategy. Jon Huie has already published an article with his impressions on Civ V, and if you have not checked that out yet, I suggest you do.

The third demonstration is the one I got a close look at. This is the sequel to the highly acclaimed 2002 release, Mafia: The City of Lost Heaven. 2K has lived up to the reputation of the original title and then went far beyond. Mafia II is shaping up to be a well polished title that is fun to play, beautiful to look at, and easy to become immersed in.

The player takes on the role of Vito, an impoverished Italian-American who is looking to change his lot in life. He and his friend Joe become involved in…well…some “legitimate” business enterprises, and as one thing leads to another they get drawn deeper and deeper into the sub-world of organized crime. As time goes on, they begin to see that the glamor and prestige is really just a facade for something much uglier.

The gameplay itself runs very smoothly. When you take control of Vito, you find yourself operating a familiar 2-stick, 3rd-person control scheme. Vito moves where you want him to move, and the camera is easily adjustable. Hints appear at the bottom of the screen to help new players get used to the controls. Before you know it, the tutorial segment is over, and you find yourself in the middle of a turf war that forces you to sink or swim. You learn to fire a tommy gun, throw molotov cocktails, and work cooperatively with your brothers-in-arms to make the bad guys an offer they can’t refuse.

Mafia II boasts an excellent “cover system,” that allows the player to duck and dive behind obstacles to get quick cover during a gunfight. This system is both innovative and intuitive. Vito always jumps in the direction you want him to go, and always gets behind some kind of solid mass quickly. Aiming from behind a wall is a cinch, performed with only one button and done without sacrificing cover. This system, and the solid aiming and firing controls, makes combat a blast. It’s fun, and not too easy.

Everything in the world is interactive, too. Wooden panels are destructible, as the player learns in an early segment involving a bar and some machine gun fire. You can shoot weak materials like wood apart, and use molotov cocktails to set them on fire. Vehicles are a little tougher, but if you manage to get a spark into a gas tank, you’d better stand back.

The graphics…well, look at the trailers. All the cinematics are done using the actual game engine, so the crispness you see on any release video is exactly what you’re looking at throughout the entire game. You can see the pores and freckles on the characters’ faces. You can see splinters of wood chipping off under gunfire. I thought I saw a hangnail splitting from Vito’s trigger finger, but that was just some fuzz on the screen. Nevertheless, if he had a hangnail, I guarantee I would have seen it.

I also need to mention the sound. First off, the effects do wonders for actually immersing you in the world. You feel much more like a part of the mafia if you believe the clack of your Italian wing-tip on the cobblestone street is accurate. The sounds are realistic and the gunfire is loud. Secondly, the accents are dead on. The characters sound as though they are actually from the time period, which I raved about for Assassin’s Creed II and will continue to do for Mafia II. Taking the time to find and fund skilled voice actors is important, and they have done that here. Finally, when you hop into a car (GTA syle, mind you), the radio turns immediately to authentic music from the 1940′s. This is 100% necessary for cruising, especially since, in this game, the police are out to make sure you are actually abiding by the rules of the road. Personally I don’t mind. As long as Hank Williams stays out of my car’s stereo system, we’re good.

Speaking of authentic though, I got to talking with 2K’s PR department about some of the goodies in this game (children, cover your eyes). It seems 2K struck a deal with Playboy, a well-known adult magazine that was very popular and influential in the 1940′s. They struck a deal that allowed them to publish some classic Playboy covers in game, as they appeared on the original magazines. These covers can be found throughout the game as easter eggs, and naturally you’ll want to keep an eye out for them as you play through. I asked if the classic Marilyn Monroe cover would be present, but the 2K reps were not sure. Considering Monroe did the magazine in 1953, a little on the tail end of the Mafia II time period, I’d wager not. I’ve included it here, though, just in case. Don’t want to disappoint!

Overall, Mafia II is shaping up to be a smash hit for 2010. It will not have many of the console problems that its predecessor faced, it will provide diverse and entertaining gameplay, and a deep story that will have you chipping away at it until the very end. On top of all this, 2K is working at this in tandem with Civilization V, and Spec Ops: The Line, both of which are tantalizing as well. This is a good year for 2K Studios, and let’s hope for more of them to come. A good year for 2K means a very good year for us.

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