I recently had the chance to play the demo of chart-topping video game 'Mafia II' on PlayStation 3, and whilst I haven't actually played the first in the series, I thought it might be worth checking out. Admittedly I had a fair amount of fun playing the demo, albeit not because of the quality of the game, but rather the lack thereof.
After starting the demo to be greeted by a mandatory in-game phone-call, I had a quick glance around the house to see if there was anything of note to be found. There wasn't much to see besides a few graphical glitches when looking in the mirror or rotating the camera between surfaces, except for a poster of a topless woman and learning that Vito can eat sandwiches in a single mouthful. Oh, and you can also change costume to look like a real Don should you feel like it. However, the real fun begins once you get outside.
Once you leave the house you're faced with a number of pedestrians, and you also happen to be armed with a handgun. I managed to initiate a fight with a passer-by simply by walking into him, where he dealt the first blow and I spent most of the time evading hits simply trying to escape. But as there really is no easy way to escape combat in one of these scenarios, other than to hope he can't reach you when you walk backwards holding 'X', the easiest thing to do was definitely to knock this poor man out. After evading a couple more hits I proceeded to lay the smackdown on the old chap, ending in some kind of QTE type chain-combo which consisted of pressing Circle three times and watching the action sequence which followed.
At this point there are people cowering and running in fear, as I begin to hear sirens approaching. This makes a fair amount of sense, as what Vito committed was clearly assault. I stand by and wait to see how the cops respond to the whole situation, when an officer approaches and warns me not to let it happen again before going back to his vehicle and departing swiftly after. A warning. After beating a man within an inch of his life. Tragic.
I found myself in the park next, across the road from the house where we started. Whilst in the park I entered combat with a total stranger to see if the police would return. After around 2 full minutes of taunting/dodging I gave up trying and left to see if there was anything happening elsewhere. Luckily enough there was. On a park bench not far from the entrance was a man and a woman. This would not have been at all unusual if the two people standing over the bench hadn't been the same character model as the fellow seated in front. 3 of them within about 1.5m² of each other. Turns out I saw that same man a total of 9 times before quitting the demo.
After this baffling encounter, I ventured to a residential area at the other end of the park and equipped my handgun. I'm not one for mindless violence in video games, but for the sake of experience I had a shot regardless of my own taste. First off, I noticed an arrest being made on the street right before my hide-out. Two rounds made quick work of the officer and the criminal. Sirens any moment now... None. No sirens, no back-up, no-one acting any different on the streets. Two men had just been shot dead! It was genuinely frustrating having the gunshots completely ignored by everyone and anyone around at the time. Next would be the park. Aimed across, shot a civilian in the chest. People began to run, he stumbled, hobbling away like you might expect from such a severe wound. This was more impressive. He reaches about 4m away from his previous position and, wait for it... Begins to walk normally again. The man acts like nothing has happened! This game is incredible.
The last thing I did within the demo was approach the nearest car, hijack it, and drive to where I thought might assist me in reaching my destination. As I was doing so, the police caught on to the hijacking and began tailing me. Disappointingly I spent the rest of the demo period having a laugh with the AI, as whenever I rammed a police car between two walls, they would typically give up completely. When the time ran out and the demo ended, I felt a little disappointed to have not completed it or explored the environment thoroughly.
The graphics in Mafia II aren't awful, I'll give them that. I'm really not someone who bothers much at all with realistic graphics as most of the games I play are 2D and over a decade old, but this particular video game had something which stood out to me, and apparently also to others. Just take a look at this:
Overall I had a decent amount of fun playing the Mafia II demo. That being said, it was mostly at the game's expense, but it contained potential to be enjoyable even with as many glaring weaknesses as it appeared to possess. So if you're that guy who buys monthly blockbuster titles or every iteration of Grand Theft Auto, then this might just be a game you'll find great pleasure in playing. Even if you aren't that guy, it's worth downloading the demo just to give the game a shot. After all, it's free, so why not!?