Mafia
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Mafia II and Red Dead Redemption delayed to fiscal 2010
Take-Two advised its shareholders of two big delays that will impact its earnings for the rest of the financial year. The upcoming Mafia II and Red Dead Redemption have both been delayed "to allow additional development time for the titles and to maximize their full potential in terms of the quality of the player experience and market performance." In other words, the development teams needed a bit more time. The two titles are now planned for the first half of fiscal 2010, which spans November 2009 to April 2010. This means either of these games can still make the all-important holiday shopping season. However, even without Mafia and Red Dead Redemption, Take-Two still has a relatively strong lineup with BioShock 2, The Ballad of Gay Tony, and Borderlands.
Noir Online promises mafia MMOness
For some of us over here in the West, the idea of Mafia conjures up boardrooms full of cigar smoke, family ties that are stronger than anything, and the knowledge that once made, you can never truly get out. We've watched movies, glued ourselves to TVs, read books, checked out video games, and laughed at bad promotional swag. We haven't really had too many mafia MMOs, but now someone's decided to try giving that a chance too.Digitalic Co. from Korea are trying their hand at building an MMO all about the Chinese Mafia. Sure, it means we won't have moments of Brando awesomeness, but it's at least a somewhat different idea than the enormous influx of straight fantasy titles we see daily. According to their early information, the game will tout low system requirements (800MHz P3/256 ram/GeForce 5200), and offer players the ability to build their own Mafia family (their version of 'guild' mechanics). While the rest is a bit skimpy on details, they're also noting the introduction of the "rage gauge system" and "Sworn Brother combos" in addition to buying and selling stocks and putting hits out on other players and rival families - or allowing players to fulfill contracts as hit-men. With all that said, it sounds interesting, but we'll wait and see how the ultimate game goes - and it's resultant Western localization. The website needs help first.
Mafia Wars out now on the iPhone
Unfortunately, the classic mobile game of Dope Wars (I played hours of it on my old TI-80) still hasn't been allowed on the App Store -- Apple reportedly wasn't happy with the drug-themed gameplay, and so there are only "sugarcoated" versions there now (including one that is literally about sugar, branded as Candy Wars). But Zynga, makers of Scramble Live, have now released a game called Mafia Wars, which brings the same kind of premise: you're a mob boss, and you buy and use firearms to get money and all sorts of illegal items. The gameplay isn't exactly the same (rather than selling for higher and lower prices, you're "doing jobs" that cash out earned points for money), but Mafia Wars goes a little farther than Dope Wars, too, in that, since the game was originally created on MySpace and Facebook, you can "fight" against other players and win cash from them, too.Don't expect to see any of Grand Theft Auto's 3D graphics or storyline (for that, you can go try Payback) -- this is a strictly turn-based button pressing simulation. But it's got quite a life of its own on Facebook already, so it's well balanced and fun for a few pick-up-and-play minutes at a time. It's free right now on the App Store, though Zynga says there'll be "premium versions" (whatever that means) that cost from $10 to $40 (whatever that means) available soon.
'Don control' in Godfather II introduces RTS-style gameplay you can't refuse
Our friends at GameTrailers.com have a new trailer for The Godfather II that showcases an interesting feature coming to the EA franchise: Don Control. The multiplayer feature offers what looks to be an RTS-style control system where one person hosting an online match can place bets on the match (that will in turn carry over into the single-player campaign), issue commands to their human teammates (should they cooperate, that is) and follow individuals of their choosing from a third-person perspective. Rather than phoning in the de rigeur multiplayer, it seems as though EA has taken the extra time afforded them by the game being pushed back to beef up a very different experience than what the single-player campaign offers. To see exactly what we're talking about, hit the break to check out the trailer.%Gallery-48229%
All the World's a Stage: So you want to be a tauren
This installment of All the World's a Stage is the sixth in a series of roleplaying guides in which we find out all the background information you need to roleplay a particular race or class well, without embarrassing yourself. The first cultural influence you'll probably think of when you see the tauren and walk around in their villages is "Native American." That's fine as far as it goes, but you should remember that they're mainly based on the stereotypical image of what Native Americans are rather than their actual reality. I'm hardly an expert on Native Americans, however, so rather than try and speak for these differences, I'm just going to put the whole issue aside and take tauren as tauren rather than parallels to any human culture. Besides, aside from certain aspects of architecture, music, clothing, and mythology, the tauren are really their own species. They are quite general enough to remind us of all kinds of different cultures around the world, many of whom cherish the earth, revere their ancestors, and try to live in harmony with the world. Some people say that the tauren are the noblest and most peaceful of the races in World of Warcraft, but for most of their history, they have been at war with the vicious centaur -- though not by choice. The centaur have always been very hostile towards tauren, driving them out of their ancestral homelands, slaughtering them and even cannibalizing them whenever possible. In a way, the centaur seem like four-legged versions of the nastier trolls who never joined the Horde. When Thrall came to Kalimdor and encountered the tauren in the midst of their struggle against the centaur, it marked the beginning of one of the greatest changes in tauren history.
EA: Godfather 2 in late 2008 or early 2009
EA's John Riccitiello doesn't like to keep things bottled up. Whether it's displeasure at how his gardener trimmed the bushes in his back yard or the change to the tried-and-true meatloaf recipe his wife enacted last night, if John's got something on his mind, odds are it's coming out of his mouth. And, for that, we love him.Take, for example, a recent investor call he took part in. The EA CEO spilled the beans that The Godfather 2 would be releasing shortly after another big EA title, Left 4 Dead. This would mean the game is slated for late this year to early next year for release. We're wondering if that's even possible, to tell the truth.We haven't really seen or heard much on the game, so we kind of have a hard time believing that it could release so soon. Also, with the Wii version of the game releasing later than other versions of the first title, we're wondering if EA will plan on doing that again with the sequel.[Via X3F]
Goon World: Organized Crime Online brings a new genre to MMOs
Correct us if we're wrong (and we know you will, you clever lot), but 1930's-era gangster fiction is a genre that hasn't been explored in MMOs -- until now. Nemesis Studios Entertainment is a relatively new game company that's hard at work on Goon World, an MMO set in a world where warring Mafia-like crime organizations run rampant.While details are vague owing to this early stage of development, you can read an interview conducted with the team at the Warcry Network, and the official site has an FAQ that delineates some of the pertinent features. Will this title, along with APB, usher in a new era of MMOs, away from the overwhelming fantasy/science fiction mode? Will Goon World make you an offer you can't refuse? It could be a contender ...
Mafia II whacking Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC
2K Games has announced the target platforms for its "beautifully crafted look into the dark and unforgiving world of the Mob," Mafia II. Surprising no one outside of the most hopeful and delusional Wii fans, it has been confirmed that the depicted 1950s environment is intended for the Xbox 360, PC (Games for Windows), and PlayStation 3. The dev dons at the recently formed 2K Czech also offered up some new screenshots for our gallery below. Obviously, we couldn't refuse. %Gallery-6189%
Welcome 2K Czech: Take-Two brings Mafia dev Illusion Softworks into the family
Take-Two has draped its money hat over Czech Republic developer Illusion Softworks, acquiring the studio best known for its Vietcong, Hidden & Dangerous, and Mafia franchises. The developer, which operates out of both Brno and Prague, will now adopt the less-inspired title of 2K Czech. It's unclear what effect, if any, this will have on the studio's current or future projects, with Take-Two stating only that the developer continues to pound out code for the previously announced Mafia 2, which will ship...someday for the PS3, Xbox 360, and PC.
2K Games announces Mafia 2
2K Games has announced that it will be publishing Mafia 2, sequel to 2002's organized crime sim, Mafia: The City of Lost Heaven. Developed by Illusion Softworks for "next generation consoles" and Games for Windows, the game faces unbelievably steep and varied competition as it vies to be "the industry's most compelling Mafia title to date." It also promises to deliver "high octane gunplay with white knuckle driving and an engaging narrative," though we're not sure why you'd be driving a giant white hand or getting married in the course of the story. But hey, they had us at the high octane gunplay bit.As evidenced by the initial batch of screenshots, the 1940s tale of fine suits and illegal activities hopes to be just as cinematic as a Hollywood film -- preferably one involving mobsters and godfathers. If those offer any guidance, however, it may be wise to cancel any plans for Mafia 3.%Gallery-6189%
Today's most therapeutic video: Simpsons 'GTA Parody'
Maybe if Doctor Melfi tried this with Tony Soprano, he could've worked out his anger issues without that near-death experience. Nothing soothes the angry nerves of the savage beast like a few rounds of a GTA-like game. Of course, you need to be careful you don't carry it over into the real world. Whenever we play GTA for hours (days) and then finally get in a car, it is so tempting not just fly off a ramp and bypass traffic. No idea what system they're gaming on either ... just check out all the buttons on Bart's controller. It's like the red-headed stepchild of the Dreamcast that never came to fruition and only exists as some ideas doodled on a napkin at a Japanese karaoke bar somewhere.
FBI taps cellphone mics to eavesdrop on criminals
While we figured the NYPD could just install Magic Message Mirrors in every mafia hotspot in the Manhattan area, the Genovese family has proven quite the eagle-eyed bunch when it comes to spotting wiretaps, tailing, and other (failed) attempts of bugging their conversations. In order to tap into critical conversations by known mafioso and other, less glamorous criminals, police are utilizing a "roving bug" technique which remotely activates the microphone of a crime lord's cellie, giving the boys in blue convenient access to their secret agenda(s). The presumably controversial tapping was recently approved by top US DoJ officials "for use against members of a New York organized crime family who were wary of conventional surveillance techniques." Software hacks (and actual phones, too) have previously allowed such dodgy eavesdropping to occur, with "Nextel, Samsung, and Motorola" handsets proving particularly vulnerable, but this widespread approach in tracking down criminal conversations could hopefully pinpoint future targets where prior attempts failed. Of course, if mafia members hit the internet every now and then, they're probably removing those batteries right about now anyway.
Animal Crossing Mafia now accepting applications
'Animal Crossing Mafia.' Sure sounds like an oxymoron, don't it? Well, for the gang that boasts, "you hit me, we hit you," it's serious business.Of course, Animal Crossing: Wild World is not without its limitations, and we suppose there's not much risk in wronging this mafia. What's the worst they could do? Chop down your tree? Regardless, if you're in need of ACWW buddies, this might not be a bad crew to get involved with. After all, thy claim to "do many things other clans won't try..." Sounds like fun. Where do we sign up?[Thanks, Fish]
