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.