A demo shot of the London City Center in Getaway 3

First presented during the 2005 E5 convention The Getaway for the playstation 3 has been through its share of rough patches. The game boasts an unprecedented graphics and animation system which when coupled with the gritty storyline can only leave the player wanting more. Conforming to the previous principles of the game there are no major changes in the setting, it will still be closely centered around London and its outskirts. What is interesting however, is the means by which those settings, sceneries and interactions have been or will be altered.

Since the projected release date was announced there have been countless speculations, claming that the game has been canceled. And truthfully the project had actually been scrapped for a period of time. Fortunately for myself and the rest of humanity, as of June 2008 I think it was a Sony and Soho representative who stated that the game will again be pushed back into development.

According to a few primary sources, the game has been set to debut some time through 2010 with a plethora of new features. Let’s just hope they are correct because otherwise the north pole will be receiving a lot of hate mail this year.

Mafia 2 is predicted to raise roof tops with its new game engine designed by 2K CZECH, the visuals are stunning, the realism is unprecedented and the gameplay is oh so gritty. Well here is some information straight from 2K CZECH about what to expect for this highly anticipated sequel.

- The game takes place in “Empire Bay City” which has been created around 1950s New York City and San Francisco. Empire Bay City has been broken up into 20 distinct neighbourhoods, with absolutely no loading times between them. This means no lag either. The city’s districts will range from picket fenced suburbia to industrial estates.

- There is a lot of humor present, which lightens tense situations. There are many puns and references to modern day things that you should try to take note of.

- The game engine allows for 70 “unique, high-poly characters to be rendered on the screen at the same time”. Clothes are specially designed to react to the world in the game, your clothes sway with the wind and jackets flap as you brawl with unruly rivals.

- The game starts towards the end of the 1940’s, 1947 to be exact and ends somewhere around 1951. Through this time the city of Empire Bay undergoes some major changes and the player will be able to experience this. Modernized guns, cars, buildings and music will emerge as the time goes by.

- Car traffic will be much denser and there are new pathing systems which allow the AI to be more smarter and life like while on the road.

- The weather and time doesn’t change as you play. By this I mean it doesn’t change if you are free roaming when you are working through the story you will experience different weathering.

- There are realistic side missions which you can embark on if you choose, however they never actually strive away from the game’s plot.

- Cops are a bit more lenient on petty crimes. Evading police for minor infringements is much easier and speeding laws are also looser. As you become more notorious in the game the cops will also be less likely to cuff you

- You can buy cars, store cars and customize cars. Auto shops in the city allow you to upgrade your cars with hot accessories, such as side pipes, flames, hot rod engines and custom paint jobs.

- The cars are a little bit less “simulation” like this time around. Grace explained “We’ve taken a few more liberties this time, and made the cars that bit more exciting. There’s still a realism factor to it as you screech round a corner a hubcap might fly off, or the bumper will come away slightly.”

- You play as Vito Scaletta who was born in Sicily and is 5?11 in height and 200lbs in weight. He is the son of sicillian immigrant and he recently left the US Army.

All in all this game is on the verge of becoming one of the best games of 2009. I think it is the only that game that ever really had that authentic 1940s “gritty” feel to it. The world and atmosphere of Empire Bay City will make you feel as if you took a time machine back to the past.