Crave

(Credit: 2K Games)

Hitting the very definition of a cult hit square on the head, few gamers have heard of the 2002 game Mafia, developed by a small group of Czech programmers and originally released on the Xbox and for PC -- but those that do recall it regularly sing its praises as a superior open-world action/adventure.

Built on essentially the same model as Grand Theft Auto, the game transported its crime family story back to the 1930s, and evoked the Maio Puzo Godfather vibe much better than the stodgy, by the numbers, officially licensed Godfather games did later.

For this long-in-the-making sequel, Mafia II, 2K Games has brought the original developers in-house, calling the new studio 2K Czech. What we saw from them was another carefully constructed, engaging virtual crime world, this time updated to the 1940s and 1950s (perhaps not coincidentally mirroring the timeframe of the second Godfather film).

There's not a heck of a lot that's actually new or unexpected in Mafia II, if you've played GTA, The Godfather, Saints Row, or any of a dozen other sandbox-style games. But the city feels thriving and colorful, and the missions we've seen involve just enough variety (such as riding a window-washing rig down the side of building to take out a rival mobster in a conference room meeting) to keep it from being another generic car-based crime thriller.

Most interesting perhaps is the clearly Eastern European take on 1950s America. Looking at the era of Mad Men, Eisenhower, and Hyman Roth filtered through the cold war cultural memory of a former iron curtain country reveals an interesting subtext about how our mid-century lifestyle translated overseas. There's a clear love for bulbous classic '50s cars, fedoras, and retro-chic diners -- which in hindsight seems like a pretty likely picture of what Czechoslovakian game programmers would imagine 1950s America to look like.

(Credit: Farbs.org)

Way to up the ante for the rest of us, game designers.

When indie game developers quit their day jobs, the result is apparently good for all of us. Jarrad Farbs, a maker of quirky browser games like ROM CHECK FAIL and Polychromatic Funk Monkey, left 2K Games Australia to pursue his own free-spirited game interests full-time. But before he did, he left an animated calling card that's part Super Mario Bros., part nose-thumbing, and all heart.

Following Mario through an above-ground and sublevel and into one of Farb's own retrofunky titles, he gets to scream "I QUIT" several times more than the average office person ever has in their lifetime. We could have used a few more levels, but it's the best gameplay we've ever found in a farewell note. Then he leaves us with a touch of sentimentality, claiming that "his princess is in another castle."

First of all, we wonder how Nintendo feels about all of this. Second, we're already leaping ahead to what other games would make great life-change stand-ins: "You've been served" by Phoenix Wright? Baby announcement by way of Bioshock?

(Source: Kotaku)

How do you follow up one of the most critically acclaimed video games in recent memory? 2K Games is facing that very challenge with its sequel to the 2007 hit BioShock. We recently sat down for an eyes-on preview of the upcoming BioShock 2 from the game's developers.

The original game succeeded by mixing a solid first-person shooter mechanic with a wildly imaginative fictional world, set in the ruined underwater city of Rapture. The art deco design of the 1940's city was a welcome break from the warehouses and space stations most games are set in, and the background story of a utopian social experiment gone wrong incorporated influences from Ayn Rand to Jules Verne--heady stuff for gamers used to a steady diet of zombies and elves.

The dangerous Big Sister, glimpsed in the darkness.

(Credit: 2K Games)

BioShock 2 keeps the underwater setting from the first game, but shifts the point of view from an amnesiac plane crash survivor to a prototype Big Daddy, putting you in the oversized boots of one of the most fearsome adversaries from the first game. Playing as a hulking man-monster, we're concerned that audiences won't be able to identify with the protagonist, and not be drawn into the story. Fighting seemed very similar to the original game, but instead of using a gun along with his various "plasmid" powers (essentially genetic engineering that looks and works like a magic spell), your Big Daddy sports a giant drill on the end of his right arm.

The demo level we saw, which may or may not be in the final game, gave us a basic overview of the game, and involved a meeting with a new super-powered adversary, the Big Sister. If you're familiar with the original BioShock, she's a Little Sister (one of a community of creepy little girls who harvest energy from dead bodies), who has evolved into something much bigger and more dangerous.

Genetic powers, such as this fireball, return in BioShock 2.

(Credit: 2K Games)

New plot aside, the settings, graphics, combat, and gameplay all seemed very familiar, and we could see BioShock 2 suffering from a case of sequelitis--without significant upgrades in the graphics, locations, and action, it feels at this point more like a downloadable add-on pack than a whole new game. Adding to our concern is that BioShock's original Creative Director, Ken Levine, apparently has only minimal involvement with this sequel.

Still, an overly familiar sequel to a great game is better than a sequel to a bad one, and we're looking forward to checking out more of BioShock 2, which should be available on Xbox 360, PC, and PS3 later this year, with further details to be unveiled at the upcoming Electronic Entertainment Expo trade show in June.

Big Daddy on your PS3

After countless rumors, it appears that last year's underwater dystopian masterpiece, BioShock, will see the light of day on the PlayStation 3 after all. The critically acclaimed title had recently been in the news regarding its big-budget Hollywood adaptation.

Now, Computers and Videogames is reporting that the latest issue of the UK magazine PSM3 is showcasing a preview of the PS3 version of the game along with a handful of screenshots. While there's been no word from 2K Games officially, once the magazine hits newsstands on June 5 we'd imagine a press release will follow shortly after.

This is great news for the Sony console, as BioShock was originally an exclusive for the Xbox 360 and PC. This is not the first game to lose exclusivity with the 360, as Lost Planet found its way on the PS3 last January--albeit over an entire year after its initial release. The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion shared a similar fate, showing up on the PS3 about a year after its Xbox 360 debut. Rumors have also been tossed around about the sci-fi RPG Mass Effect appearing on the PS3 as well.

In an industry where software exclusivity traditionally dictates console sales, factors like online services and additional hardware features may begin to take supremacy as top selling points.

Is console exclusivity long for this world? Tell us what you think.

(Credit: Take-Two Interactive)

No one can argue with the fact that last year's BioShock was a milestone in interactive storytelling as far as a video game is concerned. 2K Games was able to create such a unique setting and mood all while engaging us in a thrilling narrative like nothing we've seen before. Naturally, an experience such as this seemed ultimately destined for the big screen, and now Variety is reporting that Universal Studios will be the company bringing the underwater city of Rapture to a theater near you.

But perhaps the biggest news to come out of all this is whom Universal has lined up to direct the dystopian drama. Gore Verbinski, famed director of the Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy, has signed on while accomplished screenwriter John Logan (Sweeny Todd, The Aviator) is in talks to write the script.

It would appear that all the pieces are in place for BioShock to break the curse of disappointing movies adapted from video games. Even more encouraging, Verbinski says that BioShock has the strongest narrative of any game he's played, which is why he wants to bring it to the silver screen. Just promise us there won't be any CG Big Daddies and you're already headed in the right direction.... Read more